Brussels, 15/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - In addition to the public debate on the reform of the common fisheries policy (CFP), European agriculture ministers, who will gather in Brussels on Tuesday 19 July, will discuss the Green Paper on promotion measures for agricultural products and the ruminations of the Beef Reflection Group. In a public session, the Polish Presidency will present its work programme for the next six months in agriculture and fisheries. Over lunch, ministers will discuss the energy use of biomass from agriculture as an important element of the common agricultural policy (CAP).
Polish Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Marek Sawicki will set out the priorities of the Polish Presidency, which include: - the debate based on the Commission proposals for the CAP after 2013 which will be presented in October 2011: special attention will be paid to the support to investments relating to the development of renewable energy in rural areas; - streamlining the CAP; - discussions on the milk package and on the agricultural product-quality package; and - alignment of the CAP with the Lisbon Treaty.
The priorities for fisheries policy will focus on: - the Commission proposals for the reform of the common fisheries policy; - the setting of 2012 fishing quotas and TACs.
In terms of veterinary and phytosanitary issues the Presidency intends to work on: - the proposal to introduce electronic identification in bovine animals; - the new EU plant health strategy.
CFP reform. The Council will hold an exchange of views on Commission proposals for the reform of the common fisheries policy. The United Kingdom gave a relatively warm welcome to the proposals from Maria Damanaki and has said that it is ready to work for a radical reform needed “by the environment and our fishermen”. Spanish minister Rosa Aguilar was somewhat concerned at the content of the proposals, in particular the abrupt ending of the practice of discarding fish, which presents a problem for fishermen, and the management of stocks in line with the principle of maximum sustainable yield (MSY) by 2015 - Spain, like several other countries, has suggested 2020 as a more appropriate date. Spain, like France, is concerned at the socio-economic impact of the reform. France, along with other countries like Ireland and Germany, will be forthright in its condemnation of the idea of transferable fisheries concessions (quotas).
Promotion of agricultural products. The Commission will present the Green Paper on the promotion of agricultural products and provision of information, entitled “A reinforced value-added European strategy for promoting the tastes of Europe”. This issue will be debated in public and shown by video streaming. The promotion of agricultural products will be the theme of the informal Agriculture Council to be held in Wroc³aw in September.
Beef Reflection Group. Under “Any other business”, the Commission will brief ministers on the conclusions of the Beef Reflection Group. During the extraordinary Agriculture Council on 7 June 2011, ministers were informed by France, supported by Belgium, of the impact of the drought situation in certain European countries, in particular on the bovine sector. At this meeting, the Commission informed delegations that a Beef Reflection Group had been established in order to examine how to improve the existing market tools in the beef and veal sector with a view to making concrete recommendations.
Reducing regulatory burdens on farm businesses. The United Kingdom will brief the ministers about an independent report on how to reduce regulatory burdens on farmers without reducing standards, with the aim of increasing farming and food industry competitiveness. Some proposals would require changes to the UK's domestic regulations - but others would need amendments to EU legislation.
E.coli outbreak. At the request of the Belgian delegation, ministers will follow-up on the extraordinary Council of 7 June 2011on the Escherichia coli (E.coli) outbreak. The source of the E.coli epidemic was finally identified by the German authorities (beansprouts from a farm in the north of the country). The initial warning about other fresh vegetables was lifted. The Commission has raised the budget for the promotion of these products and announced its intention to initiate a large-scale information campaign as soon as possible. It has allocated an emergency overall budget envelope of €210 million to partially compensate producers of cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, courgettes and sweet peppers in the EU. The Commission has announced its intention to assess national demands for compensation from the member states in the days to come and to have a first overview of the complete situation by the end of July 2011. In addition, it noted that vegetable prices were partially recovering from the low levels they reached during the crisis. (L.C./transl.rt)