OREANDA-NEWS. On Monday, January 26, in Brussels, the Minister of Agriculture, Janis Duklavs chaired the meeting of EU Council of Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries (AGRIFISH).

Programme of the Presidency

The Latvian Presidency gave a presentation to the Council of its work programme in the agriculture and fisheries sector. As regard agriculture, the Presidency indicated that organic farming is a key issue for Latvia. Minister Duklavs noted:"On the basis of the progress achieved by the previous Presidency, we have planned to reach a general approach at the Council by the end of the Latvian Presidency". He said also that

"the simplification of the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) is one of the main priorities of the Latvian presidency. We will work, so that the Council can send a clear message to the Commission on issues that still have to be simplified under the reformed CAP as regards direct payments, rural development and common market organisation".

Fisheries

The Council held a public debate on a proposal for a regulation of the establishing a multiannual plan for the stocks of cod, herring and sprat in the Baltic Sea. This plan is based on a multispecies approach and will ensure that the Baltic fish are exploited in a sustainable way. Member states generally welcomed the proposal and highlighted that it will be a test case for a new generation of multiannual management plans. Janis Duklavs said that "This debate will help our Presidency to do everything possible to reach agreement in the Council as soon as possible and to move to negotiations with the European Parliament."

As regards the state of play of the negotiations with the European Parliament on the implementation of the landing obligation, many Member States supported the element of compromise presented by the Latvian Presidency to reach agreement quickly on this issue.

Agriculture

Following the discussions on the Russian ban on EU agricultural products introduced since August 2014 Minister Duklavs underlined that

"any changes to the Russian ban must be discussed and applied to the EU as a whole and that a differentiated approach to member states is inadmissible".

The Council also discussed market developments and the measures introduced so far by the Commission for fruit, vegetables and dairy products. A number of others expressed concerns that those measures could be insufficient to mitigate the consequences of the ban for many of producers. Some member states underscored also the difficulties met by the pigmeat sector for which no market measures have been taken yet.