Romania will not accept the European Commission's proposal regarding the future CAP if it does not meet the real needs of our producers and farmers, announced the Minister of Agriculture, Florin Barbu, on Tuesday.
"We continue the dialogue with associative forms regarding the future of agriculture. Before the meeting with the European Commissioner for Agriculture, we discussed today, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, with representatives of the Alliance for Agriculture and Cooperation, about Romania's positioning regarding the Common Agricultural Policy post-2028. We want a clear, fair Common Agricultural Policy and with a budget at least at the level of the current programming period, and the messages sent by Romanian farmers are clear: maintaining the separate character of the CAP from the Cohesion Policies; maintaining a level of co-financing of interventions at the current value; maintaining the budget allocated to Romania at least at the current level of 21.47 billion euros; rejecting the capping and degressiveness of direct payments, which would affect the competitiveness of medium and large farms; continuing investments in irrigation and processing, for increasing farm resilience and better valorization of agricultural production and separate budget for the EU School Programme and the wine sector," Barbu wrote on his Facebook page.
According to him, Romania will not accept the European Commission's proposal regarding the future CAP if it does not meet the real needs of producers and farmers in our country.
"As I have done every time, I will convey the message of Romanian farmers to the European Commissioner, and Romania will not accept the European Commission's proposal regarding the future CAP if it does not meet the real needs of our producers and farmers", the minister stated.
According to a press release sent to AGERPRES, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR) organized a round of consultations on Tuesday with representatives of the Alliance for Agriculture and Cooperation (AAC), in order to consolidate Romania's position on the post-2028 reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
The discussions took place in the context of Romania's request to review the European Commission's proposal regarding the new CAP framework, ministry representatives claim.
Florin Barbu emphasized, during the meeting, that Romania will continue to defend a distinct Common Agricultural Policy model, managed directly by the ministers of agriculture, and not integrated into the National and Regional Partnership Plans.
"Integrating the CAP into other policies would mean losing visibility and control over funds intended for farmers. We want a clear, fair CAP with a budget at least at the level of the current programming period," said Florin Barbu, quoted in the press release.
According to the mentioned source, the main topics analyzed during the consultations aimed at: maintaining the separate character of the CAP from the Cohesion Policies; the level of co-financing of interventions and the impact of increasing the national contribution to 30%; the budget allocated to Romania, which must remain at least at the current level of 21.47 billion euros; the rejection of the capping and degressiveness of direct payments, which would affect the competitiveness of medium and large farms; the continuation of investments in irrigation and processing, to increase the resilience of farms and the higher valorization of agricultural production and the need for a separate budget for the EU School Programme and for the wine sector.
At the same time, Florin Barbu reiterated the availability of the MARD to work together with farmers' organizations to formulate a unified and solid position at European level. "Romania must go with a single voice to Brussels. Consultations with professional organizations are essential to ensure that the future CAP responds to the real needs of Romanian farmers," the minister added.
The results of the discussions will be integrated into Romania's position paper, which will be transmitted to the European Commission and presented at the next Agrifish Council meetings, the document also states.
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