The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) needs a separate budget, and farmers must be sure that they will receive their money without further discussions about the rule of law or other requirements unrelated to the CAP, visiting European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski said on Wednesday in Bucharest

The incumbent Agriculture Commissioner participated in the National Conference of the Romanian Farmers' Club, where he declared that his concern is the future budget of the Common Agricultural Policy - which should be completely separate, for farmers to be sure that they receive their money without extra requirements. This is the deal between the European Union and the farmers: you fulfill your obligations, you get the money. If the idea of pooling all the money for all policies prevails, this is dangerous for farmers, the European official said in reply to a question from the farmers.

Also, he warned that a single budget means less money for farmers, due to inflation.

I've said it many times that we need a stronger budget. Currently, we spend only 0.4% of the EU's GDP for farmers, for the many challenges and obligations facing farmers. It is absolutely necessary to push for a stronger budget, because the challenge is, for example, external convergence, which is impossible to achieve without a stronger budget. A single budget also means that an external convergence will be impossible from a political point of view. Ensuring the growth of the Common Agricultural Policy is a huge challenge and an absolutely crucial issue, and I hope that the politicians will understand how important this is. We need food security and this is impossible without stronger support for our farmers, Janusz Wojciechowski said.

The EU official made these statements in the context of information being circulated according to which EC President Ursula von der Leyen wants to completely shake up the budgetary policy of the European Union, and the agricultural budget will no longer be separate, as it is now.

Previously, Romanian Minister of Agriculture Florin Barbu said that he does not want the Common Agricultural Policy "to be lumped together with all the European funds".

"As I announced at the COPA-COGECA congress, I will call a referendum to keep the Common Agricultural Policy separate from the other European funds as of 2027. (...) We don't want Romanian farmers to face this risk, and I do not want the Agency for Payments and Interventions in Agriculture and the Agency for the Financing of Rural Investments - some of the strongest Romanian institutions in accessing European funds, to be at risk," Florin Barbu said on November 1. AGERPRES (RO - author: Oana Tilica, editor: Mariana Nica; EN - editor: Simona Klodnischi)