The Minister of Rural Development and Food, Lefteris Avgenakis, had a meeting with the French Minister of Agriculture, Mark Fessnot, in Paris today. During the meeting, the next steps that must be taken to lead to the revision of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) were discussed both at a technical and structural level, as well as the coordination of the movements of Greece and France in this direction.

Also, Mr. Avgenakis participated in the International Conference on the effects of the climate crisis organized in Paris by the French Ministry of Agriculture. During his intervention, the Greek minister emphasized, among other things, that Greece is available for cooperation and active dialogue at all levels both with the other member states and with global bodies.

“Our country is experiencing the effects of the climate crisis with the huge fires in Rhodes and Evros and also with the natural disaster in Thessaly”. At the same time, he added: “But the rest of Europe has not been unaffected. Thousands of angry farmers flooded the streets of Brussels yesterday and of many other European capitals recently, reacting to the restrictions imposed by the otherwise necessary green transition as they add a series of burdens to the primary sector already burdened by the climate and energy crisis. The European Commission has ruled that climate change has caused the re-emergence and spread of diseases that increase animal health challenges, particularly vector-borne diseases.’

In the context of the new International and European Strategy for the fight against vector-borne diseases, Greece actively participates with the work and technical proposals of the competent veterinary services and specialized scientific personnel with a key role in research and the identification of insect vectors.