Environment Council: November 2016

Tuesday 8th November 2016 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (George Eustice)]

Agriculture and Fisheries Council will take place on 14-15 November in Brussels. I will represent the UK.

As the provisional agenda stands, the primary focus for fisheries will be a political agreement on fishing opportunities for EU vessels for certain deep-sea fish stocks, and an exchange of views on establishing a multi-annual plan for demersal stocks in the North sea.

On agriculture there will be an exchange of views on: a report from the agricultural markets taskforce; EU agricultural research and innovation; and a study on the impact of concessions in free trade agreements on agricultural products.

There are currently nine confirmed Any Other Business items tabled for this Council:

Implementation of the landing obligation, including the potential issue of fisheries choke (tabled by the United Kingdom)

Completion of action plans for EMFF specific ex-ante conditionalities (tabled by the Commission)

Outcomes from the informal EU forest directors general meeting (tabled by the presidency)

Animal welfare during transport (tabled by Sweden)

Animal welfare platform (tabled by the Netherlands)

Endocrine disruptors (tabled by the Netherlands)

Ministerial conference on lumpy skin disease (tabled by Bulgaria and Austria)

Anti-microbial resistance (tabled by Denmark)

Use of geographical indications on foods which imply customary name (tabled by Greece).

[HCWS242]