APD Germany – South East Europe (SEE) visits Brussels for the second time
As part of the Agricultural Policy Dialogue Germany – South East Europe (APD SEE), a delegation of renowned regional representatives of the APD working groups visited the EU Agri-Food Days in Brussels from Dec 9-13, 2024. The focus was on forward-looking discussions on EU agricultural policy, which set the course for sustainable developments.
The conference, which is increasingly establishing itself as an essential meeting place for anyone who wants to keep up to date with EU agricultural policy trends, began with a high-level opening session. In his opening speech, Christophe Hansen, EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Food since December 2024, presented the key priorities of his work: greater support for young farmers, the digitalization of rural areas, strengthening the competitiveness of the agricultural sector, promoting climate protection initiatives, reducing bureaucracy and the importance of external agricultural trade.
In various specialist sessions, the participants discussed the current challenges and opportunities facing EU agriculture, the sustainable competitiveness of the sector and the promotion of research and innovation.
Another highlight of the exposure visit were the roundtable discussions with representatives from the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) and the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR). The professional exchange took place at the highest level, with the results of the working groups within the framework of the project arousing great interest from the EU Commission.
The representatives of the Western Balkan states presented their progress in the areas of agricultural policy monitoring, organic farming and the adaptation of agriculture to climate change.
The meeting with DG AGRI and DG NEAR was also of particular importance: possible future cooperation between the SWG (Regional Rural Development Standing Working Group in South East Europe) and the EU Commission was explored. An invitation was also extended to focus more on direct communication channels in future.
For APD, the trip marked an important milestone in the region's EU accession efforts and also offered an extremely successful exchange with the European Commission.
The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL). The local project implementer is the SWG. The international consulting contribution is implemented by IAK Agrar Consulting GmbH.