“The land and its cultivation, agricultural production, was an issue that occupied the Greek nation even in the years of the Revolution of 1821 – remember the “national lands” and their distribution, especially here in the Peloponnese”, pointed out former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras speaking in Kalamata at the “Gaia Business” conference.

He also emphasized that “agricultural production is not another part of the wider economic production of a country. It’s something much bigger! It’s a way of life!”.

Referring to the new CAP, he said: “We see the EU leadership spending billions of euros on financial aid to Ukraine, but no resources for farmers. Also, that we see strange theories that lead to big changes in our eating habits. “Green agreements” and excesses, which limit animal husbandry and lead agricultural production to full dependence on specific seeds only. And yet, goals and schedules beyond all logic, with their failure predetermined. Energy costs that exceed any precedent, difficulty in transportation, skyrocketing prices of raw materials. The engines of the tractors are still sounding in Brussels… This is not the first time I have said this. Instead! I’ve been pointing them out for 2.5 years continuously.”

And he continued: “At the time when the EU requires its farmers to produce either at excessive costs, or with quantitative restrictions and strict quality standards, at the same time the following is happening:

Imports year after year in the EU are increasing! In particular, EU agri-food imports reached €13.1 billion in November 2023. In terms of imported products, the largest increases in the total value of imports were for tobacco products, sugar, vegetables, olives and olive oil.

And notice this too: Imports from Turkey and Egypt had the biggest increases in cereals, fruit, nuts, vegetables, olives and olive oil. And the quality standards in Turkey and Egypt are not related to those of the EU and the CAP…

Absurdity; Ideological obsessions? Confusion; Lack of vision? Lack of leadership? All of these together? However, something is definitely wrong…

Mr. Samaras argued that “in Europe they have confused crises with solutions and have clearly failed in their predictions. A Europe, however, ‘confused’, without a target on the horizon, which serves appeasement balances, instead of giving ‘food’ to its real strength which is production, ‘greases’ the chain of ‘Euroscepticism’ with these kinds of policies.

These at the European level, Antonis Samaras continued and added saying that “in Greece for the last 8 years we have continued to increase our imports, while we made Turkey a participant in our… plate, from which 51 thousand tons of fruits and vegetables were imported in 2023 …”.

Antonis Samaras, referring to the new CAP, pointed out that he wants Europe to turn and work on three central goals:

1. In building a smart, competitive, resilient and diversified agricultural sector that will ensure long-term food security. Without maximalist “green” exaggerations, like the Netherlands. Where, I remind you, they went to compulsorily nationalize up to 50% of the agricultural land!
2. To strengthen the protection of the environment, including biodiversity.
3. And of course, in strengthening the social and economic fabric of rural areas.

“Three central objectives, complemented by a horizontal objective: To promote and disseminate knowledge, innovation and digitization in agriculture and rural areas and to encourage their adoption. While an important parameter, which we usually avoid discussing, is that it is within the Union’s obligations to make it clear to the urban population that any funding of agricultural production ultimately returns to them. Because in this way the food security of the Union and the production of safe food are ensured.
A prerequisite is certainly the brave increase of the CAP budget, without the slightest hesitation. I would say the CAP requires prioritizationconcluded Mr. Samaras.