The Hungarian presidency wants competitive and sustainable agriculture

(Photo: AM)

Before the meeting of the Environmental Protection Council, István Nagy announced that the focus of Monday’s meeting will be on sustainability, as both agriculture and forestry contribute greatly to the creation of a quality living space and to the European Union being able to fulfill its climate protection objectives. He said that during the Hungarian presidency until the end of December, many international events will deal with biodiversity. Among these, the minister mentioned the 16th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16), scheduled to be held in Colombia between October 21 and November 1, in connection with which the council must develop a common EU position. István Nagy also announced that at the meeting, as the chairman of the council, he will report on the results achieved in the field of whale protection, and the agreements on measures against desertification, soil degradation and drought will also be discussed. “All of these play a significant role in preserving the quality of our created world, mitigating soil degradation and water management,” the Minister of Agriculture added in his statement.

In her arrival speech, Anikó Raisz recalled: the priorities of the Hungarian EU presidency are determined by competitiveness and environmental protection objectives

For Hungary, in addition to comprehensive competitiveness aspects, the goal is to prevent further environmental pollution, preserve biodiversity, and take appropriate steps in connection with climate change, he emphasized. He said that, among other things, the council is discussing the preparation of the United Nations climate change conference (COP29) planned in Azerbaijan in November, where the preparation for the 5th meeting of the intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC-5) planned for the end of November in South Korea will also be emphasized. The negotiating committee was entrusted by the UN General Assembly for Environmental Protection with the task of developing a legally binding international instrument on the subject of plastic pollution. The ministers will also review the implementation of the EU chemicals strategy and formulate guidelines for the next steps. “We believe that it will be very important from the point of view of the health and environment of Europeans how the next institutional cycle proceeds in the field of handling chemicals,” added Anikó Raisz in his statement.

MTI