site.btaDeputy Prime Minister Donchev: Debate on Future of CAP Is Part of Debate on EU Budget

Sofia, September 21 (BTA) - The debate on EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is part of the larger debate on the EU budget, said Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev on Thursday after a forum on post-2020 CAP.

According to Donchev, talks on EU's multi-annual financial framework, the cohesion policy and CAP should be an integral part of the debate on the future of Europe. "Each argument in favour of a stronger, more concentrated budget means that we believe more in Europe as a political and economic construct. In this sense, it is a bad sign that this is the last budget we are implementing at a European level. This is the only budget which is smaller than the previous one."

The Deputy Prime Minister said that the strongest arguments refer to common European benefits.

He said that each of the EU policies is meaningful, has benefits and added value.

Donchev spoke of a proposal to postpone the debate on more serious reforms and take it out of the debate on the EU budget. He said that now the situation will be much more complex as there are subgroups among the net beneficiaries with subtler interests, which will make negotiations more difficult.

With regard to the five scenarios about the future of Europe and CAP, only one of them spells a larger CAP budget, said Donchev, adding it was not the most likely from a political point of view. He urged Bulgaria to do its part of the job. He called for discussions both at a national level and European level ahead of the budget negotiations so that all involved parties can agree their positions.