Bijeenkomst Raad Landbouw en Visserij op 17 mei (en)
EN
COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
10045/11
PROVISIONAL VERSION PRESSE 130 PR CO 27
PRESS RELEASE
3087th Council meeting
Agriculture and Fisheries
Brussels, 17 May 2011
President Mr Sándor FAZEKAS
Minister for Rural development of Hungary
Finally, ministers were briefed on the protection of animals during transport, on a conference on animal welfare in the Baltic region, on Codex Alimentarius negotiations , on a conference on sustainable food consumption and production , on the pig meat sector , on intervention price for cereals , on sugar production quotas, on a G20 ministerial meeting on agriculture and on the drought situation in Northern Europe.
CONTENTS
ITEMS DEBATED
Legally binding agreement on forests in Europe ................................................................................ 7
ANY OTHER BUSINESS................................................................................................................... 9
Protection of animals during transport................................................................................................. 9
Animal welfare and responsible ownership ......................................................................................... 9
Codex Alimentarius negotiations....................................................................................................... 10
Conference on sustainable food consumption and production .......................................................... 11
Pig meat sector ................................................................................................................................... 11
Intervention price of cereals............................................................................................................... 12
Sugar production quotas..................................................................................................................... 12
G20 - Ministerial meeting on Agriculture.......................................................................................... 13
Drought situation in Northern Europe ............................................................................................... 14
OTHER ITEMS APPROVED
AGRICULTURE
-
-Honeybee health .................................................................................................................................................... 15
-
-Statistics on pesticides........................................................................................................................................... 15
FISHERIES
-
-Technical measures for conservation of fisheries resources.................................................................................. 15
FOOD
-
-Health claims made on food .................................................................................................................................. 16
ENVIRONMENT
-
-EU Ecolabel........................................................................................................................................................... 16
-
-Biocidal products................................................................................................................................................... 17
HEALTH
-
-In vitro diagnostic medical devices ....................................................................................................................... 17
DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION
-
-Management of EU development assistance ......................................................................................................... 18
TRADE
-
-Trade in cocoa ....................................................................................................................................................... 18
ITEMS DEBATED
Legally binding agreement on forests in Europe
The Council could not agree during this session on the participation of the EU and its member states in the opening of negotiations on a legally binding agreement (LBA) on forests in Europe during the next Forest Europe ministerial conference on 14-16 June 2011.
Any agreement on forests in Europe falls under both EU and national competences. This means that the opening for negotiations on a LBA in this area would have to be concluded by both the EU and the member states under the form of:
· a decision authorising the Commission to participate, on behalf of the EU, in the negotiations on LBA on forests in Europe;
· a decision of the representatives of the member states, meeting within the Council, authorising the Presidency to negotiate a LBA on behalf of the member states.
A vast majority of delegations, supported by the Commission, insisted on the importance of reaching a consensus between member states on both decisions considered as a "package" in order to reinforce the image of the EU in this area in international forums. However, some member states are very reluctant to the opening of a LBA on this area considering that the current level of negotiations is sufficient in Forest Europe and fearing that a LBA could add a layer of administrative burden and would imply both financial and political costs.
Coreper has been invited to continue exploring the possibility of reaching an agreement before the meeting of Forest Europe scheduled mid-June.
Forest Europe is an intergovernmental policy process based on common strategies, which started in 1990 and is aimed at ensuring the sustainable management of Europe's forests. This process includes 46 European member countries (including Norway, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine...) and the EU. Priorities of Forest Europe include: strengthening the role of forests in mitigating climate change, securing the supply of good-quality fresh water, enhancing and preserving forest biodiversity, providing forest products, developing a framework for future forest collaboration and exploring the possibility for a legally binding agreement on forests in Europe.
At the last ministerial conference of the Forest Europe process in 2007, in Warsaw, it was decided to explore the possibility to establish a legally binding instrument on forests in the pan-European region. The possible decision on launching negotiations on a LBA on forests in Europe should be taken at the next Forest Europe ministerial conference, which will take place in Oslo, on 14-16 June 2011.
On March 2011 draft documents were adopted by the representatives of the Forest Europe countries, including those from all member states and the Commission to be presented for decision in Oslo in June. At this occasion, all non-EU Forest Europe countries expressed their support for the opening of negotiations including Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Norway and Switzerland.
In June, ministers could sign a mandate for opening negotiations on a LBA on forests in Europe. After the signing of this mandate, negotiations on a LBA on forests in Europe are expected to begin no later than 31 December 2011 and are to be concluded by 30 June 2013.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Protection of animals during transport
The Swedish delegation briefed the Council about the Commission's report on the protection of animals during transport ( 9538/11).
Sweden hopes that legislative proposals concerning long journeys, resting period and space allowances will follow the publication of the Commission report on the transport of live animals expected for September 2011. On this matter the scientific opinion from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on the welfare of animals during transport published on 1 January 2011 could also help to feed such proposals. Several member states supported Sweden while on the other hand several other member states insisted on the proper implementation and the enforcement of the current legislation, and the evaluation of the provisions in place before any new proposals are made.
The Council adopted in 2004 regulation 1/2005 on protection of animal during transport after intense discussions. It was decided at this time to favour a "step by step" approach increasing the control of requirements and leaving for a later stage the controversial questions of travel time and density of loading. This regulation provides that the Commission will draw up by 2011 a report on the impact of the regulation on the welfare of animals being transported and on the trade flows of live animals within the EU.
Animal welfare and responsible ownership
The Lithuanian delegation briefed ministers on the outcome of the "First international Conference on animal welfare in the Baltic region responsible ownership and best practices" which took place in Vilnius on 5-6 May 2011 ( 10021/11).
The conference initiated by Lithuania focused on responsible ownership of companion animals in the Baltic region. The conference gathered representatives of national authorities in the region, professional organisations, NGOs for animal protection, representatives of the European institutions and other stakeholders. The concept of "responsible ownership" was disseminated through the web site of the CAROdog project and other similar initiatives offering tools for political strategies and concrete projects to build up a European wide culture of responsible dog ownership.
In November 2010, the Council adopted conclusions (15620/10 ADD1 REV 2 +ADD 2) in the framework of the new EU strategy 2011-2015 for the protection and welfare of animals presented by the Commission. On the occasion of this conference in Lithuania, the Commission presented ideas on how to consider the welfare of pets in its own strategy and to answer the Council conclusions.
Codex Alimentarius negotiations
The Presidency reported to the Council on Codex Alimentarius negotiations progress and prospects ( 9859/11).
During the Codex Alimentarius Committee meetings which took place during the Presidency period, many achievements were obtained such as the settings of maximum levels for melamine, a chemical substance fraudulently introduced in infant formula, the promotion of the EU approach on food additives and pesticide residues, the preservation of characteristics of natural mineral waters including microbiological criteria and contaminants and the setting of several other food standards.
The Presidency noted that a Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) session before the end of this Presidency will have to deal with a sensitive issue: the setting of maximum residue levels for ractopamine, a chemical which use for growth promotion in pigs and cattle in certain third countries
is refused by the EU.
In addition, the Commission noted that another sensitive issue, the establishment of guidelines on GM labelling on which the US and the EU disagree since 1996, are about to be resolved.
The CAC, jointly established in 1962 by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), develops international food standards to protect consumers and to ensure fair practices in the food trade. In many cases, Codex standards have even acquired a certain legal relevance as they are considered to be a point of reference in cases of trade disputes between WTO members.
Conference on sustainable food consumption and production
The ministers were briefed by the Presidency on the output of a conference on "Transition towards sustainable food consumption and production in a resource constrained world" which took place in Budapest on 4-5 May 2011 ( 10138/11)
This conference was organised by the Presidency in coordination with the Commission bringing together major European and worldwide stakeholders from the fields of agriculture, food, forestry, aquaculture, rural development, consumer science, economics, etc.
This event was part of a wide foresight process initiated in 2006 by the EU Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR) with the aim of identifying emerging and innovative solutions which would enable agriculture to cope with a range of complex and interlinked challenges, such as rapidly increasing globalisation, climate change and unsustainable consumption of natural resources. The main conclusions of this conference are summarized in the "Budapest declaration" (annex of document mentioned above) which could be adopted during the next plenary meeting of SCAR in June 2011.
Pig meat sector
The Commission briefed the Council on the conclusions of the enlarged advisory group on pig meat ( 10022/11).
Several delegations supported the main conclusions made by the enlarged advisory group on pig meat establishing the role of innovation in the competitivity of this sector and the importance of a better integration of the pig industry. The Commission expect to consider many measures for this sector in the framework of the future CAP, notably put in place a mechanism to better anticipate the crises, reinforce the promotion in the EU and outside the EU and try to better balance the power of producers in this sector. The current market tools available have shown their efficiency and should be kept but possibly improved. However, some member states considered that the conclusions of the enlarged advisory group does not provide sufficient concrete replies to the causes of the crisis in this sector.
On 13 December 2010, Belgium presented to the Council the outcome of a reflection day on the "the pig meat sector towards 2020", which took place on 3 December 2010 ( 17727/10). Further to this reflection day, the Commission decided to convene an enlarged advisory group on pig meat and invited agricultural non governmental organisations, members of the advisory group on pig meat, to four meetings held jointly with representatives of all members states in the first months of 2011. The purpose of this group, chaired by the Commission, was to "analyse the situation in the pig sector in the light of the current crisis but also discussing the mid-term and long term perspectives of a competitive EU pig industry".
Intervention price of cereals
The Council was briefed by the Polish delegation if its request to increase the intervention price of cereals ( 9547/11).
The fast increase of production costs (in particular the growth of prices of agricultural inputs) and changes in the system of intervention on the cereal market in recent years made worse the uncertainty of production and reduced profitability of cereals production. Poland noted that intervention prices ceased to increase each month, reducing the level of market support and restricting the "safety net" function of the system. The Polish delegation expressed the need to increase strongly the intervention price of cereals to 130 EUR per tonne, which would improve the security of production pursued by cereals producers and would allow to create stocks to stabilize the market, if cereals prices grow rapidly.
The Commission noted that the current situation is not favourable for deciding such a measure. Firstly cereal prices are high everywhere in the world market and not only in the EU and a high intervention price would impede the competitivity of EU cereals; secondly, cereal price is not the only element to take into account as direct payment to the producer is also a part of the equation.
Sugar production quotas
Poland also briefed the ministers on its request to increase the sugar production quotas of each member state ( 9550/11).
In recent years, the quota sugar production in the EU stays lower than the actual consumption. This means restrictions of the production level both for sugar-beet growers and sugar producers. In order to reinforce sugar production in the EU and better use the production capacity of member states, Poland recommends that sugar production quotas should be increased by 15% for each member state, starting from the 2011/2012 season. An alternative solution could be the increase by 5% for 3 subsequent marketing years starting from the 2011/2012 season.
Some member states supported the Polish request but some others, together with the Commission, while agreeing with the report established by Poland, noted that the current sugar regime has to take into account several aspects, notably the agreement with ACP countries and the production and imports of cane sugar.
G20 - Ministerial meeting on Agriculture
The Council was briefed by France about the organization of a meeting of the G20 ministers of agriculture on 22 and 23 June in Paris on the price volatility for agricultural commodities ( 9956/11).
The objective of the meeting in June is to propose an action plan on the volatility of agricultural prices to be endorsed by the Heads of State Summit scheduled for 3 and 4 November 2011 in Cannes.
France, which currently holds the presidency of the G20, identified the following themes for this
meeting:
· develop agricultural production in the long run in order to match the increasing demand and limit shortages;
· improve market information and transparency in the interests of governments and economic operators with the creation of a joint database on stocks and production;
· improve international coordination in order to enhance confidence in international markets and to prevent and manage food crisis more efficiently e.g. by setting up a specific a world forum able to respond quickly in case of a crisis;
· develop risk management tools for the most vulnerable in order to cope with excessive food volatility; and,
· better organise the agricultural markets.
The French initiative was strongly supported by member states, some of them insisting on the importance of setting up a specific mechanism to mitigate the speculation on agricultural products.
In the coming weeks the Presidency will propose draft terms of reference for the EU's participation in the Paris meeting, which should be approved by Council at the beginning of June.
For information, on 10 March 2011 the Council adopted conclusions on tackling the challenges on raw materials and in commodity markets ( 7029/11). In addition the Council has scheduled to adopt
a further set of conclusions on financial challenges with regard to raw materials and commodity markets very relevant for ongoing G20 discussions.
Drought situation in Northern Europe
The French delegation briefed also the Council on its request concerning the consequences of the drought situation in Northern Europe ( 10194/11).
In the last weeks, France and several member states from northern Europe have been affected by a decrease in rains and high temperatures. This has strongly affected agriculture production, with an expected general diminution of yields in several crops and severe difficulties in the animal farming sector where feed normally stocked for summer have already been used. The French delegation requested from the Commission the authorisation to put in place an advance for direct payments on 16 October and to put at 80% the level of the advance on the premium for maintaining suckler cow herds.
Several delegations acknowledged the same facts than the French delegation and the Commission will evaluate the conformity of this demand with the legal provisions of the CAP.
OTHER ITEMS APPROVED
AGRICULTURE
Honeybee health
The Council adopted conclusions (8606/11 ADD 1 REV 1) on a Commission communication concerning honeybee health (17608/10). For more information see the press release 10292/11.
Statistics on pesticides
The Council decided not to oppose to the adoption of the draft Commission regulation concerning statistics on pesticides, as regards definitions and list of active substances ( 7038/11).
This draft Commission regulation implements regulation 1185/2009 establishing a new framework for the production of comparable European statistics on pesticide sales and use. This text proposes first the adoption of the definition of the term `area treated' defined in regulation 1185/2009, as it should be understood and applied in a uniform manner throughout the EU. Secondly, this text adapts for the period 2010 to 2015 the list of substances to be covered and their classification in categories of products and chemical classes as set out in Annex III of regulation 1185/2009.
Unless the European Parliament opposes this regulation within 3 months from its submission, the Commission may adopt it.
FISHERIES
Technical measures for conservation of fisheries resources
The Council amended the regulation 1288/2009 establishing transitional technical measures from 1 January 2010 to 30 June 2011 ( 9/11 + 9119/11 ADD1 REV1) following a first reading agreement with the European Parliament. The United Kingdom and Portugal voted against.
This text provides for an extension of the implementation period of the regulation for the conservation of fisheries resources through technical measures. Given the fact that regulation 1288/2009 will expire on 30 June 2011 and that there is no current legal act that could provide for permanent technical measures, this text ensures legal certainty for these specific measures aiming at the conservation of marine resources by extending the validity of regulation 1288/2009 for another 18 months, until 1 January 2013. However, basic principles on technical measures will be considered by the new basic regulation for the ongoing reform of the common fisheries policy.
FOOD
Health claims made on food
The Council decided not to oppose the adoption of the two following Commission regulations concerning health claims made on food:
· regulation of refusing to authorise certain health claims made on foods, other than those referring to the reduction of disease risk and to children's development and health (7785/11);
· regulation on the authorisation and refusal of authorisation of certain health claims made on foods and referring to the reduction of disease risk (7784/11).
The three acts are subject to the so called regulatory procedure with scrutiny. This means that now that the Council has given its consent, the Commission may adopt the regulations, unless the European Parliament objects.
ENVIRONMENT
EU Ecolabel
The Council did not oppose the proposals for updated criteria for awarding the EU Ecolabel to
The three draft Commission decisions are subject to the so-called regulatory procedure with scrutiny. This means that now that the Council has given its consent, the Commission may adopt them, unless the European Parliament objects.
Biocidal products
The Council did not oppose the proposed authorisation of three active substances in pest-control
products:
These active substances will be permitted in the above-mentioned products from 1 July 2013.
At the same time, the Council did not oppose the proposal not to include a number of active substances in annex I, IA or IB of directive 98/8 ( 7810/11). Thus, certain types of biocidal products sold on the EU market may not more contain these active substances as of 1 July 2012. For instance, formaldehyde and sulphur dioxide will no more be permitted in disinfectants for drinking water or human hygiene purposes.
The four draft Commission acts are subject to the so-called regulatory procedure with scrutiny. This means that now that the Council has given its consent, the Commission may adopt them, unless the European Parliament objects.
HEALTH
In vitro diagnostic medical devices
The Council opposed the adoption by the Commission of a draft directive establishing the procedure a manufacturer must follow in order to affix the CE marking to "Variant Creutzfeldt- Jakob disease" (vCJD) assays. The Danish delegation voted against this decision and the UK delegation abstained.
The Council supports the substance of the draft Commission directive. However, a qualified majority of delegations opposed its adoption on the grounds that, by requiring member states to draw up correlation tables, the Commission exceeds the implementing powers provided for in the basic act (directive 98/79/EC).
Under the regulatory procedure with scrutiny, the Council may oppose the adoption of new measures on the grounds that they exceed the implementing powers provided for in the basic act, are not compatible with the aim or the content of the basic act or do not comply with the principles of subsidiarity or proportionality.
DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION
Management of EU development assistance
The Council adopted conclusions on two special reports by the EU Court of Auditors on the management of EU development assistance, i.e. on the Special report No 11/201 concerning the Commission's management of general budget support in ACP, Latin American and Asian countries
(8996/11) and on Special report No 12/2010 concerning the EU development assistance for basic education in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia (8905/11).
TRADE
Trade in cocoa
The Council authorised the signature on behalf of the European Union and provisional application of the international cocoa agreement 2010 ( 8134/11). It had been approved by the negotiating conference established under the auspices of the UN conference on trade and development on 25 June 2010. The date from which the agreement will be provisionally applied will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.