The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Canary Islands, Narvay Quintero, stated this Monday in Madrid the “opposition of the archipelago to the proposals of the European Commission for the new multiannual financial framework”.
The declaration took place within the framework of the Consultative Councils of Agricultural and Fisheries Policy for Community Affairs and is due to the fact that the new budgetary framework of the European Union “promotes a centralist vision and the unification of programs that put at risk the POSEI and the singular treatment of the Outermost Regions”.
During the meetings, chaired by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, Quintero reported that the shielding of funds destined for the ORs has been requested from this European institution and the absolute rejection of the Canary Islands to any setback in the differentiated status of these territories within the framework of European policies has been communicated, a position shared by the head of the Ministry, who has stated “that the POSEI should not lose its own identity”, a program that, according to Planas, “appears blurred in the national fund with characteristics that are not the most appropriate”.
The minister also defends that the POSEI has to continue having its singularity within the European agricultural policy and have a clear and identified allocation and, in addition, upwards, as demonstrated by the European reports presented by the Canary Islands to the European institutions”, indicated the member of the Canarian Executive.
“This issue is a matter of state for Spain, being the first country that, together with the Autonomous Community, has raised the rejection of the ORs to this new European approach”, he added.
The head of the autonomous department warned that the disappearance of specific funds proposed by Brussels and the fact that it leaves the budgetary distribution in the hands of the State implies in practice “a hidden cut” that directly affects farmers and ranchers of the Archipelago, compromises the economic and social development of the Islands.
In addition, it violates article 349 of the European Treaty, which protects these regions, located outside the European continent, of small size, and with common structural disadvantages derived from connectivity problems, an extreme dependence on the outside, the absence of an economy of scale and greater vulnerability than other areas.
“Neither the Executive nor the primary sector of the Canary Islands are going to accept that the POSEI is questioned or that the specific instruments for the ORs are diluted, which need projects adapted to the reality of these territories. The Canary Islands need a stable and differentiated framework that protects our producers against unfair competition and the additional costs derived from insularity and the distance that the Canarian change supports”, he stressed.
In this sense, Quintero recalled that in addition to other subsequent meetings, the ORs and their States ratified in May a joint declaration in which they requested to double the POSEI budget to compensate for the increase in costs in basic inputs such as animal feed, energy or transport, which have skyrocketed the expenses of agricultural holdings, especially in recent years.
“The only way to guarantee the future of the Canarian countryside is to reinforce the POSEI, not cut it. Prices continue to rise and the program, whose financing has not been updated in almost two decades, has fallen short to meet the needs of our professionals in the field”, he added.
He also pointed out that the president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, has asked the president of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to shield the direct funds for the ORs and not depend on the state redistribution, “as this would be an unacceptable step backwards in the European recognition of our singularities”.
Finally, the counselor highlighted the common position articulated by the Canary Islands with the rest of the ORs and with their States to “defend together our differentiated treatment in the EU” and maintain funds and policies adapted to the outermost regions, both in agricultural and fishing matters. “We are not asking for privileges, we defend the cohesion policy and based on this that the Commission reconsiders its priorities for the period 2028-2034. We are Europe in the Atlantic and we are going to firmly defend our primary sector in all instances and its access to European resources”, he concluded.
A POSEI for fishing
In fishing matters, Quintero defended that, just as there is a POSEI for agriculture, a POSEI-Fishing should be promoted to speed up and improve the support to compensate for the additional costs faced by these activities in the ORs.
“It should be noted that the current regulation within the EMFAF causes significant delays in the payment of aid, with negative repercussions for the economic sustainability of the fishing and aquaculture sector of these territories, so the Canary Islands proposes a change in the regulation on the current EMFAF”, he pointed out.
In addition, according to Quintero, the regulatory framework of the community fisheries policy has been ineffective in promoting the necessary modernization of the fishing fleet of the ORs in order to achieve a decisive improvement in maritime safety, working conditions on board and the energy efficiency of aging vessels.
“Thus, despite the implementation of measures, both within the framework of the de minimis Regulation, and the guidelines for state aid in the fisheries sector, which have allowed the granting of aid for certain modernization actions, such as the replacement of engines or the construction of vessels of less than 12 meters in length, there are actions of interest for the renewal of the fleet that cannot benefit from the financing of the EMFAF, so we ask that this situation be taken into account and be modified in view of the new programming period, if we want to have greater safety in the boats, that these are more sustainable and that the much needed generational change in the sector is promoted”, he added.
The counselor stressed that this proposal should be accompanied by improvements in the allocation of tuna quotas for the benefit of the artisanal fleet of the ORs and that these are managed by the EU.
“If Europe wants fishing to continue to be an activity with a future in the islands, it needs specific measures and financing adapted to our reality”, he said.