(Updates with information on a new meeting between EU Commissioners and the agricultural sector)
Brussels, December 18 (EFECOM). – The President of the European Council, António Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, received representatives of the agricultural sector in the Council this Thursday, amid the protests that blocked Brussels against the CAP cuts in the future multiannual budget and the impact of agreements such as that of Mercosur.
According to European sources, the atmosphere of the meeting that community leaders held with COPA-COGECA – two organizations that represent farmers’ associations and cooperatives at the European level – was positive and productive.
In a message posted on their respective social media profiles, Costa and Von der Leyen said the EU would give its “confidence and support” to the agricultural sector, especially in these “times of uncertainty.”
“With strong and sustainable support in the EU budget, targeted support for small businesses, family businesses and young farmers, as well as simplifications to make everyday life easier for farmers,” the European representatives assured.
On the one hand, farmers in the Belgian capital denounced today that the proposal for the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the period 2028-2034 will cut specific aid for the agricultural sector.
In addition, they warned about the risks of the trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay).
In the afternoon, EU Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen met with farmers’ representatives; Trade, Maros Sefcovic; Budget, Piotr Serafin and Environment, Jessika Roswall.
Community sources said that these four politicians “continued their engagement with a delegation of farmers and representatives of the agri-food sector from all parts of the European Union, listening carefully to the concerns of interested parties on trade, proposals for the next multiannual financial framework and the Common Agricultural Policy, as well as environmental policy.”
“The Commissioners reiterated their commitment to maintaining an open and constructive dialogue to ensure that policy remains based on the realities of the agri-food sector,” they said.
Sefcovic wrote on his social media that at the meeting he “reaffirmed that the EU trade agreements put the agri-food sector at the center and protect its global leadership role.”
“In 2024, 235,000 million euros will be exported, with a surplus of 64,000 million euros. We are listening. We are acting,” he explained. EFECOM
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