Major topics of the meeting

The Ministers of Agriculture of Poland and France met to discuss the prospects of bilateral cooperation, plans and priorities of the future Polish Presidency of the EU Council, the Common Agricultural Policy, the issues of future enlargement of the European Union, the EU-Mercosur agreement and the situation in agricultural markets.

Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU

Minister Czesław Siekierski stressed that due to a number of serious challenges facing the EU, the foundation of the Polish Presidency’s activities in 2025 would be broadly understood security, including food security.

– During the six-month Polish Presidency of the Council, our main goal will be to improve the competitiveness of agriculture and the agri-food sector and to increase the resilience to crises. These are key issues – both to empower European farmers and stabilise their income as well as to guarantee food security – reaffirmed Minister Czesław Siekierski.

Common Agricultural Policy

Minister Siekierski pointed to key issues in the field of the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

– Poland supports the CAP that is result-oriented, strong, flexible, two-pillar, ensuring food security and resilience, while the Treaty objectives of the CAP remain important. The CAP budget must reflect the key role of the agri-food sector and rural areas in building the EU’s security and resilience in relation to environmental, climate and geopolitical challenges – stressed Minister Siekierski.

The head of the Polish Ministry of Agriculture stressed that further solutions were necessary to empower farmers and increase their negotiating power.

– There is a need for more flexible and efficient risk management mechanisms that will help better respond to price fluctuations and other unexpected market changes – appealed Minister Siekierski.

EU-Mercosur Agreement

The Ministers of Agriculture of Poland and France expressed serious reservations as to the trade part of the draft agreement with the Mercosur countries in its current form. They pointed to the absence of proper transparency of the negotiation process and the unequal level playing field between EU producers and producers of agricultural goods from the Mercosur countries.

– In these countries, production standards are different from those applicable in the EU, in terms of sustainable development – animal welfare, climate protection and environment – reminded the Polish Minister of Agriculture.

Products of Ukraine

Minister Siekierski informed that from Poland’s point of view, negotiations with Ukraine on the further liberalisation of trade in agricultural commodities might be even more important for the agricultural sector than the agreement with Mercosur countries.

– During the negotiations, we expect to develop solutions that permanently protect against an excessive growth of import from Ukraine and market disruptions and provide a level playing field as regards Ukrainian agricultural products – stressed Minister Czesław Siekierski.

Both Ministers agreed that the EU enlargement required structural changes necessary to secure the further development of EU agriculture in the new conditions and could not take place to the detriment of EU producers.

Other common topics

The Ministers of Agriculture of Poland and France confirmed their common views on many important issues related to the agricultural policy, including the need for measures for generational exchange in the countryside, creating friendly conditions for living and working in the countryside, empowering farmers in the supply chain or managing the population of protected animals.

Further cooperation

The Ministers declared their readiness to intensify Polish-French cooperation in many areas and to have a constructive dialogue within the framework of the Polish Presidency of the EU Council.