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- Ελληνικά
The Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Dr Maria Panayiotou, attended the Council of Ministers of Agriculture and Fisheries of the European Union (EU), which took place in Luxembourg on 24 June 2024. The main issues addressed by the Council were the attempt to adopt Council Conclusions on the future of agriculture in the EU and the European Commission's Communication on sustainable fisheries in the EU.
The Conclusions on the future of agriculture in the EU could not be adopted due to disagreements of some Member States. Dr Panagiotou first welcomed the fact that the conclusions make reference to island Member States and their specificities, which should be respected. Following her intervention, the Minister asked that the wording in the Conclusions on "fair distribution of direct payments between Member States" take into account the parameters that differentiate the practice of agriculture in the various Member States. With regard to Cyprus in particular, Dr Panagiotou asked, among other things, that plans for the future of agriculture and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) take into account the value of agricultural land, production costs, transport costs and the extent to which all these affect the viability of farmers.
Regarding fisheries, Dr Panagiotou welcomed the European Commission's Communication on sustainable fisheries in the EU and stressed the need to strengthen fisheries management in the Mediterranean, the energy transition of the fishing fleet and the need to ensure a level playing field. He further stressed the importance of the effective implementation of measures against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, an issue on which Cyprus faces significant challenges due to the illegal actions of Turkey.
In the context of the Council, Croatia referred to the recent damage to agricultural production caused by adverse weather conditions. Noting that Cyprus is also frequently affected by severe weather events, Dr Panagiotou stressed the need for additional financial support measures for farmers and supported Croatia's request.
Addressing Bulgaria's request for measures to facilitate the absorption of available funds for Rural Development, the Minister stressed the importance of ensuring the full absorption of EU funds to support the farming community and reiterated the suggestion to use unused CAP funds to address crises in agriculture.
In the margins of the meeting, Dr Panagiotou, in a conversation with Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski, had the opportunity to invite him to participate in the Ministerial Conference of the EU Mediterranean Member States (MED9), which will take place in Cyprus in the framework of the Cyprus Presidency of MED9 between 1-3/9/2024, with the main topic of discussion being the impact of water scarcity and drought on food security and the preservation of the social fabric of rural areas. The Commissioner gladly accepted the invitation and confirmed his presence at MED9.
(BAT/AF/EATH)
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