site.btaBulgaria and Six Other EU Countries Call for Full Convergence of Direct Payments to Farmers

Bulgarian Agriculture and Food Minister Georgi Tahov presented to the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council a joint declaration by Bulgaria and six other EU member states calling for full external convergence of direct payments (i.e. harmonization of payments per hectare) across member states in the context of the common agricultural policy (CAP). The declaration of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia points to discrepancies across the bloc creating unequal market conditions, the Bulgarian Agriculture and Food Ministry reported on Tuesday.

During the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting in Luxembourg, 26 member states, including Bulgaria, supported the conclusions of the Hungarian EU Council Presidency on the future of CAP after 2027. Tahov said the conclusions provide an occasion to draw attention to the need for fair distribution of payments to farmers, which is sensitive for his country.

Bulgaria backed Romania's proposal to raise the individual aid cap within the EU Temporary Framework for state aid measures in response to the Ukraine conflict, applicable to the primary agricultural sector. The Romanian idea is to increase the individual aid cap to EUR 560,000 and to extend the validity of the Temporary Framework at least until June 30, 2025.