/ world today news/ This was announced by Momchil Nekov, who is the rapporteur of the Agricultural Commission for the Socialists on the agreement with New Zealand
“Sensitive sectors such as milk, sheepmeat and bee products to be excluded from the negotiated package for duty-free imports into the EU from New Zealand and Australia. In this form, the agreements with these countries are acceptable for Bulgaria and I am glad that in the agricultural commission I received support for this position.” Momchil Nekov said this after voting on the recommendation for negotiations with the two countries yesterday evening in Strasbourg. The Bulgarian MEP is the rapporteur of his political group for New Zealand in the relevant committee.
“An important condition for success in the negotiation process will be a larger list of products with geographical indications, which means that we can insist on the inclusion of Bulgarian products in these agreements – such as our wines or other products that will soon enter the procedure on protection for a geographical indication in our country”, commented Momchil Nekov. Geographical indications are a very important part of negotiations with third parties. For a number of European countries, they are a key and mandatory condition for the acceptance of any agreement with third countries. In addition to legal protection, the inclusion of geographical indications also gives visibility to unique and traditional European products.
The impact of Brexit on future relations between the European Union and New Zealand must also be taken into account in the negotiations. New Zealand is currently allowed to import 230,000 tonnes of sheep meat into the EU. Almost 40% of this quota is used by Great Britain. “When the UK leaves the EU, it means that unless these terms are renegotiated, New Zealand will be able to export these quantities to other member states. This means that the Sheep sector in the EU will be under extreme pressure. We cannot allow this. That’s why I think that the exclusion of the sector should be a real applicable measure,” Momchil Nekov also commented.
Bulgaria’s trade with New Zealand is still modest. The main agricultural products traded in the last year include lamb, wine, wool, offal. The European Commission stated its desire for a quick conclusion of the negotiations on the agreements with the two countries. One reason is the experience with similar agreements with Canada, the US and other countries, which take years. The European Parliament is expected to adopt the resolution with recommendations on the negotiating mandate for an agreement with the two countries at the end of October.
#Bulgarian #farmers #producers #stronger #position #negotiations #Zealand #Australia
