The Ministers of Agriculture of the Member States exchanged views on the so-called green architecture proposed by the Commission under the Common Agricultural Policy post-2027 and reached an agreement on fishing quotas for 2026 in the Baltic Sea. The Joint Declaration on the CAP in the context of the structure of the future MFF proposed by Austria was signed by 17 Member States, including Poland.

Minister Stefan Krajewski stressed that the CAP played an important role in the implementation of environmental and climate goals, but this could not be done at the expense of the stability of farmers’ income. The transition to sustainable production should be adequately compensated to farmers and the Member States must be free to choose the tools for transformation.

– Achieving these goals in an efficient manner requires ensuring adequate budgetary resources, without the possibility of redirecting to other areas. Our concerns are raised by the proposal to introduce mandatory national co-financing for agri-environmental measures and climate projects, which partially correspond to today’s eco-schemes – indicated Minister Krajewski.

The preferred solution, stressed by the Polish delegation, remains the maintenance of the two-pillar structure of the CAP and a budget that is separate, stable and adequate to the challenges of that policy.

– In the face of increasing geopolitical, climate and economic challenges, we need a stable financial framework that ensures predictability and income security for farmers. New instruments should be negotiated among the Ministers of Agriculture, within the AGRIFISH Council and ensuring consistency with other EU policies – said Minister Stefan Krajewski after the meeting in Luxembourg.

The situation in agricultural markets

The Ministers of Agriculture exchanged views on the current situation on the markets, and the part of the debate, which referred to changes after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, was attended by the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Taras Kachka.

The Polish position regarding the issue of effective support for Ukraine on the path of adaptation to EU production standards includes the need to combine transparent trade conditions, systematic monitoring, strengthening Ukrainian institutions and comprehensive technical and financial assistance.

– Opening the European Union to Ukraine may be a strategic investment, although from our Polish perspective the future accession also means enormous challenges to be faced by EU – and due to its geographical proximity – particularly by Polish agriculture and the whole agri-food industry. These challenges should be duly taken into account in the Common Agricultural Policy and the Common Trade Policy – appealed Minister Stefan Krajewski in Luxembourg.

In the debate held in the forum of the Council of the EU, the Polish delegation pointed to the biggest problems of Polish agriculture, which included rising production costs, low purchase prices, low profitability of production (or even lack of it) and variable weather conditions. Minister Krajewski stressed that currently the problems in Poland concerned mainly the markets of cereals, sugar, vegetables and pork, and the solution for the future could be diversification of crops towards increasing the area of protein crops, with greater EU support

The head of the Polish Ministry of Agriculture stressed that the threat in the sugar beet sector is the liberalisation of trade with third countries and the growing losses caused by the pressure of pests and the lack of access to effective plant protection products. The problems on the vegetable market result from the increased domestic supply and growing import from foreign countries, while the pork sector in Poland is facing the purchase prices that are lowest in three years and one of the lowest in the EU.

Strategy for generational renewal in agriculture

In the context of the “Strategy for generational renewal in agriculture” presented by the European Commission in Luxembourg, the Polish delegation recalled the extensive debate held during the Polish Presidency and the conclusions of the informal meeting of the EU Ministers of Agriculture held last June in Warsaw. As the Ministers pointed out at the time, a prerequisite for competitive and resilient agriculture and food security was consistent generational renewal of the whole agricultural sector.

At the same time, the Polish delegation indicated the problems of young farmers who experienced “entry” barriers, such as access to land, capital, knowledge and innovation, technical infrastructure and public services. Therefore, support for young farmers must provide for a wide range of coherent measures, implemented both under the CAP (Package for young farmers) and in the area of other EU regulations.

Safeguard clause in international agreements

In Luxembourg, the Hungarian delegation presented a joint letter from Hungary, Slovakia and Romania on an effective safeguard clause in international agreements.

Poland supports many elements of the document presented, in particular, the demands regarding the need to analyse the cumulative impact of various trade agreements on agriculture, including those with Mercosur and Ukraine, and the compliance by all trade partners with high production standards, adequate to the regulations applicable in the EU. The Polish delegation stressed the need to increase the customs protection of the market of cereals, in particular the market of maize, and supported the demand for establishing a special fund to compensate for possible losses caused by the excessive import from Ukraine.

With regard to relations with Ukraine, the Polish delegation sustained its position in which we demanded that the bilateral agricultural safeguard clause should be an integral part of the DCFTA agreement; the possibility of temporary withdrawal of preferences should apply to all agricultural goods, not only those covered by additional preferences pursuant to Article 29 of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.

Implementation of the provisions of the EUDR Regulation

The Latvian delegation presented a note, supported by Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia and Poland, concerning the resolution of problems related to the implementation of the EUDR.

Poland strongly advocates postponing the date of application of the EUDR provisions by at least one year, which results from the continuing difficulties in implementing these provisions, including problems in the functioning of the EU information system, which is officially confirmed by the European Commission. The need to introduce additional simplifications to the provisions of the EUDR, which Poland has repeatedly informed about, was also a demand resulting from the public consultation of this document.

Political agreement on fishing quotas in the Baltic Sea has been reached

The Council Regulation determining the fishing opportunities for 2026 in the Baltic Sea was the major subject of discussion at the meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council (AGRIFISH) and, in line with the agreement reached, the final fishing quotas for 2026 in the Baltic Sea are:

• Cod (area 22–24): 266 tonnes (Poland: 31 tonnes, no change when compared to 2025)
• Cod (area 25–32): 430 tonnes (Poland: 113 tonnes, no change)
• Herring (area 22–24): 788 tonnes (Poland: 103 tonnes, no change)
• Herring (area 25–29, excluding the Gulf of Riga): 96,463 tonnes (Poland: 24,033 tonnes, +15% when compared to 2025)
• European plaice (area 22–32): 10,973 tonnes (Poland: 1,645 tonnes, -3%)
• Salmon (area 22–31): 25,537 fish (Poland: 1,605 fish, -27%)
• Sprat (area 22–32): 201,975 tonnes (Poland: 59,300 tonnes, +45%)

The fishing quotas for cod and salmon in area 22–31 are intended exclusively for by-catch (so-called incidental catches).