The repercussions of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the food market and the implementation of the CAP strategic plans at the center of the EU Agriculture Council
The situation of the agri-food market following the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the identification of measures aimed at guaranteeing food security in the EU in the aftermath of the crisis: these were the central points of the EU Agriculture Council which was held today in Brussels .
The Russian invasion of Ukraine, as is well known, triggered a sharp increase in the prices of raw materials and had an impact on the supply and demand for agricultural products, effectively changing the assumptions that led to the drafting of the draft Strategic Plan.
During the debate, the Minister of Agriculture Stefano Patuanelli underlined the need to proceed quickly in the approval of the national strategic plans of the CAP but at the same time invited to identify a common strategy to adapt the plans to the crisis situation that is going through the whole 'Europe. Among the proposals of Minister Patuanelli the implementation of a transitional regime that goes up to the first year of application of the new CAP in 2023, the temporary suspension of some measures such as the increase in coupled aid and the adoption of a derogatory regime for rotations and land set-aside. In this context, the Minister underlined our country's support for the European strategy aimed at increasing the production of vegetable proteins, in line with the provisions of the Green New Deal.
Italy, together with other countries, also presented a document on the increase in production costs in the fishing sector, underlined its position on the revision of geographical indications, on the possibility of using digestate from biogas as fertilizer for agriculture and the need to find alternatives to pesticides to avoid reducing the quantities of agricultural products.