At the beginning, the Commissioner notes that he took office at a difficult time – in the first months of 2020, we were affected by the COVD-19 pandemic, which caused huge disruptions in the functioning of the entire food sector. In 2021, European agriculture was hit by another crisis related to the sharp increase in the costs of energy and fertilizers, which is the result of conscious actions by Russia preparing for aggression against Ukraine. Fertilizer prices, especially nitrogen fertilizers, have increased 2-3 times. In February 2022, Russia's illegal aggression against Ukraine began, which had huge consequences for the agricultural sector. This is not the first time that Russia has used food as a weapon, destabilizing world markets, especially wheat. The number of climate disasters has also increased in these years. Farmers in many EU countries have been hit by dramatic floods, droughts, forest fires, sudden frosts and damage costing billions of euros. Finally, European farmers have faced and continue to face the consequences of animal disease outbreaks such as bird flu and African swine fever. Despite these enormous challenges, European farmers have overcome difficulties and ensured food security for all. I believe that the actions described below have played an important role in supporting our farmers in carrying out this task – at a time when such support was needed most – notes the commissioner in the document.
Achievements of Commissioner Wojciechowski
In the document, the Commissioner summarizes the main activities on which he focused and which he managed to implement.
Below we publish the commissioner's words:
1. Increasing EU agricultural funds for 2021-2027
In May 2020, on my initiative, the Commission proposed to increase the CAP budget by EUR 26 billion (from the originally planned EUR 365 billion to EUR 391 billion) and finally, in July 2020, the European Council adopted an increase of EUR 22 billion (from EUR 365 billion to EUR 387 billion). This increase in EU agricultural funds for 2021-2027 compared to the original proposal in 2018 was a major achievement bringing tangible financial benefits to EU farmers.
2. Fast and effective crisis response during the pandemic
At the beginning of the pandemic, many Member States unilaterally closed their borders to protect public health, despite the Commission's recommendation to adopt a coordinated regulation adapting all restrictions on the free movement of persons and goods. Transporting products, especially across borders, has been challenging for the same reasons. Many food processing plants were closed due to emergency measures or staff shortages. The hotel industry had similar problems. There were also problems with supplying supermarkets. During this time, the Commission has taken many decisions and interventions to support farmers and the food sector to effectively overcome this crisis, for example by opening green corridors for agriculture, making it easier for agricultural workers to cross borders, and market interventions have been implemented. Flexible transfer of funds for agricultural purposes related to the crisis was enabled, which was positively assessed by the European Court of Auditors in its report No. 09/2023.
3. A quick and decisive response to support EU farmers affected by the war in Russia and Ukraine
Already in the first weeks of the war, the Commission took action. Among them:
- an emergency aid reserve of EUR 500 million was released
- farmers were provided with further support in the amount of EUR 1.4 billion, including one-off lump sums of EUR 15,000-100,000 and market protection measures aimed at supporting the pork market in the face of a particularly difficult situation;
- protection of the pork market and pig production was implemented;
- subsidy programs of up to EUR 250,000 were launched for enterprises operating in the agricultural sector;
- a temporary derogation has been introduced to allow cultivation on land set aside in the EU;
- maintaining full greening payments to farmers.
Of particular importance was the quick authorization of public aid in emergency situations and the extension of its validity for farmers. Thanks to the inclusion of agriculture in the aid program over the next 2 years, 22 countries have provided farmers with a total of over EUR 10 billion in public aid, helping farmers in the most sensitive sectors and sectors that are able to withstand the crisis.
4. Effective actions in the face of the crisis against excessive imports of agricultural products from Ukraine
Reducing excessive imports of agricultural products from Ukraine and the temporary ban (from May 2 to September 15, 2023) on the import of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower from Ukraine to 5 bordering countries – was an important personal achievement. This ban (covering final imports and not restricting transit), introduced despite the initial opposition of as many as 20 EU countries, played an important and effective role in limiting excessive grain imports from Ukraine. It was the first such regional ban in the history of the EU common market.
5. Successful political compromise on CAP reform
After intense negotiations, the 2021 reform was supported by 26 countries (only Bulgaria abstained) and also received the support of a clear majority of the European Parliament.
From my point of view, the key elements of the CAP reform agreed in June 2021 are:
- greater flexibility of the CAP through the introduction of national strategic plans, which has been successful;
- possible better adjustment of the CAP to national conditions, increasing support for small and medium-sized farms by 10% with a redistributive payment;
- creation of a system of voluntary eco-schemes and financial incentives for agriculture;
- practices that benefit the environment and climate;
- inclusion of animal welfare in eco-schemes and a 4-fold increase in animal welfare – CAP expenditure from approximately EUR 1.5 billion to over EUR 6 billion;
- simplified farmer control system and transfer of general control to the national level.
I would like to mention that the 2021 CAP reform, unlike some other EU policies, strengthens the role of Member States by delegating the development of CAP strategic plans to them at national level and by fully transferring direct control over farmers to national level.
6. Simplification of the Common Agricultural Policy, taking into account farmers' concerns
Politics, especially at EU level, are often the result of complex compromises and negotiations. When we saw that farmers were struggling after a year of implementing the new CAP, in the context of unprecedented external pressures, it was important for us to change the policy to be more pragmatic and adapted to agricultural realities. I listened carefully to the concerns expressed by EU farmers and worked hard to ensure swift and concrete action to address them. Some of the key elements of this simplification included:
- set aside of 4% of agricultural land – first relaxed, from the proposed 10% to 4%, then deferred to 3% and finally abolished as a mandatory requirement and transformed into a voluntary and paid eco-scheme for farmers;
- the obligation to rotate crops – deferred and recently replaced by crop diversification;
- flexibility of changes – instead of rigid deadlines, the deadline is set by individual countries;
- farms up to 10 ha, i.e. about two thirds of farms in the EU, were exempted from conditionality checks and from any penalties for non-compliance with CAP conditions;
- farms over 10 ha, 50% fewer inspections and extension of the possibility of waiving sanctions in the event of force majeure or exceptional circumstances;
- Exemption of farmers from penalties for non-compliance with CAP conditions retroactively applies from January 1, 2024.
7. Intensive and effective promotion of EU agri-food products
During my term of office, I undertook 6 promotional economic missions to Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, India, China and Kazakhstan. These missions were met with great interest and recognition from both EU entrepreneurs and political authorities. Business meetings held during the mission contributed to greater market opening and facilitated direct trade contacts.
In a broader sense, the effective promotion of European food contributed to the EU achieving a record and high export surplus in the food trade in 2023, amounting to over EUR 70 billion (exports EUR 228 billion, imports EUR 158 billion).
It is worth emphasizing that the European Union is the main producer and the world's largest exporter of food. The added value of agricultural production in the EU-27 in 2022 amounted to EUR 222 billion (44% more than in 2015). The production potential of European agriculture and the entire food system makes it possible to ensure food self-sufficiency for 460 million EU citizens and to export the food produced to third countries with the highest quality, health and environmental standards in the world.
EU exports of agricultural products and food products to third countries in 2022 amounted to EUR 229 billion, EUR 58 billion more than their imports to the EU market. In 2023, the EU's export surplus of agri-food products with third countries rose to a record level of over EUR 70 billion.
The EU remains self-sufficient in key agricultural products such as cereals, meat, milk, vegetables and fruit. However, given the significant surplus of EU production over EU consumption for major agricultural products – such as cereals, meat, milk and wine – and taking into account the highest quality of EU agricultural products, promotional measures should be taken.
To sum up
Although my mandate has been dominated by crises, I believe it has been defined by responses. Many of the most important answers are presented above. But this list is not exhaustive. Moreover, the mandate was not only reactive, but also proactive. In addition to the activities mentioned above, it is worth adding a number of other significant achievements, such as:
- development and adoption of the strategic document: "Long-term vision for the development of rural areas until 2040", development and adoption of the strategic document "Action Plan for the Development of Organic Agriculture";
- adopting legislative changes facilitating the registration of products with a geographical indication and strengthening the protection of geographical indications in agreements with third countries;
- creation of an EU observatory on costs and margins in the agricultural sector in order to:
- increasing the transparency of agricultural markets and strengthening the position of farmers in the supply chain,
- effective support for farmers with agricultural reserves in the light of market crises caused by the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and climate disasters,
- achieving significant improvements in the regularity of CAP spending, the error rate in CAP spending has fallen below the materiality threshold of 2%, in line with European Court of Auditors guidelines.
I am proud of these achievements, but I am also grateful for the cooperation I have received during my time in office, without which these achievements would not be possible.
I would like to thank my services in the European Commission, as well as my political partners: Members of the European Parliament and Members of the Council, the Ministers of Agriculture of the Member States, the successive presidencies – Finnish, Croatian, German, Portuguese, Slovenian, French, Czech, Swedish, Spanish, Belgian and Hungarian – for their intensive, constructive and fruitful cooperation for 5 years. I would like to thank once again the European Commission for the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee for their contribution and commitment.
I would also like to thank the media, especially journalists and publicists specializing in agricultural issues, for their close interest and for informing the public about the Commission's work in the field of agriculture. I am grateful to all the social partners, in particular the European agricultural organizations, as well as to all those who shared the opinions – sometimes critical, but always inspiring – of the Commission during my term of office.
Finally, and most importantly, I would like to thank the farmers of the European Union.
During my term of office, I have been fortunate to meet farmers from all Member States and from all walks of life – in fact, I have made it a priority to visit farmers during my missions to EU countries. These classes were always important and instructive, even when – in reality, especially when – critical points emerged or objections were raised.
I am also grateful for the farmers' protests, especially those in 2023-24, which had a significant impact on many changes in agricultural policy, in particular the simplification of the agricultural policy implemented in 2024. First of all, in these difficult times, I am grateful that nowhere in European cities had no shortage of food. For this, farmers and all food sector workers deserve great thanks, which I express to them many times and now I express it again.
We have been given opportunities to learn from the challenges of the last five years. And given the challenges that may arise in the coming years, we cannot afford to waste these opportunities. As societies, we need to reassess how we value our food, the land from which it is produced, and those who work to produce it.
Farmers, with the support of the CAP, have repeatedly demonstrated their value by feeding Europe over the last 60 years. This value has been further reinforced during the challenges and crises of the last five years. It was to this value that Professor Walter Hallstein referred over 60 years ago, justifying the so-called creation of the Common Agricultural Policy:
“We know what the farming community means for Europe, not only from an economic point of view, but morally, socially and humanly… As modern society develops, it is essential that: the farmer and his family, with their independence and human values, enable us to survive."
In this spirit, the CAP was established as a fundamental pillar of the European Union. And in this spirit we should continue the CAP and our Union.
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