Takac: EU Agriculture Ministers in Brussels again Discussed Funding

Brussels, 26 January (TASR-correspondent) - Financing the common agricultural policy after 2028 was high on the agenda at Monday's EU Agriculture Council meeting in Brussels, Agriculture Minister Richard Takac (Smer-SD) stated following the meeting. The Slovak agriculture minister confirmed that he had a bilateral meeting in Brussels with his German counterpart, with whom he agreed on the need to increase funding for the common agricultural policy in the next long-term EU budget. He added that the German minister agrees with Slovakia's position that capping direct payments must remain voluntary, as Germany, like Slovakia, has a problem with the size of cultivated agricultural land. Finding funding for the agricultural sector after 2028 was one of the main points of discussion among ministers. They also emphasised the voluntary nature of capping direct payments and the fact that the common agricultural policy must also include the food sector. According to Takac, the agriculture ministers supported stricter controls on imports from third countries, which is a key issue for Slovakia in relation to imports of agricultural commodities from Ukraine. "These are imports from Mercosur countries, but of course we also have agreements with other third countries. This means supporting regular monitoring and audits in these third countries, as well as supporting greater controls in terms of food safety," he said, noting that these are countries from Asia, such as China and Thailand, now South America, and also Ukraine. am