“The countries of the Visegrád Group in addition to six other Central and European countries have signed a joint statement on cooperation in the interests of increasing the proportion of EU funding that can be drawn down for agricultural innovation”, Minister of State for Agriculture Zsolt Feldman announced on Wednesday. The parties also discussed the interests of the region’s countries with relation to the development of the EU’s agricultural funding system.
Mr. Feldman told the press that representatives of the agriculture ministries of the Visegrád Group countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia), Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Slovenia and of the Baltic States, had agreed to develop a joint strategy on participation in the BIOEAST programme. The politician pointed out that the European Commission has proposed a budget of ten billion euros for research & development and innovation activities relating to the agricultural food and biomass-based economy for the period 2021-2027, adding that over the past ten years the countries of Central and Eastern Europe have received less than ten percent of the EU funding available for agricultural innovation. The signatories of the joint statement declared that the region regards the appearance of innovation topics that are significant for the region within the European Commission’s work programme as important, and will be developing a macro-regional research and innovation strategy that is capable of realising common goals and common priorities, the Minister of State stressed.
Slovakian Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Gábor Csicsai pointed out that in view of the fact that the area of farmland cannot be increased, added value must appear in agricultural products in the interests of growth. Czech Deputy Minister of Agriculture Pavel Sekác said there is strong competition between the 15 developed member states of the European Union and the community’s less developed members, and solidarity is required to help reduce these disadvantages. The Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Chief Advisor, Zofia Krzyanowska pointed out that Poland is one of the founders of the BIOEAST Programme and is happy to see the increasing level of regional support behind the initiative.
According to the document signed by the ten countries, the parties support biomass-based sustainable growth in the interests of achieving high quality food and feed production. The signatories regard the inclusion of rural areas, and helping them to develop an innovative, integrative and climate-conscious growth model, as extremely important. They also proposed the development of a production system that manufactures region-specific finished products. The parties highlighted the fact that diversity is the guarantor of sustainability, and accordingly biomass-based innovations must support diversity, not restrict it.
The European Commission recently put forward a draft agriculture budget is unfavourable to Hungary both with regard to the budget and the proposed regulations. With relation to the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), Mr. Feldman said that while reducing funding the draft also includes increased burdens for both farmers and member states, and these proposals are essentially unacceptable to Hungary and the other countries in the region. It is with relation to this that the negotiating member states harmonised their positions in Bábolna. An agreement was reached with relation to several issues, the Minister of State added, including the need for less administration, lower burdens on farmers, and preserving the current level of funding. The participating countries will also be representing this position with relation to the European Commission.
((MTI / Ministry of Agriculture Press Office))
