At the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on Monday 15 July, Austrian Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig called for the adoption of measures to ensure that agriculture forms the backbone of a prosperous and competitive EU.
In a document, Austria, supported by several countries (the Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia), calls on “the future European Commission to commit itself to a strong common agricultural policy (CAP)” and “a fair income for farmers”.
Various priorities are listed, including continued efforts to contribute to climate change mitigation through the post-2027 CAP and the CAP’s national strategic plans. The states concerned are calling for “a comprehensive stock-taking exercise” on the ‘European Green Deal’ and its impact on agriculture, as well as for “requirements tailored” to the needs of agriculture, taking into account its “important role of providing food security”. The document also mentions revising the wolf’s protection status, supported by France in particular.
Sweden and the Netherlands echoed Austria’s concerns about the regulation to combat deforestation.
Luxembourg has called for a pragmatic approach to implementing the EU’s climate policy.
Soil and water protection are important, according to Germany, which has called for the continued implementation of the ‘Green Deal’.
Latvia called for an “end to unfair competition” between EU countries. The level of subsidies must be the same, according to the Latvian minister.
Link to the Austrian document: https://aeur.eu/f/d16 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)