Brussels, 24/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - The Irish Presidency of the EU Council is inviting European agriculture ministers, who will be meeting in Dublin on Sunday 26 May until the following Tuesday, to hold an informal discussion on talks underway on reform of the common agricultural policy (CAP).
During the meeting on Tuesday 28 May in Dublin, the Presidency will call on ministers to discuss several key subjects of the reform: direct payments (coupled payment, internal convergence of direct payments, capping and aid degressivity), the common market organisation (CMO) (sugar quotas, planting rights in the vine sector, export refunds), rural development (zones with natural disadvantages), and horizontal regulation (number of payment agencies).
In a letter to his counterparts, the Irish minister, Simon Coveney, says the Council has, of course, already taken a stance on these matters (in March). Now, the aim of the discussions at the informal meeting will be to assess how best to modify that stance so as to be able to reach an agreement with the European Parliament and the Commission.
Coveney has planned a meeting on Monday 27 May with the chairman of the agriculture committee at the European Parliament, Paolo de Castro (S&D, Italy) to discuss these matters. The aim of the meeting is to ensure that the positions of the three institutions are well understood. The Presidency trusts that the Agriculture Council on 24 and 25 June, in Luxembourg, will manage to reach a political agreement on CAP reform. (LC/transl.jl)