During the meeting of the CoR's Committee of the Regions Commission for Natural Resources (NAT), held on 23 November, members debated the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) with Mr Wolfgang Burtscher, Director General for the European Commission's Directorate General on Agriculture and Rural Development.
During the meeting, EA group member, Mr Bronius Markauskas, mayor of Klaipėda district, Lithuania, and a former Lithuanian Minister for Agriculture, took the floor to stress the urgency of reaching an agreement over the new CAP architecture and thus defend the European agricultural sector against economic volatility exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis.
Mr Markauskas, who is a farmer himself, expressed his hope that the new CAP will be a holistic agreement "which will lead to a revival of our fantastic rural communities" and will build long-term resilience in the European agricultural sector.
Mr Burtscher responded by affirming the European Commission's commitment to not leave the European farmers behind in the COVID-19 recovery and the green transition. The Commission was ready to provide more funding to farmers to support green recovery during the CAP transitional period of 2021-2022.
The next NAT Commission meeting is planned for 29 January 2021.
