The Common Agricultural Policy is a crucial tool for maintaining farming incomes, supporting small and medium-sized farms and preserving the resilience of European agriculture, Rural Development and Foods Minister Costas Tsiaras said while participating in the Agrifish Council. The meeting was held on Monday.
The minister also welcomed the European Commission’s efforts to direct funds at those for whom farming was their main occupation.
Tsiaras said that the sum saved by lessening support and the upper limit must remain within CAP and be directed to priority sectors, such as regions with natural limitations, crops that are crucial for food security, younger farmers and generational renewal, risk management tools.
At the same time, he underlined that the abolition of the redistributive payment makes it imperative to achieve genuine simplification in the new CAP architecture. “ For us, it is clear that the level of direct payments will remain at least stable, that sufficient and committed resources for rural development and investments will be secured, and that critical infrastructure, such as irrigation and land-improvement works, will continue to be financed under CAP,” he noted.
He also expressed concern about the reduction in funding, stressing that such a development carries the risk of marginalising rural development. “ Greece believes that the CAP, after 2027, must remain a truly common, strong, and fair policy, capable of guaranteeing food security, supporting farmers’ incomes, keeping rural areas alive, and delivering on the promise that no farmer and no region will be left behind,” he added.
Tsiaras noted that the EU needs a trade policy that combines ambition with realism and protects European interests. He placed particular emphasis on three points regarding the protection of Geographical Indications in all negotiations.
Regarding the revision of the Common Fisheries Policy, the minister supported the statement of seven member-states and called for the swift start of its revision, aiming for a more modern and sustainable policy that meets the needs of coastal communities.
