EU Member States' agriculture ministers are meeting on Monday 19 November in Brussels to discuss the market and horizontal regulation aspects of the post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) proposals.
Ministerial debates on the future CAP resume on Monday. The ambitious objective remains to complete a common position in the Council before the end of 2018 (see EUROPE 12132).
After discussing the strategic plans component last October (see EUROPE 12117), the Agriculture Ministers will discuss the other two components of the proposal (the Austrian Presidency has drafted two reports taking stock of the discussions at technical level): - the common organisation of agricultural products (CMO) and the horizontal regulation (management and financing).
Market measures. The Commission is proposing simply to amend the provisions on the CMO. To the question ‘Can you argue that no fundamental revision of market support measures should be planned for the moment, taking into account the recent review of these provisions in the framework of the omnibus regulation?', Member States' experts have already answered generally in the affirmative.
Ministers are invited: - to say what they think about the current measures for support of the market and their efficacy over the course of recent years; - to assess whether the currently available market instruments are sufficient to respond adequately to a market crisis.
On the horizontal regulation, they will be asked two questions on the increased responsibilities of paying agencies and certification bodies and the new annual performance assessment.
Other points. During this Council, the European Commission will review the situation on agricultural markets, as it did in June in Luxembourg.
Ministers will also discuss current challenges in the field of plant protection: - the reduction of the impact of new exotic diseases and pests on agriculture, forestry and the environment; - the evolution of the system for the approval and authorisation of plant protection products at EU level and the impact on agriculture of the non-authorisation of conventional active substances.
The Council will discuss the work of the 'Task Force for Rural Africa', in the presence of its chairman, Tom Arnold. The TFRA will present its final report and recommendations by the end of 2018. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)