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Luxembourg – The Czech Republic is advocating for strengthening the competitiveness of European agriculture, less regulation, and more incentives, Agriculture Minister Marek Výborný said today at a meeting in Luxembourg. The main topic of today’s meeting was a debate on the future of the EU’s common agricultural policy, but ministers also responded to recent protests by farmers who have taken to the streets in many European cities, most recently in Brussels. In the Czech Republic, the situation has been largely calmed, according to Minister Výborný, who praised the constructive approach of the farmers in this context.
According to the Czech minister, the common EU position on the future of European agriculture has managed to incorporate some positions of the Czech Republic. “Whether it is strengthening the competitiveness of European agriculture vis-à-vis third countries, simplification, less regulation, and more incentives,” Výborný listed.
He mentioned, for example, the currently debated regulations aimed at improving animal welfare, including the transportation of animals. “The Czech Republic is a highly export-oriented country in the field of cattle exports, so we must seek conditions that do not discriminate against our exporters, so they do not become uncompetitive. Setting a reasonable balance,” Výborný said.
Farmers are complaining mainly about insufficient earnings, bureaucracy, rising costs, and land management conditions during the protests. The European Commission has already responded to their criticism, canceling some of the ecological requirements it previously imposed on them within the framework of the common agricultural policy. The last major protest took place at the beginning of June in Brussels, where around 500 tractors arrived. “I think the situation in the Czech Republic has been largely calmed,” the minister said.