The Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, yesterday presented to the agricultural organizations a package of 18 measures to try to prevent the rural protests, which have been blocking roads and cities in almost the entire country for ten days, from going any further. The block of initiatives focuses on increasing inspections, simplifying bureaucracy and defending initiatives in the European institutions to limit competition from non-EU countries, which harms national products.
The main measure included in the package presented by Planas to the Asaja, the COAG and the UPA is the creation of the State Food Information and Control Agency, a body that aims to strengthen commercial inspections to guarantee effective compliance with the Food Chain law and prevent farmers and ranchers from selling products below cost. Minister Planas assured that the birth of this new mechanism will occur “soon” through its own law or by taking advantage of a regulation in parliamentary processing. Reinforcing the inspections that operate along the entire food chain is one of the demands of the agricultural protesters.
Planas also announced a legal change so that the digital notebook is not mandatory for farmers and ranchers. This was another of the claims of the countryside and had become a headache for some professionals who until now exercise the supervision of crops and livestock practically by hand. The Minister of Agriculture announced that he will give the digital notebook the category of volunteer and establish incentives for it to be put into practice. “It will end up being like a smartphone”, said Planas. He also confirmed that professional diesel will continue to be subsidized.
The head of Agriculture also presented to agricultural organizations a proposal to simplify the common agricultural policy (PAC) that the Spanish Government will defend in the EU. In fact, the ministry has already addressed the Presidency of the Council and the Commissioner of Agriculture to propose that this matter become a “monographic point” at the next Council of Ministers of Agriculture in Brussels, on the 26 It is no longer up to Planas to move forward.
In particular, Spain will propose the repeal of the rotation of crops and irrigated surfaces or the exemption of ecological areas in the community regulations, among other measures. This measure was also valued by agricultural professionals as “a breakthrough”. Planas also committed to farmers that the Spanish Government will apply a maximum residue limit (MLR) to certain products imported from other countries that may pose a risk to public health or safety. “When it is necessary for substances that are not authorized in the EU, and the European Commission has not established the maximum waste limit, Spain will, voluntarily, set it at zero”, is the commitment presented by the minister.
Another development valued as positive by farmers is the minister’s announcement to raise in international forums the elimination of georeferenced images to justify the crops in front of Brussels.
Regarding the “unfair competition” of products from other countries that agricultural professionals complain about, Planas emphasized that the Executive will once again commit to defending the so-called mirror clauses so that the same regulations are applied to these foreign crops. “What is prohibited here cannot be used in any product that is marketed here”, the minister clearly summarized.
Spain will also request from the European Commission a reinforcement of the customs control mechanisms and, in addition, in a particular way, it will increase inspections at the borders, that is to say at the ports.
The package of measures managed to partly calm the farmers’ organizations present at the meeting. Both Asaja (which had demonstrated in the morning with tractors in front of the door of the ministry), as well as the COAG and the UPA agreed to point out that some of the measures announced by the minister are in the right direction. However, they confirmed that they are maintaining the planned mobilizations until the 26th. Representatives of the Central Administration and the organizations will meet in the coming days to specify the measures.
For his part, Luis Planas assessed positively that the farmers’ mobilizations called by these agricultural organizations are authorized and are “peaceful”. The minister distinguished these demonstrations from those raised by groups linked to the far right.
