Poland in the EU

The aim of both strategies is to make EU food systems a global standard for sustainability and to take urgent action to protect and restore Europe's biodiversity.

In particular, ministers exchanged views on the main challenges and opportunities in achieving the strategies' targets. They also discussed the suggested additional measures by the Commission to make the implementation of the future Common Agricultural Policy more efficient in order to help achieve the ambition of the Green Deal. Finally, ministers presented their views on whether the new proposal for the EU budget 2021 - 2027, including the new European Recovery Instrument (“Next Generation EU”), is adequately designed to fulfil the ambition of the Farm to Fork and the Biodiversity strategies.

Ministers welcomed the ambition to strengthen the role of farmers in the supply chain. They stressed that the ambitious goals of the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies had to be matched by an ambitious budget. Many delegations expressed their concerns that insufficient funds may put at risk the financial viability of EU farmers and stressed that the proposed CAP budget allocations were not in line with the strategies' targets.

Ministers expressed concerns that the efforts made to reach the goals designed to limit the use of pesticides and antibiotics may reduce EU farmers' competitiveness in the global market. They also asked the Commission to take into account specific national circumstances. Ministers agreed that the European Green Deal was a step in the right direction, but acknowledged that there were significant differences in the initial positions of the member states, which had to be taken into account, and that uniform approaches should be avoided.