Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Slovenia

06/08/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/09/2021 04:49

Minister dr Podgoršek meeting Italian Minister of agriculture, forestry and food, Stefano Patuanelli, ing.

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Minister dr. Podgoršek with Italian colleague Mr Stefano Patuanelli | Author MKGP

For the most part, the bilateral meeting was dedicated to presentation of priority tasks of the Slovenian Presidency in the sector of agriculture, forestry and food. Both the parties to the conversation were of the opinion that the two countries are cooperating very well, and sharing identical views and positions concerning the common agricultural and fisheries policies.

In the continuation of talks, they exposed certain other dossiers of the Presidency Agenda, where the two countries are sharing common views and interests. Within the CAP reform, the two statesmen spoke of the preparation of strategic plans, pointing out that these shall highlight the aspect of resilience and competitiveness of agriculture. They are both advocating for the improvement of farmer status within the food supply chain, and they are sharing the same long-range vision of rural areas. Likewise, they are both supporting the efforts in provenance designation of agricultural products - in particular of honey mixtures. Further, they exposed the new EU forest strategy, and the need that, similarly as in the sector of agriculture, in addition to the environmental and social also the economic function of forests is upheld, and that actions are adapted to the situation in the respective Member States.

Then, they talked of cross-border cooperation in Teran protection, where the two ministers agreed on continuation of activities linked to the common cross-border protection.

They also talked of cooperation of agricultural inspection services, for instance, in official controls of provenance of fruits and vegetables, and on data exchange concerning the sales of the catch of fish by Slovenian fishermen.

Minister Podgoršek invited Minister Patuanelli to participate in the main events envisaged to take place in Slovenia during the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which was gladly accepted by the Italian counterpart.