Opening the 2016 Agricultural Outlook Conference, President Juncker explained: "Simplification and modernization will be the key words and the primary objective of the Communication on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy which the Commission plans to adopt before the end of 2017. The first step will be a public consultation which will be launched at the beginning of next year and which will allow each of you to contribute to the debate on the direction that this important strategic policy should take in the future."

In front of roughly 400 delegates, Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Phil Hogan said that the CAP "should guarantee certain basic rules to ensure greater market resilience, more sustainable agricultural production and better renewal of generations."

Commissioners Miguel Arias Cañete and Karmenu Vella are also among the many speakers on the first day of the conference, under the general theme "Climate change and the availability of resources: challenges for the agriculture of the European Union". The sessions are web streamed here.

The second day will focus on the 10-year market outlook report for the dairy, meat and cereal markets from 2016-2026, published to coincide with the Conference. The sessions looking at the different sectors will be web streamed here.  

All the different speeches and presentations will be posted on the Conference website as the conference progresses. The hashtag of the conference on twitter is #EU_AgriOutlook.

Video recordings of the speeches by President Juncker and Commissioner Hogan are also available.

Source: ec.europa.eu