Spain and Germany share their positions on the future CAP
On Wednesday, in Madrid, the Minister of Food and Agriculture of the Federal Republic of Germany, Julia Klöckner, and the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, held a bilateral meeting at the Ministry’s headquarters, in which They have addressed the main issues of bilateral interest in agri-food matters.
At the meeting, both ministers exchanged their views on the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Negotiations within the Council and the European Parliament are currently the subject of intense debate. Last December the two countries, together with France, signed a “Joint Declaration on the CAP in the context of the European Green Pact”, which reflects a considerable degree of consensus on what will be the future main lines of this policy.
Germany and Spain defend an ambitious Common Agrarian Policy, especially with regard to environmental aspects, which ensures the economic stability of farms and rural areas, while meeting the expectations of European society. Both countries are in favor of greater conditionality and the obligation of eco-schemes. They advocate the establishment of uniform guidelines at Community level that guarantee equal competition throughout the EU. All this without renouncing the necessary simplification of a policy that must be easily applicable to both producers and administrations, respecting the respective structures of jurisdiction of two states with clear parallels between autonomous communities and the Länder.
Over the course of the meeting, the ministers analyzed the demands of farmers and ranchers who for months have been mobilizing in both countries to demand fair remuneration for their products that guarantees the future of agricultural activity in Europe. Both leaders have had the opportunity to present the measures that their respective governments have put in place to solve the most pressing problems in the agricultural sector, in particular to improve the functioning of the value chain, and they have pledged to continue defending the interests of the producers within the community institutions.
The German and Spanish delegations have also shared their concern about the situation of African Swine Fever (ASF). Both countries are free of ASF, both in the domestic pig and in the wild boar population. However, both countries have taken measures to prevent the introduction of the disease in their territories. The ministers wanted to reiterate the mutual support between the two countries in the application of these measures and have declared their willingness to continue collaborating in the fight against this epizootic.
At the meeting, the ministers also had the opportunity to address what will be one of the priorities of the German Presidency, which begins on July 1, such as the need to guide livestock production towards more sustainable production models, as well as inform unequivocally and transparently to European consumers about the welfare conditions of animals intended for livestock production. Planas has conveyed to his German colleague that he welcomes the proposal presented at the last Council of Ministers of the EU to harmonize at Community level the use of animal welfare labeling, while recognizing the high level of demand in this matter that they enjoy European products of animal origin
The meeting concluded with the willingness of both parties to continue collaborating on the fundamental issues that will lay the foundations for European agriculture in the 21st century.
