Government against cuts to CAP which is a matter of “food security and defence”

The Minister of Agriculture today spoke out against cuts to the Common Agricultural Policy, considering that it is not only a question of “food security” for the countries of the European Union (EU), but it is “also a question of defense”.

“The Common Agricultural Policy [CAP] is about food security, but it is also about defense,” said José Manuel Fernandes, during a ministerial meeting in Brussels, the capital of Belgium and home to the EU’s main institutions.

“In this sense, we consider that cuts to the CAP are not acceptable”, added the minister, insisting that support is necessary “for farmers” and to encourage investment.

The Minister of Agriculture insisted that we cannot “destroy what works well” and that the pandemic has shown that the CAP works.

Regarding Ukraine's accession to the EU and any changes that may need to be made to incorporate the country, José Manuel Fernandes said that inclusion will “reinforce the strategic autonomy” of the EU.

“It will make us stronger,” he added, on the third anniversary of the beginning of the Russian invasion.