President Radev discussed the Common Agricultural Policy with the European Commissioner for Agriculture
Food security should be ensured through affordable and quality local food, President says
The EU's Common Agricultural Policy should ensure food security through affordable and quality local food. This requires sustainability in the agricultural sector and conditions for local farmers to produce competitively, regardless of the crises facing Europe. This is what President Rumen Radev said at a meeting at the Presidency with European Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, who is on a working visit to Bulgaria on May 21.
Rumen Radev and Janusz Wojciechowski agreed that food security is crucial for the stability of Europe and its citizens, especially in the context of a number of challenges in recent years, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. According to both of them, standards for European production should be reciprocal with those for imports from third countries.
"It is necessary to reconsider the approaches and the timeframes in which the transition to a green economy is taking place, as well as to analyse the social and economic effects of the environmental requirements introduced in agriculture," President Rumen Radev said, pointing out that European policies in the sector should not lead to an unequal treatment of EU producers vis-à-vis their competitors from third countries.
According to the Head of State, real preconditions for the decapitalisation of farmers have emerged, condemning the EU to lasting social, societal and political instability. In his words, Europe should not depend on agricultural imports, and the inability to guarantee low prices and the quality of food products leads to a deterioration in the well-being of European citizens, the presidential administration said.
President Rumen Radev pointed out that if the current restrictions that EU farms have are maintained, then a way should be found to ensure that these requirements are also met by producers who import produce from third countries. Otherwise, the sought-after ecological effect is rendered meaningless, the Presidency added.
During the meeting, Janusz Wojciechowski, stressed the need for stronger EU policy instruments to support agriculture, especially in the context of various crises. He also noted the importance of supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in Europe.
