European farmers must be globally competitive, stated the Minister of Agriculture and Food, Plamen Abrovsky, during the "Green Transition Forum 6.0," an event dedicated to Europe's competitiveness, innovation, and sustainable development. According to him, Bulgarian agricultural producers must deliver high quality and competitive products to succeed on the global market. "Unless we act as one, we will not achieve the goals we have set for ourselves as the EU," Minister Abrovsky added.
He pointed out that European agriculture has faced a series of crises in recent years, which have highlighted the need to rethink the approach to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the sector's support instruments. "We must work towards competitiveness and market viability because simply showing the world how environmentally friendly we are is not enough. We must be able to produce in an eco-friendly yet highly efficient manner to remain competitive," Minister Abrovsky emphasized. He noted that with each successive reform, the CAP is becoming less "common," deepening the disparities between Member States. The Agriculture Minister was adamant that the EU needs stronger unity and a shared vision for the sector's development.
"Europe needs to look forward as a unified union so we can be competitive globally together," the Agriculture Minister stated. Plamen Abrovsky highlighted the need for more effective crisis response mechanisms and warned that current instruments do not adequately address the real needs of European farmers. "State aids create imbalances between individual Member States, leading to internal competition within the Union," he clarified.
In his remarks, he paid special attention to the proposals for the next Multiannual Financial Framework and the future of the CAP post-2027. Minister Abrovsky announced that at the upcoming meeting of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Luxembourg, he would propose that a portion—between 10% and 25% of the overall European budget—be allocated directly to agriculture. "It is neither fair nor right to exclude the processing industry and irrigation. Climate change is already a reality. Droughts and new climatic conditions present producers with challenges that require serious investments and long-term solutions," he concluded.