Rising energy costs and fertiliser prices provide great challenges for agricultural production and producers that need to be addressed by the EU in a coordinated manner. This is the position of agriculture ministers from the Party of European Socialists (PES) as they met in Luxembourg today.
Ministers from the progressive family met to coordinate ahead of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council configuration (AGRIFISH) taking place later this morning.
Meeting Chair, Danish Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Rasmus Prehn said:
“Our main concern is to secure food security and food affordability.
“Rising food prices for consumers, and increased production costs for farmers are two sides of the same coin and need to be addressed without delay. Citizens have clear concerns over food costs. This topic must not fall off the agenda.
“At the last Council meeting we raised the importance of solidarity lanes for Ukrainian agricultural products and called for further investments to ensure their functioning. Today I am hoping we can make further progress. We must also keep rising prices in check and ensure that negative spill overs for producers and consumers are tamed.”
PES agriculture ministers also expressed their concern on the ongoing bombing in Ukraine. They called for the extension of the current agreement for the protection of the four main Ukrainian ports of Pivdennyi, Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Chornomorsk to safeguard the export of grain and other agriculture products, including fertilisers.
The ministers also held an exchange on the agreement reached on fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea, as well as the fishing of Atlantic Tunas, and recommitted to the sustainable management of fish stocks in both cases. The ministers also discussed trade related issues and underlined the need for an international level playing field.
The meeting was attended by:
- Rasmus Prehn, meeting Chair, Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Denmark
- Claude Haagen, Minister of Agriculture, Viticulture and Rural Development, Luxembourg
- Luis Planas, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Spain
