The latest meeting of EU agriculture ministers has heard calls for predictable policies and rules for farmers, with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue supporting those calls.
The main purpose of today’s (Monday, July 15) agriculture and fisheries meeting of the Council of the EU was for Hungary to set out its stall on agricultural and rural issues.
Hungary took up the rotating presidency of the council on July 1, and will retain that role until December 31.
The country revealed its overarching policy objectives before it took up the presidency, and formally presented the agricultural aspects of that work programme to its fellow member states today.
The meeting also heard from the Austrian delegation on a document it presented to the council – supported by several other member states – identifying European agriculture and forestry as “the backbone of a competitive, sovereign and prosperous EU”.
The Austrian agriculture minister Norbert Totschnig told the meeting: “We are making this call to the future European Commission. We urgently need a change of tack with the Green Deal.
“We need to move away from a policy of banning things and excessive overregulation towards a policy of incentivising people; motivating people not discouraging them; a policy that is making sustainable business possible,” he added.
“We would like to have a strong, robust, Common Agricultural Policy [CAP] that offers farmers the necessary income support and provides a strong pillar for rural areas, and makes an important contribution to sustainable agricultural practices.
“Farmers shouldn’t spend time pushing paper at a desk. They need to be out there in forests and the field. They need to have security of planning, and practicable rules are the order of the day. We need clear recognition from the future commission of a productive, extensive, multifunctional agricultural model,” Totschnig added.
These sentiments were broadly welcomed by Minister McConalogue, who said that there were “many elements I can agree with”.
“I believe we need a robust CAP with a budget that matches our ambition. We must continue our focus on strengthening the position of farmers with simpler and less bureaucratic requirements, boosting their competitiveness in the value of chain,” Minister McConalogue added.
“I agree that farmers need a stable and predictable policy framework. I support the call to promote active sustainable forest management, and to ensure the commission considers the benefits for the bioeconomy.
“Innovation and new technologies in this area have potential as a new value stream for our farmers,” the minister said.
However, he was less positive on proposed legislation that would ban agricultural imports to the EU – including beef – that have been grown or produced on deforested land.
This proposed law, which is due to come into force at the end of the year, has been criticised as unworkably bureaucratic and complex, with Minister McConalogue saying today that, if its issues are not addressed before the regulation is due to come into force, than “regrettably an extension will be needed”.