EU agriculture ministers discuss streamlining administration

Written by BT/MTI

European Union agriculture ministers discussed ways to reduce administrative burdens at a meeting in Brussels on Monday, Zsolt Feldman, the Agriculture Ministry’s state secretary for farming and rural development said at a press conference afterward.

Feldman said that administrative issues, such as amending national strategic plans, had impacted farmers to such a degree that had made them political matters. He added that the Agriculture and Fisheries Council had discussed managing those modifications in a streamlined procedure, more flexibly.

He said a number of member states had aired concerns over an anti-dumping probe of EU dairy products launched by China, while others pointed to challenges posed by the free trade agreement between the EU and Ukraine.

In a discussion of a report on the strategic dialogue on the future of EU agriculture, member states welcomed the goal of strengthening farmers’ position in the food value chain, but expressed concern that the funding earmarked for achieving climate neutrality goals was part of the Just Transition Fund rather than common agricultural policy resources.