Minister Florin Barbu chaired the working session concerning consultations regarding the modification of the Strategic Plan PAC - Pillar I - EAFRD. The consultations aimed to discuss the following aspects: conditionalities, definitions, and minimum requirements for agricultural activity, active farmers, eligible hectares, and interventions in the plant and animal sectors.

During the meeting, Minister Barbu emphasized the need to clarify all aspects raised by farmers, and these clarifications would be documented in a minutes of the meeting, which would be endorsed by both the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR) and the associated stakeholders.

The most significant issues addressed included the modification of GAEC 6 - Minimum soil coverage to reduce the sensitive period from September 30th to August 31st and to introduce clarifications regarding superficial soil work that can be carried out during this period.

Additionally, in the eco-schemes for the plant sector, the sensitive period was appropriately reduced to September 15th as a result of the modification of GAEC 6.

Regarding farmers who own permanent pasture areas, a new GAEC - GAEC 10 "Prohibition of burning permanent pasture vegetation" was introduced.

Furthermore, a series of modifications to the requirements for eco-schemes in the plant and animal sectors were presented to enhance the attractiveness of these interventions, including proposing increased payment amounts for eco-schemes related to animal welfare.

In addition, a new form of coupled support for income was proposed for the corn silage sector with an estimated payment level of 246 euros/ha.

Minister Florin Barbu underscored that any modification to the Strategic Plan must be in the farmers' best interests to ensure stability and predictability in their agricultural activities.

All the proposals discussed during the consultations will be forwarded to the European Commission after their approval in the Monitoring Committee.