Portugal upholds European response to guarantee affordable fertilisers and boost food security

At the AGRIFISH council held in Brussels today, the Minister of Agriculture and Maritime Affairs upheld a joint European response to guarantee the availability and affordability of fertilisers, as this is a crucial topic for European food security and agricultural competitiveness.

During the intervention on the EU Fertiliser Action Plan, Portugal praised the European Commission's initiative and noted the importance of boosting the EU's strategic autonomy in an international context set by growing geopolitical instability and market volatility.

The Minister stressed that "without affordable and available fertilisers, there will be no food security or agricultural competitiveness in the European Union".

Portugal valued the measures announced by the Commission, namely the temporary removal of custom tariffs and the reduction of the impact of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on fertilisers yet deemed it necessary to go further in supporting the sector.

During the meeting, Portugal also cautioned to the risks of national State assistance, stressing that at the moment, this is necessary, but given the Member States' different fiscal capabilities, this will generate distortions in the European internal market. José Manuel Fernandes insisted that "European challenges call for European solutions".

The Minister also upheld the following:

• Strengthening the European Agricultural Reserve (Reserve for agricultural crises with an annual amount of 450 million euros)
• Reusing the amounts not executed in the CAP to boost this reserve - there are currently around 2 billion euros that, because there were not used, were lost, the so-called« "decommitments"
• New sources of funding for the CAP, using revenue from the emissions licence market
• Reinforcing investment in research and innovation
• Developing bio-fertilisers and biomethane
• Enhancing livestock and algae effluents
• Creating a true European fertiliser market, reducing legislative fragmentation.

Portugal also reiterated the importance of the future European Competitiveness Fund envisaging amounts dedicated to research and investment in alternative fertilisers, contributing to reducing external dependences and boosting food security and resilience.