The EU Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers will meet in Brussels on Monday 15 November to adopt conclusions on the EU Forest Strategy and to discuss the delicate situation of certain agricultural markets, in particular due to the rise in input and energy prices.
On agricultural markets, the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council has prepared a document summarising the requests of the Member States (https://bit.ly/3n7mOzx ). Rising input and energy prices, as well as the delicate situation of the pigmeat sector, are expected to dominate the discussions.
The first topic on the morning agenda will be the recent conference on the ‘Farm to Fork’ strategy, with information provided by the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides (https://bit.ly/3Dmpy1C ).
On fisheries, the Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, will brief the ministers on the state of play of the fisheries consultations with the United Kingdom, with a view to determining the size of the 2022 fishing quotas for shared stocks.
Mr Sinkevičius, who will replace the Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski (still in quarantine after testing positive for Covid-19), will then present the Communication adopted on Friday 12 November on thecontingency plan for ensuring food supply and food security in times of crisis(https://bit.ly/3HgtTG1 ).
Mr Sinkevičius will brief ministers ahead of the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (30 November - 3 December). Discussions are expected to cover a number of agricultural issues, including domestic support, export competition, export restrictions, public storage and market access (https://bit.ly/3D9rbjq ).
CAP strategic plans. The Hungarian delegation will present a Joint Declaration (https://bit.ly/3n8l2OM ) on behalf of the Agriculture Ministers of the Visegrád Group countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia), supported by the Ministers of Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania, asking the Commission to ensure that the procedure for adopting the strategic plans of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is transparent and that the new delivery model is effective.
Other topics. The Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU will discuss the events surrounding the EU Pollinator Week (27-30 September).
Lithuania will talk about the challenges facing the pigmeat sector.
The Spanish delegation will request EU aid after the volcanic eruption in La Palma.
The Slovak delegation will provide information on the difficulties encountered in managing brown bear and wolf populations.
Link to the EU Council conclusions on the EU Forest Strategy: https://bit.ly/3DbhAIS
Link to country statements related to the conclusions on the EU Forest Strategy: https://bit.ly/30fQfGW (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)