Priorities for agriculture and fisheries for the next six months

At the meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on 23 January the Danish Presidency presented its agricultural and fisheries work programme.

© Fotolia

Reforms of the EU agriculture and fisheries policies are among the priority tasks for the Danish Presidency. The Presidency would like to make these sectors greener, more sustainable, with less administrative burdens whilst ensuring high-quality and safe agricultural production and a high level of animal welfare.

However, the reform of the common agricultural policy (CAP) is a large task that the Danish Presidency does not intend to finish this semester: it will prepare the work for the next presidencies. "Our task is to lay the foundation on which the house [of these reforms] should be built", said Mette Gjerskov, Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries of Denmark.

The Presidency believes that one of the solutions to achieve a greener and more sustainable agriculture could be the use of environmentally-, nature- and climate-friendly farming methods.

These could be developed through innovation and research in agriculture. Accordingly, farm subsidies, for example, could in future be focused on such activities as the development of the biogas plants and similar environmentally-friendly solutions.

Demark and the European Commission will organise a conference on innovation and research in agriculture on 7 March 2012.

On food and veterinary issues, the Presidency will focus on the legal acts that concern infant food and food for special medical purposes, the quality systems and commercial standards for agricultural products (the so-called "quality package") and organic farming.

Particular emphasis will be on modernisation of meat inspection and the issue of antimicrobial resistance as well as the use of antimicrobials in both human and veterinary medicine.

Furthermore, animal protectionis a clear priority for the Danish Presidency, so the Council will consider the new animal welfare strategy presented by the Commission at the 23 January Council meeting. Together with the Commission, the Presidency will organise an international conference "The EU animal welfare strategy 2012-2015" on 29 February-1 March.

As far as the fisheries policy reform is concerned, the Council will aim to conclude the debate on the reform package, which consists of a new basic regulation, a new common market organisation and a new European maritime and fisheries fund for 2014-2020.

One of the Presidency's main aims is to reduce the amounts of unwanted catch and bring an end to the practice of discarding.

The Croatian delegation participated in the Council meeting as an active observer.

Further information:
Press release (pdf)
Press conference webcast
Webcast of the presentation of the Danish priorities
The 50th anniversary of Common Agriculture Policy portal