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It is still Romania's position that it is mandatory that the derogation from some good agricultural and environmental conditions (GAECs) be extended, Romania's Minister of Agriculture Florin Barbu told a meeting on Tuesday of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council ( AGRIFISH), adding that Romanian farmers need real support, "not additional obstacles to obtaining production."
He added that, if help is not won, "we can all leave the positions we hold," the message also being addressed to the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski.
"Mr Commissioner, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that six months have passed since we requested a response from the European Commission. The response did not come, despite a positive vote expressed by 15 member states. The dissatisfaction of our farmers is real and it is already manifesting itself in the streets, throughout the European Union. If we do not understand that our farmers need real support, not additional obstacles to obtaining production, we can all leave the positions we hold. Including you, Mr Commissioner!"
On Monday, Barbu told farmers in Targu-Mures that he will publicly demand the resignation of the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, during the AGRIFISH meeting for dismissing the vote of 15 member states on derogation from GAEC 7 on crop rotation GAEC 8 on maintenance of non-productive areas.
In his remarks in Brussels, Barbu also requested increased flexibility in the adaptation/modification of the CAP strategic plans to account for the challenges that farmers are currently facing and the identification of all support elements to boost the economic development of farmers in order to face a fundamental challenge that rural areas in Romania are also facing.
He also said that securing the supply of food and raw materials by EU farmers in a manner proportional to obtaining a decent income is dependent on several factors, namely streamlining the legislative framework for predictability and including real support measures for farmers and for all players in the agri-food chain while facilitating resilience of the system in order to guarantee the food security of the EU and beyond.
Barbu also said out that new methods must be sought to counteract the effects of crises, such as the one generated by the ongoing war in Ukraine, that do not have a negative impact on European farmers, and the identification of solutions that allow the member states to reach environmental targets without imposing the reduction of the areas intended for agricultural production under GAEC 8 and thus not endangering the food security of the EU and the economic security of farmers.
Romania has talked about the derogations since the summer of 2023, and later 15 other EU member states (Poland, France, Slovakia, Latvia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Italy, Malta, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Estonia, Sweden, Hungary and the Czech Republic) voiced support for their application.
The Alliance for Agriculture and Cooperation (AAC) asked the Romanian government on Sunday to do everything possible to convince the European Commission and member states to support trade measures for agricultural products from Ukraine and granting exemption in 2024 GAEC 7 and 8.
