Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Florin-Ionuț BARBU, met today, May 13, 2024, at the MADR headquarters, with Janusz WOJCIECHOWSKI, European Commissioner for Agriculture. The meeting took place in the context of the official visit the commissioner is conducting in Romania, from May 13 to May 14, 2024.

Alongside the minister were the state secretaries Violeta MUȘAT and Adrian PINTEA, the Secretary-General Mihai PUȚINTEI, the Director-General of the Directorate-General for Rural Development, Dana REBEGA, directors of specialized departments within MADR, as well as the Director-General of APIA, Corel TURCESCU, and Cristiana CONSTANTINESCU, director at AFIR.

The main topics on the agenda of the discussions included: extending the period and increasing the ceiling of the temporary crisis and transition framework for state aid measures to support the economy, following Russia's aggression against Ukraine, increasing support and supplementing the ceiling for de minimis aid in the agricultural sector, as well as the derogation for neonicotinoids to protect spring crops.

During the discussions, Commissioner Wojciechowski appreciated the progress that our country has made as an agri-food producer in the last decade, considering it essential for Romanian farmers to continue producing in large quantities and with the most sustainable methods, for the long-term benefit of regional economies, the EU market, and global food security.

One of the points on the agenda concerned the eligibility of purchasing breeding animals, in this regard Minister BARBU emphasized that the development of animal husbandry is essential to valorize locally obtained cereals and to increase self-sufficiency in meat, milk, and other animal origin products.

Minister Florin BARBU specified that he seeks the support of the EC regarding the need to modify EU Regulation 2115/2021, specifically Article 73, to introduce the eligibility of purchasing breeding animals.

Regarding granting derogations for the use of neonicotinoids, Minister BARBU explained: "We request the modification of Regulations 783, 784, and 785/2018 to include the exception for the use of neonicotinoids in seed treatment used for establishing crops in certain regions, where the Economic Damage Threshold of soil pests is exceeded.

It is very important for Romanian farmers to be able to continue using the 3 banned neonicotinoid substances, which have no adequate substitutes. In this regard, Romania will propose within the Council of Ministers a request to modify the above-mentioned Regulations, together with all the necessary technical arguments. It is important for Romania to continue granting derogations for neonicotinoids."

Additionally, the Romanian official emphasized the importance of adopting the following measures: a more substantial budgetary financial support for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), correlating the budget provided with the requirements for farmers and identifying solutions for a real simplification of the implementation mechanisms of this policy, the full utilization of allocated PAC funds, reducing administrative burdens in applying conditionalities by farmers in the context of exceptional difficulties and uncertainties caused by conflicts in the Union's neighborhood, extreme weather phenomena, and in a difficult economic context, postponing the application of social conditionalities, which puts additional pressure on farmers and requires more time to be implemented.

At the same time, the MADR official highlighted the opportunity to evaluate the following essential elements for agricultural producers in our country: equal support for all farmers in EU member states, maintaining a consistent budget for direct payments from Pillar I, which are vital in ensuring incomes and food security.

In the future CAP, it is essential to ensure a consistent budget for direct payments, providing the same level of payments to all farmers in the EU, which are vital in ensuring incomes and food security.

The European Commissioner for Agriculture was accompanied by the Head of Cabinet, Andreas Schneider, and the delegation of the European Commission included Mara Roman, the interim head of the European Commission Representation in Romania, along with other decision-makers from the European Commission Representation in Romania. (Photo: MADR)