Copenhagen Gears for EU Presidency with Focus on Simplifying Common Agricultural Policy

Copenhagen: A simpler and more competitive agri-food sector will be at the heart of Denmark’s upcoming presidency of the EU Council. The priorities “will focus in general on simplification: we want a more competitive agriculture and fisheries sector, and we need to make it simpler. Today, we have many laws that contradict some of our political objectives. We need to improve regulation overall, and we must do so also with a view to increasing the sector’s competitiveness,” said Denmark’s Minister for Agriculture, Jacob Jensen, upon his arrival at the EU Agrifish Council.

According to Ansa News Agency, Copenhagen will hold the rotating presidency of the EU Council for the next six months starting on July 1st. Responding to a question, Jensen confirmed that much of the simplification work will focus on the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). “We see that farmers are asking for more flexibility and also want to achieve political objectives, but this is also related to the regulatory framework we provide them with. So even here, we see potential for simplification and better regulation,” he said.