As discussions between the European Parliament and the EU Council on the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) are progressing slowly, the Portuguese Presidency of the EU Council has convened a ‘super trilogue’ on this sensitive dossier on 26 March (see EUROPE 12669/1).
The ‘super trilogue’, which will be attended by the Portuguese Minister Maria do Céu Antunes, the rapporteurs from Parliament on the three regulations of the future CAP, and the Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, will take place after the Council of Agriculture Ministers, scheduled for 22 and 23 March.
Maria do Céu Antunes also met recently with the chair of Parliament’s Agriculture Committee, Norbert Lins (EPP, Germany).
On 4 March, MEPs on the Agriculture Committee once again regretted the lack of room for manoeuvre in the EU Council’s discussions.
Two trilogues on the horizontal regulation and on the Common Market Organisation (CMO) were held on 2 and 3 March respectively, allowing some progress to be made.
The next trilogues are scheduled for 11 and 29 March on the strategic plans, 24 March on the single CMO, and 25 March on the horizontal regulation.
Political guidelines at the next Council. The Portuguese Presidency of the EU Council will seek political guidance on the most sensitive points of the three CAP proposals (strategic plans, CMO and horizontal regulation) at the Agriculture Council on 22 and 23 March.
It “is preparing a document asking ministers to provide guidelines for the super trilogue on the CAP”, confirms a European source.
It hopes that this super trilogue will be a “turning point”, with a view to concluding the negotiations between institutions on the three texts in the second or third week of May. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)