EU politicians believe the current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is not prepared enough for periods of intense difficulty and producers need to be given more tools to prepare themselves for hard times.
This was the result of today’s (Sept 5) informal meeting in the Tallinn Creative Hub (known as Kultuurikatel) where European ministers concluded that the crisis reserve system has to be revised and the way it is implemented needs to be made easier, more flexible and faster.
According to the Minister for Rural Affairs of Estonia, Tarmo Tamm, who chaired the meeting, CAP needs to offer farmers tools that will improve their readiness for times of crisis and increase the competitiveness of producers in open market conditions.
It was thought that risk management measures have to take the specifics of different member states into consideration.
Ministers also agreed that direct supports have an important role in securing stable incomes in the agricultural sector.
The main topic was “Risk management: Empowering our farmers with effective tools to manage risks post-2020”. Delegations from 28 member states and representatives of the European Commission, European Parliament, the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, Copa-Cogeca, and the European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA) took part in the meeting.
