The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Adrian Oros, took part on June 29th 2020 at the videoconference of the EU Ministers of Agriculture and Fisheries, organized by the Croatian Presidency of the EU Council. Along with Minister Adrian Oros, was present the Secretary of State Gheorghe Stefan, who ensures the coordination of the fisheries sector.
The agenda of the meeting of ministers included topics of major interest such as: the progress of the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, the future CAP post-2020, sustainable fishing in the EU and fishing opportunities for 2021, the current stage of legislative proposals in agriculture and fisheries including the regulation on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, the management of EU’s fish stocks, setting catch limits and quotas.
Minister Adrian Oros appreciated that important progress has been made on the post-2020 CAP reform package and said that Romania expects that during the German Presidency sufficient progress will be made technically and politically to establish an agreement on the final texts, in parallel with the approval of the new Multiannual Financial Framework, which will ensure adequate funding for farmers.
Minister Oros mentioned that “in the context of the CAP reform, taking into account the Multiannual Financial Framework for 2021-2027, I believe that the transition period should be 2 years, given the stage of negotiations and the two strategies: Farm to Fork and Biodiversity”.
With regard to the CAP budget, the Minister emphasized that, despite the recent proposal for improvement, this is still below the level required for the current period, given the increasing requirements and obligations that farmers must meet, both as a result of the new CAP reform and from the ambitious targets of the two strategies.
With regard to the Common Market Organization, the official conveyed the opportunity to double the commitments proposed by the Commission in a flexible framework adapted to the current realities and needs of the producers at European level. At the same time, the Minister reiterated the need to activate support mechanisms for pork and poultry sectors, which are severely affected by the pandemic.
Regarding the adoption of the CAP reform, Minister Oros stated that it is necessary to consider: further external convergence in order to establish a level playing field between European farmers, a voluntary system of capping direct payments that would allow Member States to adopt the most appropriate decision for their specific conditions, continuation of coupled support for sectors facing difficulties, maintaining transitional national aid at 50%.
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Concerning the fisheries sector, State Secretary Gheorghe Ștefan endorsed the European Commission's initiative and the guidelines issued for 2021, reiterating the position taken at the previous meetings, based on the consideration concerning the impact of fishing of the national fleet on Black Sea stocks, which should be assessed in close correlation with the size of the fleet.
Romania acts at regional level within the General Commission for Fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea, on which the possible annual level of exploitation of the species is based, the results of the research submitted providing the Commission with the scientific basis for adopting the recommendations and regulations, which are addressed to all the countries bordering the Black Sea. In this context, the State Secretary Gheorghe Stefan thanked the Commission for its special involvement in the Black Sea working group.
Romania, as Bulgaria, considers that fishermen face difficulties, all the more so as the situation of stocks in the region is particularly determined by the fishing activities of third countries, which do not have the same obligations strictly related to the level of the fishing fleet, monitoring and fisheries control, such as those assumed by EU Member States, but also due to regulatory differences at national level.
In terms of the Fisheries Control Regulation, Romania claims that vessels under 10/12 meters should be exempted from submitting the electronic fishing logbook and that remote electronic monitoring should be implemented provided that funding sources are identified for the purchase of the necessary equipment.