Trade with Greece
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The minister for Rural Development and Food,
Athanasios Tsaftaris,
made a statement, pointing
out that:
The top priority of the presidency is to resolve all
pending matters related to the new Common
Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Common Fisheries
Policy (CFP), in order to ensure the smooth transition
to the new system.
The flagship of our initiatives is to turn the agricultural
diversity of the European Union into an economic
growth asset, into a strong competitive advantage
against the US, China and other countries.
We will seek to make progress in regard to the new
Commission proposals on the operation of producer
organizations in the fruit and vegetables sector, the
distribution of milk, fruit and other farm products to
pupils, the promotion of agricultural products in the
internal market and in third countries, organic pro-
duction and voluntary quality labels, the formation of
policy guidelines for the dairy sector after 2015, as
well as issues pertaining to the establishment of a
safer agrifood chain.
As far as fisheries are concerned, our priority, in the
context of the presidency, is to complete the proce-
dures for adopting the regulation on the European
Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).
Moreover, one of the objectives of the Greek presi-
dency is to complete the regulations regarding man-
agement plans in Europe and the European eel. In
addition, the presidency will try to achieve a political
agreement statement regarding fishing opportunities
for 2015, based on scientific advice, including the
maximum sustainable yield principle.
“An event of huge importance” – this is how the
deputy minister for Rural Development and Food,
Maximos Harakopoulos,
refers to Greece’s taking
over the presidency of the European Union in the
current conjuncture, since, as he points out in his
statement, “thanks to the sacrifices of the Greek
people and the, focused on overcoming the crisis,
work of the government and the prime minister,
Antonis Samaras, the country’s image has radically
changed”.
In this context he also explained the initiatives that
will be deployed in the agricultural sector, with the
aim of completing the CAP through a simplified
framework of implementing rules.
“Special emphasis will be placed on improving the
European framework for the promotion, quality,
hygiene and food safety of agricultural products, as
well as on establishing more environment-friendly
methods for their production,” says Mr.
Harakopoulos, adding that: “We will seek to high-
light and further promote the importance of PDO
and PGI labels and organic products.
“In the veterinary field, the presidency will place
specific emphasis on animal health legislation and
the proposal for controls on human foods and ani-
mal feeds. In the field of fisheries, the aim will be to
ensure sustainable fishing, further support the
aquaculture sector and enhance the fishery prod-
ucts’ manufacturing and trading.”
