site.btaPresident Radev: Common Agricultural Policy Must Guarantee Food Security through Affordable and Quality Food Produced in the EU

President Rumen Radev conferred here on Tuesday with visiting  European Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, Radev's Press Secretariat reported. 

The two discussed discussed the competitiveness of EU farmers and how they stand compared to their their competitors from third countries.

The EU Common Agricultural Policy should guarantee food security through affordable and quality local foods. This requires sustainability in the agricultural sector and conditions for local farmers to produce competitive produce, regardless of the crises Europe is facing, President Rumen Radev said at a meeting with Wojciechowski.

Rumen Radev and Janusz Wojciechowski agreed that food security is crucial for the stability of Europe and its citizens, especially in the context of a number of challenges in recent years, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. According to both of them, standards for European food production should be reciprocal with those for imports from third countries.

"It is necessary to reconsider the approaches and the deadlines for the transition to a green economy, as well as to analyse the social and economic effects of the introduced environmental requirements in agriculture," Rumen Radev said and pointed out that the European policies in the sector should not lead to EU producers being in an unequal position compared to their competitors from third countries. In this regard, the Bulgarian head of State highlighted the real prerequisites for the decapitalisation of agricultural producers, which condemn the EU to lasting social, societal and political instability. In the President's words, Europe should not depend on agricultural imports, and the inability to guarantee low prices and the quality of food products leads to a deterioration in the well-being of European citizens.

The President pointed out that if the current restrictions on EU farms were to be maintained, then a way must be found to ensure that producers importing produce from third countries also complъ with these requirements. Otherwise, the desired environmental effect would be lost.

During the meeting, Janusz Wojciechowski stressed the need for stronger EU policy instruments to support agriculture, especially in the context of various crises. He also noted the importance of supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in Europe.

Earlier in the day, the visiting EU Commissioner conferred with caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev and Agriculture and Food Minister Georgi Tahov.