Agriculture and Fisheries Council, 12/06/2017 - Main results
Agriculture
Organic
The Council i held an orientation debate on the legislative proposal for a new regulation on organic production and labelling of organic products.
Ministers restated their commitment to finding an agreement on the file and discussed possible ways of overcoming the current standstill in negotiations.
"Despite our unwavering commitment to securing a positive outcome, negotiations on the organic regulation have made little progress recently. Today member states have asked the Maltese presidency to come with an updated text in the hope of reaching an agreement with the European Parliament i before the end of our term. We are grateful for the trust given to us and we are committed to working on this dossier until the very last day”
Clint Camilleri, Maltese Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture and president of the Council
The Presidency i will work on an updated text with a view to organising a trilogue with the EP by the end of the month. To this end it will convene bilateral meetings with the member states as soon as possible.
Market situation
In line with its commitment to follow the market situation closely, the Council was briefed by the Commission i on the latest developments in the main agricultural sectors.
The Commission considered that the market situation had significantly improved in several sectors in recent months, although there were some exceptions, for instance in the poultry sector and in some member states' pig meat sectors.
Ministers generally welcomed these positive signals, but some drew attention to particular sectors which are still experiencing difficulties due to seasonal oversupply, bad weather or veterinary restrictions.
"We welcome the positive developments in many agricultural sectors, but we must not drop our guard. The Council remains vigilant, and is ready to react in case of any sudden deterioration in the economic conditions "
Clint Camilleri, Maltese Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture and president of the Council
Other topics on the agenda
Ministers were also informed about:
the activities carried out by the presidency on the issue of emergency preparedness for plant and animal health, one of the Maltese presidency's priorities
the state of play of the meat fraud in Brazil
the ongoing negotiations on an EU-Mercosur trade agreement
the state of play of discussions on the proposed regulation on veterinary medicinal products
the position of the EU in WTO negotiations
the EU-African Union ministerial conference "Making sustainable agriculture a future for youth in Africa (Rome, 2 June 2017), and
the upcoming signature of the "European soy declaration"
Meeting information
Meeting n°3547
Luxembourg
12/06/2017
10:00
Preparatory documents
List of A items, non-legislative activities, Agriculture and Fisheries Council, 12 June 2017
Provisional agenda, Agriculture and Fisheries Council, 12 June 2017
Outcome documents
Press information
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