After the elections to the European Parliament and the election of new MEPs, it is time for the current politicians to summarize their terms of office. What is the vision of agriculture in the coming years for the outgoing EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski? First of all, it points to the need to increase the budget of the Common Agricultural Policy.
I think that farmers should put pressure on politicians to think about a really larger budget for the Common Agricultural Policy, argues Wojciechowski and adds:
The challenges facing agriculture are enormous, and this budget has been devalued. Inflation has caused its real value to be much lower than it was when it was planned.
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Wojciechowski: It was farmers, not politicians, who forced changes in the law
The budget should be increased by at least 50%
As Wojciechowski argues, it is reasonable to expect that the budget will be increased by at least 50%. Additionally, its structure should change.
The budget should allocate an amount for a disaster fund, i.e. the EU should have money at its disposal for a quick response when there is a flood, drought, frost or – as recently in Poland – when there are sudden crises – says the commissioner.
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Redistributive payment for mixed farms. Is this a way to maintain animal production?
It is necessary to change the structure of the CAP budget
According to the commissioner, the budget should be divided into two parts. Countries should have a fixed amount at their disposal, adequate to their size, so that they can quickly respond to emerging problems using EU money. The second part should be at the disposal of the EU and should be activated when there is a wider crisis, covering a larger number of countries.
It is possible to do this, but there must be openness to a larger budget for agriculture in the European Union. It will not be an easy battle, because there is great political reluctance to increase the budget of the entire EU, and especially for agriculture, the politician argues.
Given the reluctance of Eurocrats, is it possible to increase the budget so significantly or is it just wishful thinking?
I will insist on this 50%. This is an increase that would allow agriculture to maintain at least its current potential. I'm not saying to increase it, but to maintain it. European agriculture is at a very good level. European farmers ensure food security, they are the world's largest food exporter, and this must simply be maintained and not allowed to weaken. To maintain this, we need a budget that will be increased by at least 50%, says Wojciechowski.
