In the document, the ministers of agriculture stress that EU farmers function on a Single Market and strive towards achieving the same new and ambitious goals related to climate and environmental protection. That is why the signatories of the declaration are fighting for equal direct payments and for a strong and fair EU budget for agriculture.

‘We are facing new challenges, challenges that no country can tackle on its own. These challenges include climate change, global market changes and the issues of world hunger. The European Union must be very active when it comes to these issues,  and many other as well. That is why levelling the opportunities for growth is what makes Europe even more integrated,’ said Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski, opening the discussion.

‘Just as we need precision agriculture, so do we require precision in our agricultural policy. It needs to account for the specific conditions found in the different regions and states. Therefore discussion on a regional level is also necessary. It provides a crucial supplement to the discussion on European agriculture as a whole,’ said EU Commissioner of Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski who took part in the conference.

With regard to financial issues, the EU Commissioner observed that the discussion revolves around the seven-year financial perspective and that adopting the EU budget has always been a struggle.

‘It is better to have a detailed discussion of all individual issues. Agriculture is a crucial part of the European policy. It is good to see the discussion moving towards strengthening the budget for the Common Agricultural Policy. This is the first time that we have had such a marked shift in this direction,’ said Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski.

‘There are many indications that the final budgetary decisions will be more favourable than what was initially proposed by the European Commission. We care about this matter greatly because European farmers across all countries and regions need better support, especially those in Central and Eastern Europe, as agriculture has faced some unique challenges here,’ added Wojciechowski.

The Commissioner went on to point out that the brunt of the effort needs to be directed now towards more budget funds being allocated to the CAP. The time to discuss how those funds should be distributed will come later.

‘Naturally, the CEE countries are particularly affected by the inequality in direct payments, but it is not just them,’ said Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski.

Increasing payments for some countries is not just an issue of fairness and equal opportunities, but, above all else, it means more money for Polish farmers to produce better quality food and take greater measures for environmental protection.

Currently, 14 EU Member States receive payments that are below the EU average.

Direct payments supporting the income of EU farmers vary greatly and range between EUR 200 and EUR 500 per hectare. Polish authorities are relentless in their efforts to change this situation. Especially given that the current method of calculating payments is based on historical parameters, such as reference crop or cattle stocking density. The goals of the CAP are changing and the funds allocated in the budget should reflect that.

Therefore, if farmers have to meet additional requirements regarding climate and environmental protection, the payments should also be increased accordingly.

Support of President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda

Participants of today’s conference were guests of President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda at the Presidential Palace.

President Andrzej Duda recalled the founding principle of European agricultural policy, one that was enshrined already in the Treaties of Rome. He pointed out that the policy rested on the foundation of keeping the farmers’ income adequately high while guaranteeing the consumers access to food at affordable prices. He also emphasised that farmers were not exempt from facing contemporary challenges related to climate change and the need to protect the environment.

‘But if we expect them to face those challenges without having to reduce their standard of living, without compromising on the quality of food they produce and without quality of life in rural areas deteriorating, then the European Commission also needs to give those issues proper attention. They need to also be considered in the financial framework for the Common Agricultural Policy in the budget for the next seven years,’ said the President of the Republic of Poland.

‘We postulate for the payments that our farmers receive to be brought up to par with the European average,’ stated President Andrzej Duda.

New budget – new opportunity for higher payments

The opportunity to level out direct payments between EU Member States is closely tied to the political calendar of work on the volume and shape of the next multiannual financial framework, namely the EU budget for 2021–2027. The meeting of the European Council, called by its President Charles Michel on 20 February and attended by Member State leaders, was an important element of this process.

In negotiations concerning the new budget, the Polish government prioritises the issue of appropriate spending on two treaty policies: the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Cohesion Policy.

Fair distribution of funds by cultivated farmland

The government stresses the need to fully level out the distribution of direct payments between EU Member States. This is a condition for a fair distribution of funds allocated towards supporting European farmers. More so because of the fact that entities operating on a single agricultural market have to adhere to the same EU standards of production which are continually raised.

Only the area of farmland cultivated in a sustainable way can serve as a modern parameter for calculating direct payments, as it can contribute to overcoming the challenges of mitigating climate change and improving the environment (soil, water, air).

How was the coalition formed?

Minister of Agriculture Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski is actively lobbying for levelling out payments for farmers, by presenting the situation at the forum of the EU Council for Agriculture and Fisheries and in bilateral meetings with ministers from other Member States and EU institutions (Commissioner for Agriculture, Members of the European Parliament), presenting Poland’s key postulates concerning the future shape of the CAP and its financing. On the one hand, this builds understanding for Polish expectations, and on the other – facilitates searching for more states whose position is similar.

The issues of levelling out payments were raised in bilateral discussions with the ministers of Germany, Portugal, Croatia, Austria, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Bulgaria and Romania, as well as during meetings with the chairs of the European Parliament's budget and agriculture committees. The minister also gave a detailed account of Poland’s position to the Polish members of the European Parliament during his visit to Brussels. Minister Ardanowski raised the subject of the CAP reform and its financing in the new financial perspective during several meetings with the new Commissioner of Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski. Finally, the minister persuaded Pekka Pesonen, Secretary General of Copa-Cogeca – the most important organisation representing farmers and agricultural cooperatives in Europe – to support Poland’s expectations with regard to the CAP reform.

Joint position of the Central and Eastern European Countries

Eight countries signed the Polish declaration in Warsaw, which will then be made available to other EU Member States who will soon have the opportunity to declare their support for it.