CAP review, protection of farmers' income and reciprocity in trade among the priorities of his program.

Massimiliano Giansanti is the new president of Copa, the association that brings together the main professional agricultural organizations, representing over 22 million European farmers. The Presidency Committee met today in Brussels in plenary session.

“The coming years will define the future of European agriculture. Major challenges await us, such as the enlargement of the Union to new Member States and the consequent need for a larger budget for the sector, a profound reform of the CAP and increasingly effective actions to combat climate change. We cannot be caught unprepared. This role entrusts me with a great responsibility that I will honour with the utmost dedication. I will be the president of all European farmers because I have always maintained that only by acting as a cohesive entity will we be able to compete on global scenarios, restoring the dignity that European agriculture deserves”. This was stated by Giansanti , thanking the presidents of the organizations that are part of Copa and underlining: “I will involve everyone, especially the vice-presidents, at my side, to achieve the objectives of the program together”.

“Agricultural Europe must return strong, able to compete with the United States and China on global markets” continued Giansanti , underlining three priorities: “In addition to the revision of the CAP, we must defend farmers' income and guarantee reciprocity in trade with third countries: our competitors must be aligned with EU standards on food safety and working conditions”.

Changing the narrative on agriculture and food production, promoting communication based on scientific evidence and correct and transparent information to consumers is another key point in the speech of the newly elected president of Copa.

50 years old, from Rome, Massimiliano Giansanti is an agricultural entrepreneur, president of Agricola Giansanti srl and CEO of the Gruppo Aziende Agricole Di Muzio, present in the provinces of Rome, Viterbo and Parma. The companies, specialized in the production of cereals, kiwi, milk and livestock products, are active in the agro-industrial and agro-energy sectors.

Satisfaction is widespread in the agricultural world for the nomination reserved for the president of Confagricoltura. " Giansanti will be able to assert all his professionalism and the knowledge acquired in recent years also as an agricultural entrepreneur operating in various sectors", declared the president of Legacoop Agroalimentare Cristian Maretti . "He will be able to best interpret the political aspects thanks to the long experience acquired with Italian and European institutions".

According to Copagri President Tommaso Battista , “having a fellow countryman at the helm of such a prestigious association, almost thirty years after the last Italian presidency, is a source of great pride for the entire agri-food sector and for the entire country system, which will now be able to count on one more ally to make its voice heard and counted on the many dossiers on the table of the community institutions”.

On the same wavelength, in the political sphere, the comment of Francesco Battistoni (FI), vice president of the Environment, Territory and Public Works Commission of the Chamber of Deputies stands out: "In a time of great changes, of decisive challenges for the sector and new objectives to be achieved, having entrusted the leadership of Copa to an Italian is a choice of absolute value that rewards the pragmatism and credibility of the non-ideological but systemic policies that Italy is carrying out and that also in Europe are finding ever greater attention. This choice", concludes Battistoni , "rewards the entire Italian agri-food system which is recognized as central and its high social value".

For his part, the vice president of the Senate Gian Marco Centinaio (Lega) states: "It is time to move from the environmentalist ideological fury of the past to a shared action of sustainable growth and protection of food autonomy. I am certain", adds Centinaio , "that Giansanti will be able to best represent these needs at the European tables, representing a fundamental sector for the economy, health and strategic centrality of the EU".