§ Dr. McDonaldasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what was the outcome of the Council of Ministers (Agriculture) meeting in Brussels on 20th and 21st November.
§ Mr. John SilkinMy hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary and I attended a meeting of the Council of Ministers608W (Agriculture) in Brussels on 20th and 21st November.
I raised in the Council the intended sale of 20,000 tonnes of fresh butter to the USSR with the benefit of export restrictions which would cost the Community £20 million. The Commission agreed with me that this sale further demonstrated the need to tackle the problem of the EEC milk surplus and to look into the arrangements for the pre-fixation of export restitutions which are an important factor in such large special sales.
I reminded the Commission of its promises to consider changes in the co-efficients through which monetary compensatory amounts are applied to imports of bacon and other products processed from pigmeat. The Commission told the Council that a reduction in these co-efficients, which will be of benefit to United Kingdom producers and processors, would be proposed very shortly.
The Council discussed further a package of proposals for changes in the EEC arrangements for wine but no points of substance were decided.
The major outstanding points on olive oil were agreed in principle and the question seems likely to be finally settled when the Council meets in December.