Informal meeting of the agriculture ministers

In the context of Romania’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the informal meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers of the Member States of the European Union (Informal Council of the Ministers of Agriculture and Fisheries) will be held on 3-4 June 2019.

The event will take place in Bucharest, at the Palace of Parliament and will be hosted and chaired by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Petre DAEA.

The informal meeting will be attended by ministers of agriculture from the EU i Member States, Phil Hogan i, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Jerzy PLEWA,

Director General of the European Commission, Angel Boixareu Carrera, General Director of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, PESONEN Pekka Juhana, Secretary General of Copa Cogeca.

On Tuesday, June 4^th 2019, the main topic to be discussed in the informal Agriculture and Fisheries Council is “Research in Agriculture and Bioeconomy - Building Synergies“.

The Agenda of the Informal Meeting of the Ministers of Agriculture and Fisheries

Agricultural research and the implementation of innovation

The complexity of challenges that EU agriculture needs to face to respond to SDGs requires a reinforced cooperation in research and innovation. Policy makers should consider effective instruments to address those challenges which enable collaboration and promotion of such research priorities.

The bioeconomy as vehicle for rural development

To realise the full European potential for the bioeconomy and to produce benefits for the society, as the Bucharest conference has also confirmed, it is key to further explore and develop new business models and value chains that start before the farm and go “beyond the fork”.

The Romanian Presidency has identified bioeconomy as one of its priorities and, in this respect, has already organized the High Level Conference on “Research and Innovation in Agriculture - a basis for the development of European agriculture, Rural Areas and Bioeconomy” held at Bucharest on 5^th April 2019.

The conference had the following objectives:

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  identifying solutions to allow for a broad integration of agriculture into the bio-economic and circular economy;
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  setting priorities for agronomic research to meet the new requirements regarding the economy and the circular economy;
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  finding solutions for wider participation of Eastern European countries in the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program;
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  identifying challenges and debating the ways and means of implementing the updated Bioeconomy Strategy at European level, with the wide participation of all Member States.

The conference concluded that bio-economy will play a key role not only in terms of growth and employment, but also creating new opportunities for rural development in Europe. All EU countries should be encouraged and supported to take the necessary steps for bio-economy strategies - no one should be left behind.

The future strategic planning of the CAP has the potential to strengthen the implementation of the bio-economy and to create synergies with agricultural policy and rural development instruments.

Practical information:

ACCREDITATION

The accreditation of journalists can be done directly at the Palace of Parliament, S2 entrance, between 07:30 and 17:00, following the late accreditation procedure.

In order to obtain the accreditation badges for this event, journalists will have to present the identity card or passport as well as the letter of request for accreditation from the media institution they represent.

Getting the access badge to this event can only be done personally.

PRESS CENTER

Hours of operation: 7:30 - 20:00

Address: Izvor Street, no. 2-4, 5^th District, entrance S2

The press center is accessible to journalists during the informal meeting and is located at the Parliament Palace in Bucharest, in Iuliu Maniu Hall, Level P.

More useful information for journalists can be found in the MEDIA GUIDE:

https://www.romania2019.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/media-guide_en-1.pdf

PRELIMINARY MEDIA PROGRAM:

Informal Council of the Ministers of Agriculture and Fisheries of the Member States 02- 04 June 2019