AgriMin Chesnoiu at AGRIFISH: Making impactful decisions on economy in production must consider necessary compensations

Improving animal welfare legislation was one of the topics discussed at the first Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting - AGRIFISH in 2022, in Brussels, where the Romanian Minister of Agriculture, Adrian Chesnoiu, said that in this field the specificity of each member state must be taken into account, and decisions with a strong economic impact on production must also consider providing the necessary compensations.

"It is very important for all of us to keep in mind that this transition to better animal welfare legislation must take into account the specificities of each member state. Making impactful decisions in production activity must also consider providing the necessary compensations so that transition should be useful for our farmers. Any provision that we will work on and agree on together should be easy for farmers and identify the best solutions to achieve our goals," said Adrian Chesnoiu in his speech at the AGRIFISH Council meeting.

According to a press release of the Agriculture Ministry sent to AGERPRES on Wednesday, the French Minister of Agriculture and Food, Julien Denormandie, presented at the AGRIFISH meeting the priorities of the French Presidency in the field of agriculture and fisheries, given that France has taken over the presidency of this forum in January 2022.

In this context, Chesnoiu underscored the need for implementing viable mechanisms to ensure predictability and sustainability in the agricultural sector.

"I congratulate you on the initiatives planned during your Presidency and I assure you of Romania's full involvement in improving European legislation. We need to identify mechanisms to support farmers to save their businesses so that we, the European citizens, will continue to have access to quality food. If we ask our farmers to apply higher and higher standards, we also need to take action when imports risk causing serious damage to European producers," he said.

With regard to agriculture, the French presidency will focus on three main areas: mutual standards for EU and non-EU products, low-carbon agriculture and carbon sequestration in agricultural soils, and reducing the use of pesticides in agriculture, the MADR said in the same press release.

The Minister of Agriculture, Adrian Chesnoiu, participated on Monday, January 17, 2022, in the Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting, which took place in Brussels.