RMF FM findings: Poland does not want farmers to suffer the consequences of hybrid attacks

Four countries submitted a joint application for Art. 20 of the draft regulation on the CAP for 2028-2034. The document was submitted to the EU Council on October 19. As established by an RMF FM journalist, the proposed provision is to be included in the preamble of the regulation, because at the current stage of negotiations it was too late to change the provision itself.

It's about threats on the eastern flank

Force majeure means extraordinary circumstances beyond the farmer's control that may prevent him from fulfilling certain obligations. This is important, among others: when assessing the right to EU financial support and possible sanctions for failure to meet the requirements.

Poland and the other three countries want hybrid threats to also be taken into account when assessing such situations, including GPS signal interference, which may hinder the use of technologies used in modern agriculture.

During Monday's meeting of agriculture ministers in Luxembourg, the representative of Estonia confirmed that the four countries had jointly addressed this issue.

Together with Finland, Latvia and Poland, we submitted a joint proposal in which we highlighted security and geopolitical threats along the EU's eastern border, he said.

A farmer should not be responsible for events over which he has no influence

For Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Finland, it is about adapting EU regulations to the security realities on the eastern flank. Interference with satellite signals may impede the work of farms, and new regulations should allow such events to be taken into account when assessing whether a farmer has fulfilled his obligations.

The provision in the preamble is intended to emphasize the importance of these threats when interpreting force majeure provisions.