The Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Mr Costas Kadis, participated in the work of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council, which took place today in Brussels. He made the following statement. The first was our proposal for the creation of a European positive list of wild animals that are allowed to be traded. We believe that such a list would be very positive for biodiversity conservation issues. It is well known that trade in wild species is one of the most important threats to biodiversity. Our proposal is also very important for animal protection and welfare purposes - wild animals are born and are not meant to be kept in captivity - and, of course, it also plays a positive role in matters of public health and safety. We are very pleased to see that the proposal presented by Cyprus has been embraced by almost all the Member States of the European Union, and the European Commission has indicated to us that it will study precisely the creation of legislation which will include provision for the creation of the positive list, as proposed by Cyprus.
The second issue concerns the possibility of supporting farmers throughout the European Union by drawing on resources from the Rural Development programmes. It was a proposal put forward by Cyprus, Croatia and a number of other countries, which was embraced by the majority of countries, and today the Commission is presenting exactly its proposal to adopt what we proposed in the previous Council. Through the adoption of this proposal, especially for Cyprus, we will be able to raise an amount of EUR 5 million to support Cypriot farmers so that they can get through this difficult period in view of the large increases in the prices of fuel, fertilisers, animal feed, and the difficulties that these increases have created for them. On Friday at the Council of Ministers we will discuss how these 5 million and possibly additional resources approved by the Ministry of Finance will be allocated."
For video of the Minister's statement click here.
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