Trade-related agricultural issues

Based on the information provided by the Commission, the Ministers discussed the issue of agricultural trade. During the debate, they also became familiar with Poland’s proposal to include in the new Regulation on autonomous trade measures (ATM) for Ukraine effective solutions protecting against the excessive agricultural import from Ukraine and adverse effects on the agricultural sector of the EUR and its Member States, in particular, on the countries bordering on Ukraine.

Position of Poland

– Poland supports Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression. Naturally, this help should come in the form that does not involve any threats to the economic and social situation in the agricultural sector in the EU Member States – said Minister Czesław Siekierski.

The Polish Minister of Agriculture stressed that the introduction of autonomous trade measures (ATM) had been one of the factors that resulted in serious distortion in the EU agricultural markets, particularly, in the frontline countries.

– We must also remember that farmers’ protests are taking place in many countries. Strikes are also announced to take place tomorrow in Poland. One of the reasons is the excessive inflow of EU goods - first, this is experienced by the neighbouring countries, then by the others. At the same time, we must not forget that some EU countries need Ukrainian goods – added the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Dialogue on the future of agriculture in Europe

The EU Ministers of Agriculture opted for strategic dialogue on the future of agriculture in Europe. President Ursula von der Leyen announced the commencement of that dialogue on 25 January.

The Ministers also pointed to the need to simplify the CAP and to ensure a policy that was more stable and comprehensible to farmers.

Position of Poland

– In the context of the considerations on the future of agriculture in Europe, we should listen to the opinions of farmers and strategic dialogue is necessary – emphasised Minister Siekierski.

The head of Polish agriculture also mentioned the protests of farmers who demanded a revision of the CAP. He pointed out, inter alia, the burden of costs related to climate change and the uncontrolled inflow of goods and the bankruptcy of farms related to the unprofitability of agricultural production.

– Farmers seem to be the weakest link in the farm to fork chain – they have no influence on the prices of inputs, fertilisers, machinery and the prices at which they sell finished products. Ministers and Commissioners should talk to farmers, while listening to their needs – said the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Czesław Siekierski.

– The agricultural sector is a very sensitive sector. This results from its specificity - it depends on climatic conditions. Through appropriate financial instruments, we must ensure the security of farmers so as not to lead them to bankruptcy. What is needed is an in-depth analysis of the past of the Common Agricultural Policy so as to determine its future – stressed the head of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Resilient European forests

The first opinions the Regulation establishing a monitoring framework for resilient European forests were exchanged during the meeting. The Ministers focused on the added value elements of the proposal and welcomed its overall objective – providing robust and harmonised data on European forests so as to increase resilience to climate change and to counteract biodiversity loss.

Position of Poland

Minister Czesław Siekierski stressed that the greatest added value of the proposal, resulting from the need to monitor forests at the EU level, is the harmonisation of data on the European Union scale. – This will enable a better comparison of information about forests between the Member States, and thus better cooperation with regard to the implementation of sustainable forest management – said the Minister.

The head of the Polish Ministry of Agriculture also pointed out that monitoring activities were expensive and any new solutions would lead to a rise in costs on the part of the Member States. Therefore, it is necessary to obtain financial support from the EU budget for measures resulting from the increased scope of forest monitoring.

Role of the CAP in maintaining high quality of food products

The Austrian delegation, supported by several Member States, including Poland, presented a note in which it raised the issue of the need for a broad discussion on allowing laboratory-grown meat to be placed on the market. It pointed out that the potential consequences of placing such products on the market included not only the impact on human health and additional energy inputs, but also possible consequences for the agricultural economy.

Position of Poland

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Czesław Siekierski pointed to the important issue of the potential threat that the production of laboratory-grown meat could pose to the traditional agricultural production and European model of agriculture.

– The introduction of such solutions may violate the interests of Polish farmers who are already reporting their concerns – added the head of the Polish Ministry of Agriculture.

Minister Siekierski stated that the safety of such food for health and the impact of the production process on the natural environment may also raise concerns. – The initiative of the requesting countries is important and therefore it is required to conduct a discussion on this issue – stressed the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Meetings on the sidelines of the Council meeting

On the sidelines of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council, Minister Czesław Siekierski took part in the meetings with the Ministers of Agriculture of the EU Member States. The Minister was accompanied by Bogusław Wijatyk, Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

On the initiative of the Polish Minister of Agriculture, a meeting was held with the Austrian Federal Minister Norbert Totschnig. The Ministers discussed the challenges currently facing agriculture. They paid particular attention to the issues of the excessive import of agricultural products from Ukraine. Minister Siekierski stressed that unity and cooperation of all EU Member States was very important in this regard. Both Ministers also presented their expectations regarding a new regulation extending autonomous trade measures (ATM) in the import from Ukraine.

During the meeting of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Czesław Siekierski with the Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium David Clarinval, the current state of negotiations on the regulation on new genomic techniques (NGT) was discussed, among other issues. The meeting was initiated by the Belgian Presidency.

The meeting of the GV4 Ministers of Agriculture (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary) was devoted to discussing the positions of individual states in relation to the main points in the Council agenda, in particular, the ATM Regulation and strategic dialogue in agriculture.