The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Florin-Ionuț BARBU, participated in the Agriculture and Fisheries Council, which took place in Brussels.

The agenda of the meeting included topics of major interest for Romanian farmers, such as the market situation in the context of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, food security and food price accessibility, sustainable use of pesticides, and new genomic techniques.

At the opening of the meeting, the Spanish presidency presented its work program and outlined its main priorities for agriculture and fisheries in the upcoming semester.

Ministers discussed the market situation and assessed various developments affecting the EU's agri-food sector in general.

Regarding the sustainable use of pesticides, based on information provided by the Commission, ministers exchanged opinions on the study that complements the assessment of the proposal.

Representatives of member states held discussions focusing on the Commission's legislative proposal regarding the regulation of plants obtained through certain new genomic techniques and products intended for human or animal consumption.

During the meeting, the official from MADR provided the Council with information regarding the effects of the war in Ukraine, unfavorable weather conditions, and high input prices on Romanian farmers.

Additionally, Poland informed the ministers on behalf of Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia about the persistent impact of Ukrainian imports on their agricultural markets due to Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

The Commission informed ministers about the main outcomes of the ministerial conference held in Rome on June 30, with the central theme being "Resilient Food Systems and Sustainable Agricultural Value Chains."

European officials received information from the Commission regarding the new regulation proposal concerning the production and marketing of plant reproductive material and forest reproductive material.

It should be noted that Spain assumed the six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union on July 1.