Romanian farmers ask Brussels for support for trade in agricultural products from Ukraine

The Alliance for Agriculture and Cooperation (AAC) calls on the authorities to take all possible steps to persuade the European Commission and Member States to support trade measures for Ukrainian agricultural products and the granting of a derogation in 2024 from Standards 7 and 8 on Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC), at least similar to last year.     "In view of the meeting of the Council of the European Union (Agriculture and Fisheries) on 23 January 2024, where, according to the agenda, trade issues in the field of agriculture and the proposal for derogation in 2024 from standards 7 and 8 on Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC) are discussed, both declaratively and formally by vote the concretization of the two points presented above, set out in the minutes of the MADR meeting of 15.01. 2024, in points 2 and 3 of that meeting, as follows: granting derogation in 2024 from standards 7 and 8 on good agricultural and environmental conditions (GAEC) under conditions at least similar to 2023; adoption of the EU solution on ensuring the survival of European farmers, before the publication of the Commission proposal for the renewal of trade measures for agricultural products from Ukraine", inform the representatives of the Alliance in an open letter sent to the President of Romania, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Agriculture. In this context, the CAA proposes the creation and implementation, by 30 April 2024, of a European system to ensure that the destination for all shipments of Ukrainian agricultural products are identified prior to entry into the EU (by transit, normal and/or special/temporary import), weighed on entry and exit, entered into the system, where they are transparently available at any time to any interested person to ensure that Ukrainian products reach those destinations and do not remain en route or are diverted from their original route/destination, even partially in terms of quantity. Another measure proposed by Alliance members is also aimed at introducing import thresholds (normal and special situations of temporary imports, specific to fairs, exhibitions) for any agricultural commodity subject to trade, based on the annual or quarterly average for the combined years 2021 and 2022. Any products imported above this threshold should be exported outside the EU and therefore only approved for transit through EU territory accompanied by electronic seals, tracked in real time by GPS, with no route deviations or unjustified stops. Last but not least, the Romanian farmers demand the alert of the European authorities and the automatic activation of the safeguard clause at national level in case of detection of infringements of the applicable legislation by owners and transporters of agricultural products on the territory of any Member State. "We ask that together you take all possible steps, insist and take joint responsibility in discussions with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojcuechowski and the Agriculture Ministers of the Member States to resolve the two major issues including those being protested and to announce the results publicly by 24 January 2024," the statement said. According to the quoted source, similar addresses have been sent to all Romanian and European authorities to take the necessary measures and prevent what will happen if these two major problems are not solved by 24 January, "not being able to come up with the excuse that they did not know".   "Otherwise, all three of you (President, Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture, editor's note) should assume and bear the consequences of the intensification of the protests in Romania and other Member States, which will grow much faster than anyone expects and that the next step is for disgruntled farmers in most EU Member States to move and block the work in Brussels," ACC representatives warn.   The CSA is a nationally representative organisation made up of the National Federation Pro Agro, the League of Agricultural Producers' Associations in Romania (LAPAR), the National Union of Plant Sector Cooperatives (UNCSV) and the Farmers' Force Association (AFF).