The State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Ģirts Krūmiņš will attend the informal meeting of the Council of Ministers for Agriculture of the European Union (EU), which will take place from September 8 to 10. The meeting will address further necessary improvements to achieve a competitive and sustainable, crisis-proof, knowledge-based and farmer-friendly future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Leading agricultural experts from the EU Member States will share their vision of the EU support payment system, whose new approach has caused various problems for both farmers and administrations. Widespread protests by farmers took place this spring against the complexity of the new payment system in both the EU Member States and Latvia. In order not to impose unnecessary administrative burdens on farmers, further clarification of the regulations, including legal corrections, are needed to simplify the conditions for receiving aid.
The discussions will also address the environmental and climate objectives set, which the EU's agricultural policy has been adapted to. The CAP supports transition of the agricultural sector to new sustainable practices and business models which, at the same time, will also be able to ensure a sustainable future for European farmers. Therefore, in the period 2023-2027, more CAP funding for environmental objectives is planned than previously: it is planned to channel 24% of direct payments and 48% of the financial resources for rural development to environmental and climate measures.
Although the objectives are good and the EU is committed to them, farmers still face additional challenges. Meeting the ambitious essential requirements and introducing the new conditions has unfortunately increased pressure on agricultural production. It is therefore necessary to strike a reasonable balance at EU level between the environmental objectives pursued, the competitiveness of economic operators and the security of farmers' incomes.