Belgian Agriculture Minister David Clarinval reported on Tuesday, March 26, on progress in meeting the demands of angry European farmers, but added that the EU should continue to seek all possible solutions to calm farmers' concerns. The Belgian minister was quoted by Reuters , UNN reported.
I think it's fair to say that our debate today has shown that our work on the needs of the agricultural sector has made significant progress, but is not yet complete. This is also what Member States have indicated. That is why we invite the (EU) Commission to continue to look for all possible solutions.
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David Clarinval, Belgium's agriculture minister, which holds the EU presidency for six months, said the work on the issue is "not over" after a meeting of agriculture ministers from the bloc's 27 members in Brussels on Tuesday.
The preliminary agreement is a balanced framework that we are working on. The (Belgian Permanent Presidency) (EU) is consulting with member states and other institutional actors to try to find an acceptable compromise. I'm not saying that we didn't intend to change it, I'm just saying that this is the basis of the discussions and tomorrow, at COREPER (Committee of Permanent Representatives), the points will be discussed and all the time the discussions and consultations with the states and institutions are ongoing. So it is quite possible that there could still be changes.
EU members are looking for a compromise on how to give Ukraine another year of duty-free access to their markets, while at the same time appeasing farmers who have been protesting for months against EU environmental rules and cheap imports.
In particular, France and Poland are pushing for stricter restrictions on food imports from Ukraine to prevent what they called the destabilization of EU agricultural markets and further upsetting of outraged farmers.
The European Commission has proposed suspending duties on Ukrainian agricultural products for next year until June 2025, with a new 'emergency brake' for poultry, eggs, and sugar that would trigger tariffs if imports exceed the average levels of 2022 and 2023. Oats, corn, and cereals and honey have since been added to the list.
Of course, it will be necessary to continue to closely monitor problems in specific agricultural sectors. I am particularly thinking of high commodity prices, as well as extreme weather conditions and weak agricultural revenues. It is then important to work on short- and long-term measures aimed at promoting a sustainable production model that allows European food systems to better withstand crises.
Speaking at the press conference, EU Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski emphasized the importance of state aid for farmers who are experiencing the effects of the war in Ukraine.
Unfortunately, our farmers have lost from this liberalization of trade with Ukraine. And the mechanisms of state aid, we do not have enough crisis reserve in the Common Agricultural Policy. We use the crisis reserve to support farmers who suffered from the consequences of the war in Ukraine, but this is not enough, and state aid is absolutely necessary. Of course, in the long run it is not a good solution because it can create inequality in the market, but in these unusual circumstances it is absolutely necessary.