Verslag vergadering Raad van Ministers van Landbouw en Visserijbeleid (en)

CONTENTS 1

PARTICIPANTS

ITEMS DEBATED

THE PRESIDENCY'S WORK PROGRAMME

EXTENDING INTERVENTION PERIODS FOR DAIRY PRODUCTS

AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH

ADAPTING TO CLIMATE CHANGE

OTHER BUSINESS

Cheese export refunds

Endangered bee species

OTHER ITEMS APPROVED

AGRICULTURE

• - 

  Import tariff quota for high-quality beef

FOOD SAFETY

• - 

  Non-inclusion of metam as an active substance for plant protection products

• - 

  Use of tetraconazole in plant protection products

• - 

  Use of certain active substances in plant protection products

HEALTH

• - 

  Saint Lucia complies with EU requirements concerning rabies

• - 

  Minimum safety and health requirements for the use of work equipment

ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL POLICY

• - 

  Assistance for Latvia

• - 

  Coordination of national provisions for companies

DEVELOPMENT POLICY

• - 

  EU/Pacific States - Economic Partnership Agreement

• - 

  EU/Eastern and Southern Africa States - Economic Partnership Agreement

• - 

  EU/South Africa Cooperation Council

TRANSPORT

• - 

  Amendments to the TIR Convention - Community position

• - 

  Recognition of navigability licences for inland waterway vessels

TRADE POLICY

• - 

  Anti-dumping - Graphite electrode systems - India

BUDGET

• - 

  EU's draft general budget for 2010

• - 

  New distribution of the member states' contribution to the EU budget 2009

• - 

  Member states' contributions to the European Development Fund for 2009

INTERNAL MARKET

• - 

  Simplification of legislation: insurance for vehicles - pressure vessels - single-member companies

STATISTICS

• - 

  Community statistics on the information society

DECISION TAKEN BY WRITTEN PROCEDURE

• - 

  Transport : EASA - Regulatory procedure with scrutiny

PARTICIPANTS

The governments of the Member States and the European Commission were represented as follows:

Belgium :

Ms Sabine LARUELLE Minister for SMEs, the Self-Employed, Agriculture and Science Policy

Bulgaria :

Mr Valeri TSVETANOV Minister for Agriculture and Food Supply

Czech Republic:

Mr Jakub ŠEBESTA Minister for Agriculture

Denmark:

Mr Anders MIKKELSEN Deputy Permanent Secretary , Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries

Germany:

Mr Gert LINDEMANN State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection

Estonia:

Mr Helir-Valdor SEEDER Minister for Agriculture

Ireland:

Mr Brendan SMITH Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

Greece:

Mr Sotiris KHATZIGAKIS Minister for Rural Development and Food

Spain:

Ms Elena ESPINOSA MANGANA Minister for Minister for the Environment and the Rural and Marine Environment

Mr Josep PUXEU ROCAMORA State Secretary for the Rural Environment and Water

Ms Silvia CLEMENTE Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development of the Autonomous Community of Castile-Leon

France:

Mr Bruno LE MAIRE Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries

Italy

Mr Luca ZAIA Minister for Agricultural and Forestry Policy

Cyprus:

Mr Christodoulos PHOTIU Director, Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture.

Latvia:

Mr Janis DUKLAVS Minister for Agriculture

Lithuania:

Mr Kazimieras STARKEVICIUS Minister for Agriculture

Luxembourg:

Mr Frank SCHMIT Director, Ministry of Agriculture, Viticulture and Rural Development

Hungary:

Mr József GRÁF Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development

Malta:

Ms Theresa CUTAJAR Deputy Permanent Representative

Netherlands:

Ms Gerda VERBURG Minister for Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality

Austria:

Mr Nikolaus BERLAKOVICH Federal Minister for Agriculture, Forestry, the Environment and Water Management

Pologne:

Mr Marek SAWICKI Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development

Portugal:

Mr Luís VIEIRA Deputy State Secretary for Agriculture and Fisheries, attached to the Minister for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries

Romania:

Mr Liviu HARBUZ State Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development

Slovenia:

Mr Milan POGACNIK Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Food

Slovakia:

Mr Ján SLABÝ State Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture

Finland:

Ms Sirkka-Liisa ANTTILA Minister for Agriculture and Forestry

Sweden:

Mr Eskil ERLANDSSON Minister for Agricult ure

Mr Rolf ERIKSSON State Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture

United Kingdom:

Mr Jim FITZPATRICK Minister of State for Food, Farming and the Environment

Commission:

Mr Janez POTOCNIK Member

Ms Mariann FISCHER BOEL Member

ITEMS DEBATED

THE PRESIDENCY'S WORK PROGRAMME

Mr Eskil Erlandsson gave Ministers an overview of the work programme and the issues to be debated during Swedish Presidency in the field of Agriculture and Fisheries ( 11798 / 09 ). The work of the Ministers of Agriculture will concentrate on the following priority areas:

Sustainable Fisheries - the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)

The Presidency’s overall vision for fisheries policy is to create conditions for a sustainable use of resources.

The fisheries ministers will continue the discussion on the future fisheries policy, based on the Green Paper presented by the Commission.

The Presidency aims to conclude negotiations on a proposal on fisheries control in the autumn.

Sweden will chair the annual negotiations on the TAC and Quotas Regulation in December and intends to build on the success of the French Presidency and reach an agreement to keep to the recovery and management plans already that have already been adopted.

Food and Climate - the global challenges

Two of the main global challenges facing agriculture are managing the impact of agriculture on climate change - and vice-versa - and securing global food supply.

In addition to the presentation of the Commission working document “Adapting to climate change: the challenge for European agriculture and rural areas”, agriculture and climate change will be the topic for the discussion at the Informal Meeting of Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers.

The Presidency will also host a conference on “Climate Smart Food”, which will focus on climate change impacts on the whole food chain – from production to consumption.

Future global food security is a challenge, particularly as the world’s population is expected to double by 2050. The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) plays an important role in securing global food supplies. The highest decision-making body in the FAO, the Conference, will convene a meeting in November 2009. As holder of the Presidency, Sweden will speak on behalf of the EU at the meeting and thereby advance the work of the FAO.

Sound animal husbandry and healthy animals

S ound animal husbandry is key to the well-being of animals, to consumer confidence in food production, to public health and to the producers’ financial situation. In particular, improving animal welfare standards is essential for sound animal husbandry.

The aim of the Swedish Presidency is to advance work on animal welfare issues and to keep the debate alive on the importance of good animal welfare in the EU. Several animal welfare issues will be on the agenda during the autumn of 2 009, including a conference on Animal Welfare.

More and more EU citizens are becoming interested in the issue of how we treat our animals. Sweden has a strong profile in animal welfare issues, both within the EU and internationally. The EU strategy for animal health – ‘Prevention is Better than Cure’ – is important for future animal husbandry in the EU. During the Presidency the Government will be active in ensuring that the Council participates constructively in these discussions.

Main events relating to Agriculture and Fisheries which will be organised in Sweden:

• - 

  In Ronneby :
• - 

  Meeting of Directors-General for Fisheries (2-3 July): S ustainability and profitability in the future fisheries policy
• - 

  in Växjö:
• - 

  Informal meeting of Agriculture Ministers (13-15 September)

• - 

  Meeting of the Special Committee on Agriculture (14 September)
• - 

  In Uppsala:
• - 

  Animal Welfare conference (8-9 October)
• - 

  in Jönköping:
• - 

  Meeting of the Working Party of Chief Veterinary Officers (20-23 October)
• - 

  In Lund
• - 

  Climate Smart Food conference (23-24 November)

EXTENDING INTERVENTION PERIODS FOR DAIRY PRODUCTS

The Council welcomed the Commission proposal extending the intervention period for butter and skimmed milk powder, and took note of all the information provided by the Commission in this respect ( 11905/09 ).

The proposal is aimed at extending the 2009 intervention period for butter and skimmed milk powder from 31 August 2009 until 28 February 2010 in order to respond to the exceptional situation on the dairy market.

The Council also took note of the views expressed by several delegations expecting an in-depth examination of the dairy market situation in order to explore all the possible means to alleviate the market difficulties. With that in mind, the Presidency will bring forward the September Council meeting to the 7th.

The examination of this proposal by the Council will start rapidly to ensure a swift adoption after the European Parliament has delivered its opinion.

Pending the formal adoption of the legal text by the Council, the Commission will make use of special provisions under Article 191 of Regulation(EC) No 1234/2007: “The Commission shall adopt the measures which are both necessary and justifiable in an emergency, in order to resolve specific practical problems. Such measures may derogate from provisions of this Regulation, but only to the extent that, and for such a period, as is strictly necessary.”

After a brief and unprecedented period of record prices for milk and dairy products in 2007 and early 2008, European producers now face weak and uncertain markets characterised by a sharp drop in global dairy product prices.

A considerable set of support measures has already been deployed, including export refunds for butter, cheese and whole and skimmed milk powder, in addition to the introduction of private storage aid for butter (already in force since from 1 January 2009) and intervention for butter and skimmed milk powder (as from 1 March).

AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH

The Council took note of the Commission’s Communication « Towards a coherent strategy for a European Agricultural Research Agenda » based on the outcome of the various initiatives undertaken by the Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR) and on the results of a European Commission-funded “EU-AGRI-MAPPING” project ( 17489/09 ).

Member states shared the communication conclusions on the vital role that agricultural research should play to respond to future challenges such as food supply security, renewable energy, the fight against climate change effects and the maintenance of biodiversity.

Member states agreed that joint programming initiatives would enhance the efficiency of European agricultural research and help to tackle cross-border challenges. The amazing progress made by the SCAR was unanimously welcomed.

In its Communication from July 2008 "Towards Joint Programming in Research" the Commission suggested to go further than collaboration, and define common visions, strategic research agendas and the pooling of resources.

European Council of 20 June 2008 ¹ stated that "there is a need to pursue innovation, research, and development of agricultural production, notably to enhance its energy efficiency, productivity growth and ability to adapt to climate change."

In order to cope with new challenges, it is widely acknowledged ² that there is a need for a strong agricultural research area within Europe .

For more information :

SCAR:

http://ec.europa.eu/research/agriculture/scar/index_en.cfm

EU-AGRI Mapping :

http://www.europartnersearch.net/eu-agri-mapping/index.php?page=main

¹ ADAPTING TO CLIMATE CHANGE

The Council held a first exchange of views on a working document accompanying the White Paper ‘Adapting to climate change: Towards a European framework for action’ 17489/09: “Adapting to Climate Change: the challenge for European agriculture and rural areas” ( 8526/09 ADD5 ), on the basis of a questionnaire seeking guidance on what aspect of adaptation Ministers consider the most important for their country and what area of research relating to it they considered of strategic importance.

All member states participated in the discussion, showing their commitment in this matter which will be at the very top of the Swedish presidency's agenda.

The need to monitor water resources, to identify crop and livestock varieties resistant both to extreme weather events and to the spread of diseases were among the main priorities pointed out by member states.

Depending on their geographical location, member states mentioned unavoidable effects such as drought or floods which would thoroughly affect their agricultural sectors and require awareness raising as well as adaptations of husbandry, growing methods and forestry.

Some member states insisted on the important role agriculture can play in mitigation and this issue will be further discussed by ministers in Växjö during their informal meeting.

Complementing the White Paper, the working document summarises the main impacts of climate change on EU agriculture, examines adaptation needs, describes the implications for the CAP and explores possible orientations for future action. It aims at further engaging Member States and the farming community in a debate and action on adaptation needs that result from climate pressures.

Over the coming decades agriculture will be influenced by climate change both globally and within the EU. Even though EU agriculture is technologically developed, its capacity to deliver food and to contribute to ecosystem services for European society is directly dependent on climatic conditions. European farmers will need to define their strategies for production, farm management and investment in the face of increasing uncertainty.

For more information :

Austria

http://www.accc.gv.at/englisch/index.htm

Belgium

http://economie.fgov.be/energy/climate_change/plan_national_climat_060302.doc

Bulgaria

http://www.bluelink.net/climate/e_about.shtml

Czech Republic

http://www.mzp.cz/AIS/web-en.nsf/pages/Climate_Change

Denmark

http://www.kemin.dk/da-DK/KlimaogEnergipolitik/DanskKlimaogEnergipolitik/Klimatilpasningsstrategien/Documents/klimatilpasningsstrategi_03032008.pdf

Finland

http://www.mmm.fi/attachments/5enfdAPe1/5kghLfz0d/Files/CurrentFile/MMMjulkaisu2005_1a.pdf

France

http://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/Strategie_Nationale_2.17_Mo-2.pdf

Germany

http://www.bmu.de/english/climate/downloads/doc/42841.php

Hungary

http://www.kvvm.hu/cimg/documents/nes080214.pdf

Ireland

http://www.environ.ie/en/PublicationsDocuments/FileDownLoad,1861,en.pdf

The Netherlands

http://international.vrom.nl/pagina.html?id=37555

Spain

http://www.mma.es/secciones/cambio_climatico/areas_tematicas/impactos_cc/pdf/pna_v3.pdf

Sweden

http://www.sweden.gov.se/content/1/c6/09/60/02/56302ee7.pdf

United Kingdom

http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/adapt/index.htm

OTHER BUSINESS

Cheese export refunds

• - 

  Request from the Lithuanian delegation

The Council took note of the views expressed by the Lithuanian delegation, supported by the Belgian, Bulgarian, Czech, German, French, Greek, Irish, Latvian, Luxembourg, Hungarian, Austrian, Slovenian, Slovak and Finnish delegations ¹ who welcomed the Commission’s efforts in the dairy sector but asked for an increase of export refunds for cheese, one of the EU's leading dairy exports ( 11814/09 ).

The Commission representative informed the Council that its services were closely monitoring the situation on the dairy market; latest data available for cheese exports show the signs of a steady trade flow. After recalling the cautious approach followed with regard to the re-introduction of these refunds, she confirmed that she would continue to monitor the situation and if needed propose an increase.

Endangered bee species

• - 

  Request from the Slovenian delegation

The Council took note of the concerns expressed by the Slovenian delegation and supported by a large number of delegations regarding serious difficulties being encountered by the beekeeping sector, throughout the world and more particularly in Europe ( 11829/09 ) .

Slovenia expressed the views that there was an urgent need for further research in the field of bee health, including the influence of climate change, and on the effects of plant protection products on bees.

The Commission representative informed ministers that the European Food Safety Authority would issue a report on bee mortality before the end of the year. She also mentioned that the Common Agricultural Policy provided for a wide range of support measures for bee-keeping :

• - 

  under national rural development programmes;

• - 

  through co-financing (single CMO regulation);

• - 

  under Article 68 of Regulation No 73/2009 (health check).

OTHER ITEMS APPROVED

AGRICULTURE

Import tariff quota for high-quality beef

The Council adopted a regulation opening an autonomous import tariff quota of 20 000 t for fresh, chilled or frozen high-quality beef ( 11276/09 ). This quota is duty-free and applies from 1 August 2009. The opening of this quota is part of the compromise reached between the EU and the USA in May this year over the beef-hormone dispute.

FOOD SAFETY

Non-inclusion of metam as an active substance for plant protection products

The Council adopted a decision concerning the non-inclusion of metam in Annex I to Council Directive 91/414/EEC on the basis of a Presidency compromise, which the Commission endorsed. The decision was adopted by qualified majority, the Danish, Irish, Romanian and Slovenian delegations voting against and the Belgian delegation abstaining ( 10433/09 ).

Any period of grace granted by a member state for the disposal, storage, placing on the market and use of existing stocks of plant protection products containing metam should be limited to twelve months in order to allow existing stocks to be used in one further growing season, which ensures that plant protection products containing metam remain available to farmers until 13 January 2011.

Use of tetraconazole in plant protection products

The Council adopted a directive including tetraconazole as active substance in Annex I to Council Directive 91/414/EEC, on the basis of a Presidency compromise, which the Commission endorsed. The decision was adopted by qualified majority, the Danish, Italian, Irish and Netherlands voting against and the Swedish delegation abstaining ( 10434/09 ).

Tetraconazole can only be used as fungicide in field crops, in certain conditions.

Council directive 91/414/EEC currently provides a harmonised framework for the authorisation and placing on the market of plant protection products. Active substances to be used as plant protection products are assessed and authorised at Community level and are listed in Annex I to the directive. Individual plant protection products containing active substances are assessed and authorised by member states under harmonised rules.

Use of certain active substances in plant protection products

The Council did not establish a qualified majority, either for or against, three proposals concerning the non-inclusion of the certain active substances in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC and the withdrawal of authorisations for plant protection products containing those substances: bifenthrin ( 10260/1/09 REV1), diphenylamine ( 10255/09 ) and triazoxide ( 10257/09 ).

The Council having concluded its proceedings on these files, the Commission is now entitled to finalise the decision-making procedures, in accordance with the regulatory procedure provided for in Article 5 of Decision No 1999/468 of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission.

Active substances to be used as plant protection products are assessed and authorised at Community level under Directive 91/414, which established a harmonised framework for the authorisation and placing on the market of plant protection products.

Authorised substances are listed in Annex I to the directive. The inclusion of an active substance in Annex I is decided by the Commission - on the basis of risk assessments carried out by the European Food Safety Authority - subject to the opinion of the experts of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH).

As the SCoFCAH did not provide an opinion supported by the majority required on any of the three proposals, it is up to the Council to take the decisions.

HEALTH

Saint Lucia complies with EU requirements concerning rabies

The Council decided not to oppose a decision of the Commission to include Saint Lucia in the list of third countries which comply with certain EU requirements concerning rabies. Third countries listed in Part C of Annex II to regulation 998/2003 are considered to fulfil the requirements relating to the notification of suspected cases, the monitoring system, the structure and organisation of their veterinary services, the implementation of regulatory measures for the prevention and control of rabies and the regulations on the marketing of anti-rabies vaccines. The risk of rabies entering the EU as a result of movements of pets from third countries on this list is deemed to be no higher than the risk associated with movements between member states.

Minimum safety and health requirements for the use of work equipment

The Council adopted a codified version of the directive concerning minimum safety and health requirements for the use of work equipment by workers at work ( 3633/09 ). The new directive replaces the various acts incorporated into directive 89/655, while fully preserving their content.

The Council adopted a decision fixing the financial contributions to be paid by the member states contributing to the European Development Fund as regards the second instalment for 2009 ( 11543/09 ).

ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL POLICY

Assistance for Latvia

The Council adopted a decision aligning its 20 January 2009 decision on the granting of assistance for Latvia with its recommendation adopted on 7 July this year on corrective action to be taken with regard to Latvia's excessive deficit ( 11805/09).

Coordination of national provisions for companies

The Council adopted a codified version of the directive on coordination of national provisions concerning disclosure, the validity of obligations entered into by, and the nullity of, companies limited by shares or otherwise having limited liability ( 3631/09 ). The new directive replaces the various acts incorporated into Directive 68/151, while fully preserving their content.

DEVELOPMENT POLICY

EU/Pacific States - Economic Partnership Agreement

The Council adopted a decision approving the signing and provisional application of the interim partnership agreement between the European Community and the Pacific States ( 5558/2/09 ).

Negotiations for an interim partnership agreement, which establishes a framework for an Economic Partnership Agreement, were concluded in November 2007 with Papua New Guinea and the Fiji Islands.

The agreement is designed in particular to achieve the objectives of the Cotonou Agreement of poverty eradication, sustainable development and the gradual integration of the Pacific States into the world economy, with due regard for their political choices and development priorities.

EU/Eastern and Southern Africa States - Economic Partnership Agreement

The Council adopted a decision approving the signing and provisional application of the interim agreement establishing a framework for an Economic Partnership Agreement between the Eastern and Southern Africa States, on the one part, and the European Community and its member states, on the other part ( 5556/09 ).

Negotiations for that interim agreement were concluded in November 2007 with Seychelles, Zambia and Zimbabwe. In December 2007, the agreement was initialled by Mauritius, Comoros and Madagascar.

The agreement is aimed at fostering the smooth and gradual integration of the Eastern and Southern Africa States into the world economy with due regard for their political choices, levels of development and development priorities, thereby promoting their sustainable development and contributing to poverty eradication in these countries.

EU/South Africa Cooperation Council

The Council approved the Community's position regarding the draft agenda of the 10th meeting of the Cooperation Council between the European Community and its member states, on the one part, and South Africa, on the other part.

The EU-South Africa Cooperation Council is established by the Trade, Development and Cooperation Agreement with South Africa and its 10th session will take place in Brussels on 23 July 2009.

TRANSPORT

Amendments to the TIR Convention - Community position

The Council adopted a decision on the position to be taken by the Community concerning the proposal to amend the Customs Convention on the International Transport of Goods under cover of TIR carnets (TIR Convention 1975). The proposed amendments concern mainly articles that deal with financial responsibility and recovery of customs debts.

The TIR Convention was approved on behalf of the Community by Council Regulation (EEC) No 2112/78 of 25 July 1978 and entered into force in June 1983. The next session of the Administrative Committee for the TIR Convention is scheduled for September 2009.

Recognition of navigability licences for inland waterway vessels

The Council adopted ¹ a codified version of a directive on reciprocal recognition of navigability licences for inland waterway vessels ( 3630/09 ).

The new directive replaces the various acts incorporated into the Council Directive 76/135/EEC of 20 January 1976 , while fully preserving their content.

TRADE POLICY

Anti-dumping - Graphite electrode systems - India

The Council adopted a regulation concluding the partial interim review pursuant to Article 11(3) of Regulation 384/96 of the anti-dumping duty on imports of certain graphite electrode systems originating in India ( 11325/09 ) .

BUDGET

EU's draft general budget for 2010

The Council established the EU's draft general budget for 2010, closing herewith its first reading on the preliminary draft budget submitted by the Commission ( 11620/09 , 11620/09 ADD 1 , 11620/09 ADD 1 COR 1 , 11620/09 ADD 2 , 11621/09 , 11621/09 + ADD 1 ). The draft budget for 2010 amounts to EUR 137.944 billion in commitment appropriations, leaving a margin of EUR 2.4 billion under the total ceiling of the financial framework, and EUR 120.521 billion in payment appropriations, corresponding to 1.02% of the Gross National Income (GNI) of the EU.

These figures reflect the wish of the Council to strike a sound balance between targeted cuts in some areas and the financing of political priorities such as measures stimulating growth and employment against the background of the current economic and financial crisis.

The reductions in the appropriations compared with the amounts requested in the preliminary draft budget of the Commission (- EUR 612.90 million in commitments and - EUR 1.795 billion in payments) were agreed by the Council on the basis of a thorough examination of the budget implementation of recent years and the current year and by taking into account the 2009 budget forecast.

Compared with the 2009 budget, the draft budget for 2010 represents a 3.06% increase in commitment appropriations and a 3.81% increase in payment appropriations.

New distribution of the member states' contribution to the EU budget 2009

The Council established draft amending budget No. 6 to the general budget for 2009, changing the distribution between member states of their own resources contributions to the EU budget ( 11291/09 ). The new distribution is the result of the following factors:

• - 

  the revision of the forecast of traditional own resources (i.e. customs duties and sugar levies) as well as the Value-added Tax (VAT) and Gross National Income (GNI) bases;

• - 

  the budgeting of the relevant UK corrections as well as their financing;

• - 

  the revision of financing of GNI reductions in favour of the Netherlands and Sweden in 2009.

Member states' contributions to the European Development Fund for 2009

The Council adopted a decision fixing the financial contributions to be paid by the member states contributing to the European Development Fund as regards the second instalment for 2009 ( 11543/09 ).

INTERNAL MARKET

Simplification of legislation: insurance for vehicles - pressure vessels - single-member companies

The Council adopted codified versions of existing directives relating to:

• - 

  insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles ( 3632/09 );

• - 

  simple pressure vessels ( 3634/09 ) and

• - 

  single-member private limited-liability companies ( 3636/1/09 ),

for the purposes of their clarification and simplification.

STATISTICS

Community statistics on the information society

The Council adopted a regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 808/2004 concerning Community statistics on the information society ( 3637/09 ).

The amended regulation is designed to ensure the continuation of the existing common framework for the systematic production of reliable, harmonised, timely and high-quality Community statistics on the information society and the provision of annual statistical data on ICT usage in enterprises and in households. In addition, the proposal updates the regulation according to the needs of a rapidly evolving statistical domain.

DECISION TAKEN BY WRITTEN PROCEDURE

Transport : EASA - Regulatory procedure with scrutiny

The Council decided ¹ not to oppose the adoption by the Commission of a regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 on common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European Aviation Safety Agency.

The regulation is amended in order to reflect the changes made to the Annex 16 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention) since its adoption.

The amending regulation is subject to the regulatory procedure with scrutiny, which allows the Council to oppose the adoption of legal acts by the Commission for defined reasons. As the Council has given its green light, the Commission may adopt the regulation, unless the European Parliament objects.

¹ :

Presidency Conclusion n° 28 of the European Council, 20 June 2008

² :

Ref. SCAR Foresight; World Development Report 2008; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC reports); Millennium Ecosystem System Assessment

¹ :

See document 8526/09 .

¹ :

The Italian minister drew his colleagues attention on the great difficulties encountered in high quality cheeses exports.

¹ :

The United Kingdom delegation abstained from voting.

¹ :

By written procedure on 10 July 2009.