EU Agriculture Policy Reform Urged by German Minister
In a call for fundamental changes, Alois Rainer, the German Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture, emphasized the need for a more streamlined and effective European Union agricultural policy. At a meeting of EU agriculture ministers in Brussels, Rainer expressed gratitude to Commissioner Hansen for his proposals to simplify the Common Agricultural Policy, acknowledging that the current system has become overly bureaucratic and stifling for many farmers.
The minister urged that the time has come to shed the “ballast” of bureaucracy and create a policy that is “unbureaucratic, goal-oriented and competitive” for farmers. According to Rainer, farmers require planning security, which he believes can be achieved by maintaining the policy’s two pillars. The minister’s words echoed the sentiment that the current agricultural policy must be reformed to better align with the realities of farms and the needs of farmers.