Over 1 billion euros to agriculture in crisis – Flexibility to ensure meaningful use

Tisková zpráva Press Release Communiqué de presse

Brusel, 23 March 2009
 

Over 1 billion euros to agriculture in crisis – Flexibility to ensure meaningful use

The impacts of the economic crisis on agriculture, evaluation of the efficiency of measures adopted so far and new proposals to help European farmers through a difficult spell were discussed by the EU Agriculture Ministers lead by Petr Gandalovic.

The package adopted by the European Council last Friday gives more than 1 billion euros to agriculture. It is up to the Member States governments to decide where to spend the money and how much to give to different sectors. The principle of flexibility was suggested and enforced by the Czech Presidency. 
 
“’The impacts of the crisis are reflected not only in the falling milk prices, but also in the fact that it is more difficult for farmers to obtain loans or in falling demand for goods,” said the Minister. Gandalovic sees the adoption of the anti-crisis package as an exceptional success of the Czech Presidency.

On Friday the Heads of State and Government gave 1.020 billion euros to the agricultural sector in the EU, out of an anti-crisis package of 5 billion euros. At the current rate of exchange the Czech Republic should receive around 870 million CZK of this sum in 2009 and 2010. Apart from improving Internet access in rural areas, the money should go to what was labelled “new challenges” in the health check of the Common Agricultural Policy that was carried out at the end of last year.

Among these challenges are climate change, water management in rural areas, renewable energy sources, biodiversity and innovation, but also support to the milk sector, which dairy cattle breeders and milk producers will definitely appreciate due to the current fall in prices. The Czech Republic, in cooperation with other Member States, argued in favour of the need for flexibility in proportion to the amounts invested in the Internet and the “new challenges”. Therefore, Minister Gandalovic appreciates that the Presidency succeeded in including flexibility in the wording of the proposal: “Flexibility for Member States, i.e. the possibility of deciding on what purpose the money will be spent, will allow for using the funds where they are needed the most, which varies in each individual state.”

The Czech Presidency is also preparing a new draft Regulation on the Rural Development Programme, which should enable the Member States to revaluate the current programme and employ it as effectively as possible with respect to the specific needs of Member States.

”A working lunch discussion of the Ministers not only indicated further possibilities in the fight against the crisis in agriculture but also foreshadowed the debate on the future form of the Common Agricultural Policy and, first and foremost, the operation of the future system of direct payments; this debate will continue in the second part of our Presidency and it will culminate at the informal Council in May/June,” concluded First Deputy Minister of Agriculture Ivo Hlavác.
 

Tereza Dvorácková
Spokeswoman of the Ministry of Agriculture