The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development in office, Ramón Fernández-Pachecho, has demanded this Wednesday in Madrid, before his meeting with the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food, Luis Planas, that Europe "does not let Andalusian and Spanish agriculture and fishing die." Before participating in the Consultative Councils of Fishing and Agriculture for Community Affairs alongside the other autonomous communities, Fernández-Pacheco has reminded that "Andalusia, as an agrarian region par excellence, comes to defend its model of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), as it accounts for a third of the CAP recipients at the national level; at the same time, it will defend the best within the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) as the second region in fishing matters."
In a press release, he reiterated support for the joint position reached with agricultural professional organizations and Andalusian cooperatives, which was later reflected in a Non-Law Proposition in the Andalusian Parliament regarding the future CAP. "Our position has been clear and will continue to be so: we want a solid, independent, and safeguarded CAP budget that takes into account the uniqueness of all territories in governance matters and that the regions are protagonists," he emphasized.
In this regard, he admitted that "the future of the CAP reform not only at the European level but also at the national level is a crucial issue that should have been dedicated many hours in different bilateral meetings and that is very complicated to summarize in a questionnaire or in interventions of four minutes each, although the position of Andalusia will be presented because the future of thousands of families is at stake."
In the area of governance, the minister has defended that "the CAP must have an independent and separate programming from the National and Regional Cooperation Plans (PCNR) and, if this is not the case, it should have regional agricultural chapters within these plans designed and managed by the administrations with competencies in the agricultural sector." Likewise, he has reiterated the importance of support for income, "fundamental to guarantee European food security, as this aid reaches 210,000 beneficiaries only in Andalusia."
From this perspective, it has been indicated that the current scheme of 20 regions approved in 2022 by the European Commission will be claimed to be maintained, while emphasizing the need for a system in which the autonomous communities design new environmental and climate measures, following the example of the agri-environmental aids promoted by the regions.
On the other hand, Andalusia will convey its concern about the sectoral intervention of fruits and vegetables, one of the key lines in the community, with 130 million euros annually. Consequently, it will be requested to "maintain the current model with a European envelope, without distribution by countries and with 100 percent funding from the EU."
The counselor has also advanced that from Andalusia, formulas will be proposed to favor the incorporation of new professionals into the field and to support those who retire. "There is no single measure capable of solving it, but we do know that measures for generational renewal must go beyond what is contemplated in the CAP," he has pointed out. Regarding the fishing sector, Fernández-Pacheco has asked the Government of Spain to firmly defend the interests of the Andalusian fleet at the upcoming Council of Ministers of Agriculture and Fisheries of the EU (AGRIFISH), scheduled for September 28 and 29. He has emphasized that the proposals raised by Andalusia "are not only the claims of the Andalusian Government, but of the entire fishing and aquaculture sector," as they have been agreed upon in the Fishing and Aquaculture Interlocution Table of Andalusia.
Among the demands, the Andalusian official has advocated for the next Multiannual Financial Framework to ensure "specific and sufficient funding for fishing and aquaculture," which facilitates the modernization and decarbonization of the fleet, increases safety and efficiency, promotes innovation, and contributes to generational renewal. In addition, he has called for greater involvement of the regions and the sector itself in decision-making, more regionalization, and a simplification of the FEMPA that reduces bureaucracy and streamlines the processing and payment of aids.
Likewise, he has requested a thorough review of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) that incorporates the economic and social impact of community decisions and is not limited to biological indicators. In this regard, he has reiterated that "environmental sustainability must go hand in hand with economic and social sustainability" and has expressed his rejection of new automatic reductions in fishing effort that jeopardize the continuity of the fleet, especially in the Mediterranean, whose particularities, he said, must be considered by European institutions.
To conclude, the Andalusian councilor has advocated for moving towards genuine equality of conditions against third countries, so that products entering the European market meet environmental, labor, and health requirements similar to those imposed on community producers. He has added the urgency of easing the administrative burden that professionals bear, adapting the Control Regulation to the reality of fishing activity, and simplifying requirements with the aim that, as he has indicated, "our fishermen are at sea and not trapped between procedures and administrative obligations."