“At the negotiation for the Multiannual Financial Framework and the financing of the CAP, Greece managed to prevent any reduction of the subsidies for the Greek farmers for the next seven years. I consider this a pivotal success”, stressed Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, while addressing questions of young Greek Farmers, together with the Vice President of the European Commission for the Promotion of our European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas, in the ‘Online Conference for Young People on Employment, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship in the Agricultural Sector’, held in Larissa by the Commission Representation in Greece.
The use of agricultural subsidies, said Mr. Varvitsiotis, will be linked to projects that reform the agricultural sector in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal and digital transformation. This also reflects the deep concern of many European citizens, as expressed in the Conference on Future of Europe, for ecological, most nutrient-dense foods, with low energy footprint, packaged in such a way that the consumer will be fully informed on the way they are produced. “Therefore, projects need to be planned in such a way that takes advantage of Greek geography and Greek peculiarities. The plain of Thessaly is our major production area and there we expect genuine initiatives for the transformation of our production”, he added.
The Alternate Minister stressed that through the Green Deal and Digital Transformation “Europe is focusing on young people, to make them feel that there is a future for them in Europe and that the future is theirs”. He pointedly said that the funds allocated for the Erasmus+ program through the Recovery Fund have been multiplied.
In response to young farmers’ concerns about energy issues, Mr. Varvitsiotis pointed out that “Europe needs to escape the grip of the markets or geopolitical pressures and use the natural gas of the Southeastern Mediterranean, not having to choose between green and cheap energy”. At the same time, he assured that the Government is determined to fight the battle against rising prices, having spent the most money per capita than all European countries to normalize prices. It is also doing what is necessary to obtain cheaper electricity, through interconnection with other electricity networks and the increase of RES in the energy mix.
