Isilda Gomes, mayor of Portimão, led the delegation of the Natural Resources Commission (NAT) of the European Committee of the Regions that met on October 25th with those responsible for AGRI (Agriculture and Rural Development Commission).
Since the current Common Agricultural Policy (PAC) «is less flexible and runs the risk of not taking regional needs into account» and as president of NAT, the mayor of Portimão defended on the occasion that «policies from the top to the bottom do not effectively help Europe’s agricultural transition and combat the growing depopulation of our rural areas.”
Isilda Gomes also highlighted “the vital importance of a territorial and bottom-up approach”, recalling in this regard that the President of the European Commission recently announced “a strategic dialogue on the future CAP”.
At the meeting, NAT representatives supported this call with the results of a survey on the regional dimension of the CAP's national strategic plans, which indicated that the current implementation model "reduced its regional component, increased its complexity and reduced the its flexibility when it comes to adjusting support measures for farmers, especially in times of crisis».
The document cited at the meeting resulted from a consultation carried out with local and regional administrations, through the Network of Regional Poles of the Committee of the Regions, created to improve the return of information to European Union institutions.
The main objective of this position is to contribute to strategic dialogue with all community institutions and interested parties, aiming to “mobilize the defense of fair and sustainable agriculture, reinforced by a CAP that fully recognizes the role of the regions”.
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