EU Agriculture Ministers will meet, on Wednesday 26 and Thursday 27 May in Brussels, to try to finalise negotiations on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (see other news) and to discuss many other issues, such as the sensitive issue of New Genomic Techniques (NGTs).
The EU27 ministers will exchange views on the European Commission’s study on the status of these new biotechnologies (see EUROPE 12718/12).
The Commission confirms that the current regulation on GMOs is no longer appropriate for plants derived from these techniques and is therefore considering simplifying the authorisation procedure for some of the plants derived from these techniques for which the risks are considered limited. This first round of discussions will give the Commission an idea of the room for manoeuvre it has in presenting a legislative proposal.
The Commission will also touch upon the revision of EU legislation on the production and marketing of plant reproductive material (seed).
Organic farming. The EU Council will discuss the action plan presented by the European Commission for the development of organic production in the EU (objective: 25% of land to be farmed organically by 2030).
Frost. The Greek delegation, on behalf of the French, Greek and Italian delegations, will ask the Commission to provide exceptional support for the wine sector, following the frost events (https://bit.ly/3wm8qoY ).
The EU Council will adopt conclusions (https://bit.ly/3hK2rq4 ) on the EU priorities for the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit.
Fisheries. Ministers will discuss the situation regarding consultations with the UK on post-Brexit fishing quotas in 2021.
The Spanish and French delegations will provide information on the state of play on the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations on fisheries subsidies. It is expected that an agreement on this issue will be reached by the end of 2021 (see EUROPE 12723/9). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)