site.btaEU Agriculture Ministers Discuss Crisis in Their Sector

Outgoing Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Deyan Stratev participated in a discussion of the European Union agriculture ministers about the current crisis situation in the sector. The forum was held within the framework of the meeting of the EU Council on Agriculture and Fisheries in Brussels, the Agriculture Ministry said.

"We appreciate the actions taken by the European Commission (EC) in response to the concerns of the agricultural sector from the increased requirements," said Stratev and added that the proposal to amend the Regulation on Strategic Plans is a positive step.

Stratev noted that the balance between maintaining the economic, social and ecological sustainability of agriculture in the EU is important, and the envisaged changes in the standards on good agricultural and environmental condition of land (GAEC) 7 and 8 are satisfactory.

"It is important for Bulgaria to correctly assess and understand that weather conditions and their impact on agricultural areas can prevent farmers and other beneficiaries from complying with the requirements of the GAEC standards, such as time limits and periods for carrying out operations in a given year ", said Stratev. He added that Bulgaria fully supports the idea of exempting organic farmers from the requirements of GAEC 7 and 8 standards, and that the same approach should be applied to other standards, for example GAEC 4 and 6. "We welcome the preparation of a detailed analysis of the complexity of the rules for farmers. It should end with specific and clearly justified conclusions that will serve both the EC and all interested parties for decision-making, but also for the implementation of these decisions with specific rules," said the Deputy Minister.

Stratev was adamant that efforts to improve the position of farmers in the supply chain must continue. The farmers are directly affected by the unprecedented peak of risks affecting production costs and the subsequent difficult recovery. He expressed Bulgaria's support for the EC's proposals for actions to correct the deepening imbalances and to improve the position of farmers in the chain, as well as for their protection against unfair trade practices.

Stratev also participated in a meeting of the Ministers of Agriculture of the Visegrád Group countries: Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia and Croatia. Bulgaria's priority is to continue the work on simplifying the requirements for farmers, both in the implementation of the changes in the Regulation on strategic plans, and at the level of delegated and executive regulations and the implementation of procedures by the EC, Stratev pointed out. He added that Bulgaria would like to see concrete results from the future EC document on reducing administrative burdens, from the EC Communication on improving the position of farmers in the supply chain and efforts to achieve fair competition between European agricultural products and imported goods.