Agriculture and Fisheries Council

Caroline Spelman Excerpts

Tuesday 30th November 2010 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)]

The Minister of State with responsibility for agriculture and food, my hon. Friend the Member for South East Cambridgeshire (Mr Paice), and the Under-Secretary of State with responsibility for natural environment and fisheries, my hon. Friend the Member for Newbury (Richard Benyon), are representing the United Kingdom at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels on 29 and 30 November.

There are two fisheries and four agriculture items on the agenda. Discussion will take place on the following:

Total allowable catches and quotas for deep-sea species;

EU-Norway fisheries agreement: discussion with Norway about management of joint stocks in North sea/north Atlantic as part of the December fisheries package;

Plant protection product 1, 3—dichloropropene: the Commission has proposed banning this soil fumigant;

Report on possibility of the European Food Safety Agency charging fees:

Commission communication on the future of the CAP: this is the first chance of the Council to respond to this recently published communication

Communication on the Farm Advisory Service: routine report on its operation.

There are currently six items under any other business

1. Long-term fisheries management plans—information supplied by the Commission

2. Conference on the reform of the plant health regime: report from presidency

3. Conference on animal welfare: report from presidency

4. 2011 budget: update from the Commission on handling agriculture payments, should the EU 2011 budget not be agreed before the end of the year

5. Conference on food security: report back by the Dutch on their recent conference

6. G20 and agriculture: report from the French on their plans for their G20.