The President of the Chamber of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania, Dr. Arūnas Svitojus, participated in the meeting of the leaders of the Farmers’ Self-Government of the Three Seas Countries in Bratislava, Slovakia, from 31 March to 1 April, where they discussed the insights of the declaration on the new CAP signed 5 years ago and the impact of the war in Ukraine on European farmers and food producers. Following the meeting, a Communication was signed by farmers’ leaders from nine EU countries.
“Five years ago, the leaders of farmers’ self-governments, including the Lithuanian Chamber of Agriculture, signed a declaration on fairer competitive conditions for farmers in all EU Member States, without discrimination against the new EU countries. The Bratislava Declaration then sent a clear signal to the EU’s responsible authorities about the unequal conditions for farmers in the new EU countries. At the meeting, we discussed what has been achieved in five years, what conditions have been negotiated and what our demands have been taken into account. The discussions showed that although farmers in the countries were not entirely satisfied with the rules of the new CAP, they welcomed the declaration signed 5 years ago, as it nevertheless led to some positive changes in the CAP and demonstrated the unity and strength of farmers’ self-management at international level. We also discussed the crisis in markets and food prices caused by the war in Ukraine, and discussed how to address these problems as quickly as possible at EU level – what we could do to reduce price shocks. We also discussed the changing world and its impact on food costs and the rising prices due to the war in Ukraine. The effects of the war are being felt in all countries: food production costs have risen dramatically, energy prices have risen, and there are fears of commodity shortages. After an active discussion, the leaders of the farmers’ self-governments of all participating countries signed a communiqué in which we expressed the united position of the 9 countries on the macro-economic indicators and the security implications of the war in Ukraine, on Food and Feed Security, on the flexibility of the CAP for 2022 and beyond (if necessary), on the Strategic Plan for the CAP 2023-2027, on the increase in costs and commodity prices, and on the European Green Deal Strategy”, informed Dr. A. Svitojus.