On the eve of its second Presidency of the Council of the EU, which begins in January 2025, Poland unveiled, on 10 December, its programme for the first half of 2025.
For agriculture, work will focus on preparing the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and strengthening the position of farmers within the food chain.
Poland is focusing on improving the competitiveness of the agricultural sector and increasing its resilience in the face of crises. In detail, the main focus of the EU ‘Agriculture’ Council will be on preparing the next CAP. In particular, Poland wants to organise a political debate on the ‘Vision for Agriculture and Food’, which the new Commissioner for Agriculture, Christophe Hansen, is due to present in February. Discussions are expected to include issues such as access to water, sustainable management of protected species, simplification, and the future enlargement of the EU.
Budget and trade practices. The budget issue is also central to Poland’s priorities, as it is pushing for adequate funding for the CAP. Warsaw is proposing as well a debate on the ‘rural proofing’ principle, a mechanism for verifying the impact of other EU policies on rural development. The idea is to provide recommendations to the European Commission for its proposals on the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), expected by summer 2025.
Another priority is to strengthen the position of farmers in the food chain. With this in mind, Poland wants to “develop the best possible solutions for farmers” as part of the EU Council’s work on the legislative proposals presented on 10 December (see EUROPE 13545/2).
Feedback from Member States on the elimination of unfair practices in the food supply chain should be on the agenda.
At the same time, the next Presidency of the EU Council has given assurances that it will continue to work on the legislative texts in progress (animal welfare, new genomic techniques, plant and forest reproductive material, forest surveillance), in addition to regular debates on the situation of agricultural markets and international trade.
The EU ‘Agriculture’ Council meetings under the Polish Presidency will be held on 24 February, 24 March, 28 April, 26 May and 24 June respectively. The informal meeting of European agriculture ministers will be held in Warsaw from 15 to 17 June.
Link to priorities: https://aeur.eu/f/ewk
See the draft agendas for Council meetings during the first semester of 2025: https://aeur.eu/f/exi (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)