Ensuring generational renewal in farming was the focus of the informal meeting of Agriculture Ministers from the EU Member States held in Sofia.
In the context of the Common Agricultural Policy after 2020, the challenges related to aging of agricultural labor population and rural depopulation have been discussed.
"Generation renewal is extremely important for all farmers in the EU, for the future of the European agricultural sector and for the society as a whole. The aim is to seek effective solutions for attracting young people into agricultural sector", EU Council President Rumen Porodzanov said.
He underlined that the successful implementation of the process of generational renewal is a key factor for ensuring a sustainable, competitive and prosperous farming sector.
On May 21, this year the Presidency circulated a discussion paper that firstly highlighted the importance of ensuring generational renewal, while indicating the support tools for young farmers proposed by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the current programming period.
In this regard, emphasis has been placed on the need for increasing the effectiveness and development of the current tools used to support young farmers in the context of the CAP after 2020, with a clear taking into consideration of the national and regional specificities of individual Member States.
"Undoubtedly, starting a debate on this subject is necessary and timely," Minister Porodzanov categorically said.
During the informal meeting, the Ministers had the opportunity to discuss the initial legislative proposals of the European Commission for the CAP after 2020 for the first time. The official presentation to the EU Council will be held at the last meeting under the Bulgarian Presidency - 18 June 2018 in Luxembourg.