Brussels – Slovakia demands more understanding regarding capping and direct payments within the future common agricultural policy of the EU. This was indicated on Monday at the EU Council meeting on agriculture and fisheries in Brussels by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Slovak Republic, Vladimír Vnuk, as reported by TASR.
Vladimír Vnuk specified that the penultimate Council of Ministers for agricultural policy under the Danish presidency focused on the common agricultural policy after 2027 and on the import of agricultural commodities from abroad. He reminded that member states are not satisfied with the European Commission’s (EC) proposal for the long-term budget after 2027, as each country has some reservations in certain areas.
“We are glad that the support in the future common agricultural policy is targeted, but we are most concerned about capping and the degressivity of direct payments,” he explained. This is a situation that, according to the European Commission, will not affect 96% of European farms; from Slovakia’s perspective, those 4% are important because the structure of Slovak agriculture is historically such that there are a large number of large farms that manage up to 80% of agricultural land.
The State Secretary stated that Slovakia therefore proposes that the measure regarding capping and reducing direct payments be perceived as voluntary, not mandatory.
The Commission, under pressure from the European Parliament, presented certain concessions to farmers and regions; however, as Vnuk stated, governments must analyze this proposal, and according to initial feedback, the EC’s willingness is not sufficient and does not meet the needs of farmers.
In the area of trading agricultural commodities, there were mainly discussions on trade with Ukraine on Monday, although agreements with the Mercosur group and other countries were also mentioned, Vnuk revealed.
“The Commission urged us to express our views on trade with Ukraine. Here we still stand firm on our position. We demand a special fund created for member states that border Ukraine and also that production standards be maintained. Such as those that EU farmers have, so as not to jeopardize their competitiveness, because farmers from third countries have lower input costs compared to EU farmers, which from our perspective threatens the competitiveness of the EU,” he described the situation.
A special initiative presented on Monday by Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Croatia (other countries may join) calls on the European Commission to allocate financial resources for aquaculture from the common fisheries policy, from the large package of the national and regional plan. “Slovakia is not a coastal country, so we want to support fishponds and activities related to fish farming in freshwater waters in Slovakia,” said Vnuk. (November 17)
“Slovakia is most concerned about capping and the degressivity of direct payments.” Vladimír Vnuk
