France and Bulgaria team up for CAP
A French agricultural expert has been appointed as an advisor to the Bulgarian Agriculture and Food Ministry, and a bilateral work group has been launched to develop common strategies in Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) negotiations.
France and Bulgaria believe the CAP should be kept simple and divided in two pillars to maintain Europe’s agricultural competitiveness. They want member states to have flexibility in the payment of subsidies, allowing them to adapt to the increased price volatility on global markets.
“The CAP reform must also strengthen producers’ negotiation power. When it comes to recognising producer organisations, the absence of leading position suggested by the [European] Commission must be reviewed, as it goes against this objective,” the two ministers said in a joint statement.
They added that greening the CAP could strengthen its legitimacy, but that measures needed to stay simple and indicative and take budget restrictions into consideration.
