Maximaal duurzame visserij en groenere landbouw (en)

How can EU fisheries obtain maximum sustainable yield and how can agriculture be more environmentally friendly? These are the main questions to be discussed at the EU i Agricultural and Fisheries Council 14 - 15 May.

On Monday 14 May the EU Fsheries Ministers will discuss the Commission’s proposal on Maximum Sustainable Yield, MSY, and the integration of environmental awareness in the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy.

“The environmental aspects will be of utmost importance in the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, and I am pleased that the suggestions of Commissioner Damanaki are very ambitious. We must remember that we deal with shared, live and vulnerable resources. The objective is to ensure sustainability when it comes to environmental, economic and social issues and safeguard fisheries in many years to come,“ says the Danish chair, Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Mette Gjerskov.

According to the Commission’s proposal the objective is that Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) shall be implemented with regard to all species no later than 2015. Maximum Sustainable Yield I defined as the largest yield that can be caught from a species' stock year after year without jeapardizing reproduction.

Following the debate about Maximum Sustainable Yield, the EU Ministers will discuss the Commission’s proposal for a new European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, EMFF. The EMFF will replace the current Fisheries Fund and will apply from 2014 to 2020. The new fund will support the implementation of the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy and the objectives of the 2020-strategy.

Finally the Commission will inform the Council about a Conference on aquaculture in Salzburg on 11 May. The Conference is a joint project between Austria and the Commission.

A greener European agriculture

On Tuesday 15 May the Council debate will focus on how to ensure a greener European agricultural production.

“It is my ambition that the EU Agriculture Ministers agree on green solutions that are not just words on paper, but real life solutions that can be seen in the field. There is no doubt that the future and future jobs are to be found in environmentally friendly production. But there is also no doubt that we have to find solutions that respects the differences in European agriculture,” says Mette Gjerskov.

The Commission’s proposal on greening suggests that 30 percent of the direct payment be depend-ent on three green requirements:

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  Agriculture that exceed three hectares must grow at least three different crops
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  Requirement on permanent pasture
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  Seven percent of the farm land at each farm should be reserved for buffer-strips, landscape features and other areas where the natural environments is prioritized.

The Council’s debates on the fisheries and agricultural reforms are open to the public and can be followed online.