site.btaDeputy Agriculture Minister Yanchev Attends Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is strategic for the European Union and guarantees food security and the sustainability of agriculture. It must therefore remain a stand-alone policy with a separate budget, while maintaining its two pillars,” Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Yanislav Yanchev said during a meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council held in Brussels.

"We need to take into account the growing challenges facing agriculture and ensure a budget of sufficient size to bring security and predictability to farmers. Of particular importance is equalizing direct payment levels, so that farmers across the EU are on an equal and competitive footing," Yanchev stressed.

He expressed strong support for direct payments and coupled support as working instruments that should be maintained with adequate funding.

Deputy Minister Yanchev also stressed the need to protect farmers from cheap imports. 

"We need to make sure that European producers are protected from cheap imports that do not meet the EU's high production and environmental standards," he said. The Deputy Minister stressed that the transition from a compensation system to an incentive system for farmers providing public environmental goods will be key for the future of the sector. 

"To ensure generational renewal in the sector, we need additional legislative instruments and targeted funding. Combining financial incentives, education and technological advances will create a sustainable and modern farming environment in Europe," he added.

Yanchev thanked the European Commission for its efforts to ease the administrative burden on farmers and the administration. 

"It is important that the CAP rules provide a predictable and stimulating legal environment. I call for the simplification package to be examined and adopted within the Agriculture Council and the Special Committee on Agriculture," he said. 

Deputy Minister Yanchev stressed the need for fewer checks, simpler requirements and flexibility in the application of the GAEC standards. He noted that the lack of additional funding for the proposed new crisis compensation intervention is a serious problem. "Additional resources should be made available rather than reallocating already limited funds for direct payments," he said. 

Deputy Minister Yanchev welcomed the proposed flexibility for amendments to strategic plans, but stressed that shorter timescales for consideration and approval are needed.

He concluded by calling for a more ambitious approach to the automatic decommitment rule, as well as for further simplification in European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) interventions.