Hungary, Spain and Belgium will give the presidential trio of the European Council from July, and it is their responsibility to ensure a reliable, safe environment for EU farmers, and to provide solutions to the sector’s problems in the 18 months hence, Agriculture Minister Istvan Nagy said on Monday in Madrid, after meeting his Spanish and Belgian counterparts.
In a system laid down in the Lisbon Treaty in 2009, member states holding the presidency work together closely in groups of three. The trios set long-term goals during the 18 months when they take turns to hold the EU presidency. The trio of Spain, Belgium and Hungary will take over in July 2023.
Spain will hold the rotating presidency from July 2023, Belgium will take over in January 2024, and Hungary in July 2024.
“In our programme, we wish to balance farmers’ competitiveness with preserving our created world so progress and environmental protection are both sustainable,” he said. He also highlighted the importance of protecting the inner markets, European food security and sovereignty.
The trio’s priority will be the progress of the EU and its citizens, and its focus points will be food security, the war in Ukraine and droughts in the EU, Nagy said.
Within that framework, Spain will focus on developing an agriculture resistent to climate change, and Belgium on animal health and innovation, the ministers said.
Nagy said that Hungary’s priority will be to highlight crisis management in talks on the Common Agricultural Policy after 2027. It will also focus on R+D+I in the sector to ensure food security, he said.
