On Monday 16 November 2015, the Agriculture and Fisheries Council held an exchange of views on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) as part of the EU strategy to streamline and reduce EU legislation to this effect.
At the meeting, attended by Luxembourg Minister of Agriculture, Viticulture and Consumer Protection, Fernand Etgen, ministers were briefed by the Commission on international trade issues. Over half of all EU agricultural trade is carried out under bilateral or regional agreements, with a number of them having been recently concluded, are underway or are planned. The 11th round of negotiations concerning the EU-US Transatlantic trade and Investment Partnerships (TTIP) took place at the end of October. Many Council members pointed out the need for balanced international agreements with regard to agriculture.
The Commission was also present at the meeting in order to provide an update on the main market developments and on progress on the adoption and the implementation of the package of market support measures. To tackle the dairy and pigmeat crises of the agricultural sector, the Commission announced at the September Council a series of measures to alleviate short term difficulties and improve the competitiveness of EU farmers. These legal acts entered into force after their publication in mid-October, with the majority of ministers responding favourably to the rapid implementation of the measures.
The Council also adopted a regulation to hasten and cheapen the placing of novel foods on the EU market whilst preserving the protection of human health. Novel foods are examples of foods not significantly consumed in the EU before May 1997, including for instance foods to which a new production process is applied.
Photo by MAVPC (L-R: Luxembourg Minister of Agriculture, Viticulture and Consumer Protection, Fernand Etgen ; European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Phil Hogan)
