Romania insists on exemption from EU agricultural standards

The Romanian minister intends to put forward a corresponding demand at the upcoming meeting of the EU Council on Agriculture and Fisheries (AGRIFISH) in Brussels. “If we cannot solve the problems of Romanian farmers - we are talking about EU directives and regulations - I think that we should go home, both we, the ministers, and the European Commissioner,” the Agerpress agency quoted him as saying. He justified the need to exempt the country from complying with the crop rotation standard by saying that “in Romania there are integrated crop and livestock farms, and they cannot do this.” Regarding the second standard, according to Barbu, Romania already has 10% uncultivated agricultural land.

The minister said Romania had signed a letter demanding exemption from standards 7 and 8, along with Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. He clarified that he did not demand the introduction of import duties on Ukrainian agricultural products, since this is a political decision and he does not have the authority to make it.

Radio Romania notes that the Romanian minister's chances of success are minimal, since, according to EU regulations, such an exception cannot be granted for two years in a row, and in addition, the European Commission is against it. This is because granting such an exemption would be detrimental to biodiversity.

On January 22, during a discussion with farmers in the city of Tirgu Mures, Barbu promised that he would demand the resignation of European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski if Romania was not exempted from complying with these standards. However, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu corrected the minister on January 23, saying that “no one is demanding the resignation of the European Commissioner.”