Voorbereiding voor de Raad Landbouw en Visserij van Oktober 2008 (en)

The Agriculture & Fisheries Council will meet in Luxembourg on Monday 27 (starting at 10 am) and Tuesday 28 October, under the Presidency of Michel Barnier, French Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries. Commissioners Joe Borg and Mariann Fischer Boel will represent the Commission at the meeting. Fisheries points will be dealt with first on Monday, and a joint press conference will be held at the end of these discussions. A press conference on the Agriculture points will be held on Tuesday at the end of the Council meeting.

The points on the agenda of Council are:

Fisheries

Fishing opportunities for the Baltic Sea for 2009 – political agreement

Council will discuss the Commission's proposal (IP/08/1299) on fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea for 2009 with a view to reaching political agreement. The proposal follows scientific advice that most stocks in the Baltic Sea should be subject to reduced catches in 2009. This is especially true of the Western cod stock, and of the Western herring stock, both of which require serious attention to prevent their further decline. In the case of the Western cod stock, the Commission is proposing a 15% reduction in fishing opportunities while in the case of Western herring stock, a 63% reduction is being proposed. For the Eastern cod stock however the Commission is proposing a 15% increase in the EU quota as the situation of this stock has improved in recent years. Both these proposals are in line with the multi-annual plan for cod in the Baltic Sea.

The debate in Council is expected to focus on proposed TACs for certain stocks, and on the appropriate level of fishing effort in the Eastern Baltic.

Deep-sea fishing opportunities for 2009 and 2010 – political agreement

Council will discuss the Commission's proposal (IP/08/1441) on fishing opportunities on deep sea species for 2009 and 2010 with a view to reaching political agreement. The proposal reflects both commitments made by Member States in 2006 to progressively reduce catch levels on certain stocks to zero over four years, and the recent scientific advice confirming the poor biological condition of many deep sea stocks,. In addition, the Commission has sought to bring Total Allowable Catches (TAC) more closely in line with scientific advice for those stocks where catches are close to zero. The Commission is committed to a precautionary approach in managing fragile deep sea stocks.

The debate in Council is expected to focus on the need for effort limitations to accompany the proposed TAC reductions, TACs for certain stocks, and the minimum landing size for red sea bream.

Fishing opportunities for the Black Sea for 2009 – political agreement

Council will discuss the Commission's proposal (IP/08/1440) on fishing opportunities for the Black Sea in 2009 with a view to reaching political agreement. The Commission has proposed a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of 100 tonnes for turbot, unchanged from 2008, and a TAC of 12,750 tonnes for sprat, representing a 15% reduction compared to 2008. The TAC for sprat is unallocated, while the TAC for turbot would be provisionally divided equally between Bulgaria and Romania. The proposal also sets out technical measures for the turbot fishery. These proposals are based on advice from a working group of leading Bulgarian and Romanian fisheries scientists, and from the Commission's own Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee on Fisheries (STECF) which has reviewed the working group's report.

The debate in Council is expected to focus on the TAC for turbot.

Bilateral agreements with Norway – exchange of views

The EU and Norway have a bilateral Fisheries Agreement since 1980, covering the fisheries on joint stocks in the North Sea. Some of these stocks are jointly managed (cod, haddock, herring, plaice, saithe and whiting), while others such as anglerfish, horse mackerel, Norway pout and sandeel are not. Annual Total Allowable Catches (TACs) are set jointly by the EU and Norway for the jointly managed stocks. The reciprocal exchange of quotas needs to be in overall balance across the Agreement.

Council will discuss the approach the Commission should take during the annual negotiations with Norway, which will commence on 3 November, and should conclude towards the end of the month.

EU position at the 16th Annual Meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) – political agreement/adoption

The annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas will be held in Marrakech, Morocco, from 17 to 24 November. Council will discuss the Commission's proposal for a Council Decision to establish the EU's negotiating position at the meeting. The decision would include both the EU position on the main issues under the responsibility of ICCAT, which would be valid for a number of years, and some more specific provisions on the bluefin tuna fisheries. The depleted stock of Eastern bluefin tuna – currently subject to an ICCAT recovery plan - needs more protection because of overfishing (see IP/06/1632). Last June, the Commission closed the bluefin tuna fishery early to purse senners in both the Mediterranean and the eastern Atlantic as these vessels had exhausted their quotas (see IP/08/937).

The debate in Council is expected to focus on issues relating to the ICCAT recovery plan for bluefin tuna, in particular, overcapacity (fleet and farms), derogations to the minimum landing size, the length of the fishing seasons, and certain control measures.

Environment

Illegal Logging

The Commission will present its proposal for a regulation to minimise EU imports of illegally harvested timber and timber products. The proposal forms part of the forest package unveiled on 17 October (see IP/08/1543).

Agriculture

Health Check

On 20 May 2008, the European Commission proposed to further modernise, simplify and streamline the Common Agricultural Policy and remove remaining restrictions on farmers to help them respond to growing demand for food. The so-called CAP Health Check will further break the link between direct payments and production and thus allow farmers to follow market signals to the greatest possible extent. Among a range of measures, the proposals call for the abolition of arable set-aside and a gradual increase in milk quotas before they are abolished in 2015, and a reduction in market intervention. These changes will free farmers from unnecessary restrictions and let them maximise their production potential. The Commission also proposes an increase in modulation, whereby direct payments to farmers are reduced and the money is transferred to the Rural Development Fund. This will allow a better response to the new challenges and opportunities faced by European agriculture, including climate change, the need for better water management, and the protection of biodiversity.

The press release, proposal and further information on the Health Check is available on the internet at: http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/healthcheck/index_en.htm

The policy debate on the Commission proposal will continue at this Council meeting. Trilateral meetings (Presidency - Commission - Individual Member States) are foreseen for Monday evening and Tuesday morning.

School Fruit Scheme

On 8 July, the European Commission proposed to establish a European Union-wide scheme to provide free fruit and vegetables to school children. European funds worth €90 million every year would pay for the purchase and distribution of fresh fruit and vegetables to schools, and this money would be matched by national funds in those Member States which chose to make use of the programme. This is the latest stage in the Commission's efforts to improve health and nutrition, as set out in the 'Strategy for Europe on Nutrition, Overweight and Obesity and related health issues'. The School Fruit Scheme aims to encourage good eating habits in young people, which studies show tend to be carried on into later life. Besides providing free fruit and vegetables, the scheme would require participating Member States to set up national strategies including educational and awareness-raising initiatives and the sharing of best practice. An estimated 22 million children in the EU are overweight. More than 5 million these are obese and this figure is expected to rise by 400,000 every year. Improved nutrition can play an important part in combating this problem.

More information on the Scheme available on the internet at:

http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/markets/fruitveg/sfs/index_en.htm

Ministers will have a policy debate on the Commission proposal.

Any Other Business

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  Crisis in the market for apples for processing in certain new Member States of Central Europe
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  23th Conference of the EU paying agencies – Conclusions
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  Green paper on agricultural product quality: Product standards, farming requirements and quality schemes: Information by the Commission.
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  Non-used CAP