Agro Perspectiva

Preparation Agriculture/Fisheries Council of March 2010

30.03.2010 09:30 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) — The Agriculture & Fisheries Council will meet in Brussels on Monday 29 March (starting at 11 a.m.), under the Presidency of Mrs Elena Espinosa, Spanish Minister for Agriculture. Commissioners Maria Damanaki and Dacian Cioloş will represent the Commission at the meeting. The points on the agenda are: agriculture. On 28 October, the Commission adopted a Communication (see IP/09/1593) on measures which aim to improve the functioning of the food supply chain in Europe. The sharp decline in agricultural commodity prices alongside persistently high consumer food prices has raised concerns on the efficiency of this crucial sector of the European economy. Improving commercial relationships between actors of the chain will be a significant step towards a more efficient food supply chain ultimately benefiting all actors of the chain and consumers alike. The Council is expected to adopt conclusions on the Commission Communication."Future of the CAP: market management measures post 2013".Further to the exchange of views at the Council meeting in February, the Presidency will present conclusions on the future of the CAP market management measures.On 3 March 2010, the European Commission launched the Europe 2020 Strategy to emerge from the crisis and prepare the EU economy for the next decade. The Commission identified three key drivers for growth, to be implemented through concrete actions at EU and national levels: smart growth (fostering knowledge, innovation, education and digital society), sustainable growth (making our production more resource efficient while boosting our competitiveness) and inclusive growth (raising participation in the labour market, the acquisition of skills and the fight against poverty). This battle for growth and jobs requires ownership at top political level and mobilisation from all actors across Europe. Five targets are set which define where the EU should be by 2020 and against which progress can be tracked. The Council will have an exchange of views on the Agriculture and the CAP in the perspective of the Europe 2020 Strategy. Specifically, the Presidency suggests focussing on the following two main questions: the potential of both agriculture and the CAP to make an active contribution to meeting future challenges in the EU 2020 Strategy and whether this is sufficiently reflected in the Strategy; and the need to ensure that the Strategy does not interfere with or call into question the funding of Union policies, such as the CAP, whose objectives are set out in the Treaties and which contribute to the achievement of the new European priorities. The Commission will present an updated quarterly report on the situation of the dairy market. Latest figures show that average producer prices in the main producer countries have recovered to around 28 cents per litre — which is close to the seasonal average in recent normal years. OECD Ministerial meeting in February 2010 (Paris, 27–28 February 2010): Information from the Austrian delegation; Union for the Mediterranean: Ministerial Conference — 15 and 16 June 2010: Information from French delegation; WTO-DDA Negotiations: Information from the Commission. Fisheries:Implementation of Regulation (EC) N° 1967/2006 concerning management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea (Italian request); Fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES): Information from the Maltese delegation.