European agriculture commissioner sees forests as key to bioeconomy

In Belgium, the European agriculture commissioner said during the opening of the Our Forests, Our Future conference that forests are key to developing Europe’s bioeconomy that is expected to generate one million new jobs by 2030. The future Horizon Europe program will further enhance funding opportunities in research and innovation for forests and the forest-based sector, notably to develop the bioeconomy. Under the Commission’s proposal for the future CAP, he said Member States will have more freedom to tailor forestry interventions to the local needs of their forest sector and the specificities of their rural areas.

This freedom will allow Member States to focus on their bioeconomies and to help them meet the higher environmental and climate ambition of the future policy.