Poland sets out its proposals for the future CAP

Ahead of the AGRIFISH Council meeting, Minister Stefan Krajewski outlined Poland’s priorities for the future common agricultural policy. He stressed that EU support should go primarily to farmers who actually carry out agricultural activities.

‘Poland is focusing on the need to establish an ambitious definition of an active farmer. The aim is to distribute funding fairly and ensure it reaches those who run farms and are affected by crises of various kinds,’ Minister Stefan Krajewski stressed.

Poland is also calling for all CAP interventions to be exempted from the DNSH principle (‘do no significant harm’) and for national support for agricultural producers to remain an option. The Minister noted that many Member States support Poland’s proposal on DNSH.

V4 countries work together to support farmers

Minister Stefan Krajewski also met with the agriculture ministers of Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary. The meeting was organised by Slovakia, which currently holds the Visegrad Group presidency.

The ministers discussed the future of the common agricultural policy after 2027, the situation on agricultural markets and the protection of producers against unfair trading practices.

The talks in Luxembourg build on the meeting of the V4 countries, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Slovenia held in Bratislava on 6 October. At that meeting, the ministers adopted three joint declarations on the future of the CAP, responding to agricultural crises and tackling unfair trading practices.

In the declaration on unfair trading practices, they called, among other things, for a broader list of prohibited practices, better protection for suppliers and more effective enforcement across the EU. They also highlighted the problem of agricultural and food products being sold below production costs.

Poland wants cod fishing quotas to be maintained

Ahead of the Council meeting, Minister Stefan Krajewski also commented on the European Commission’s proposals for Baltic Sea fishing quotas for 2027.

‘We welcome the proposal to increase the fishing quota for central Baltic herring by 49% and for sprat by 44%. However, we oppose the proposed reductions in fishing quotas for western Baltic herring and both cod stocks. This is an extremely important issue for us, and we hope to maintain the existing arrangements,’ Minister Stefan Krajewski said.

Undersecretary of State Adam Nowak also took part in the fisheries negotiations. Setting Baltic Sea catch limits for 2027 is one of the main items on the agenda.

Poland wants fishing quotas for both cod stocks and western Baltic herring to remain at their 2026 levels. The European Commission is proposing reductions, including a 45% cut for western Baltic herring.

Such restrictions could hamper fishing for other species. This is known as the ‘choke species’ problem: once the quota for one species is exhausted, fishing for other species cannot continue.

Poland stresses that the limits should be based on scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), while also taking economic and social impacts into account.

The negotiations start from a compromise reached by the Baltic Sea Region States within BALTFISH. The final quotas must be agreed by the Council of the EU.

The ministers also discussed the European Union’s priorities ahead of the November meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in Portugal.