§ Sir Peter Millsasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the Council of Agriculture Ministers meeting in Brussels on 14 and 15 March; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerTogether with my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, I represented the United Kingdom at the meeting of the Agriculture Council in Brussels on 14 and 15 March.
The Council continued its discussion of the Commission's price proposals for 1983–84. I stressed that the Commission's latest figures, which point to a level of FEOGA guarantee expenditure in 1983 substantially above the budget provision, strongly reinforce our view on the need for price restraint, particularly for those commodities in structural surplus. The Council will resume its discussion on these matters at its next meeting on 28 March.
The Council finally adopted a regulation permitting the full implementation of the New Zealand butter quota for 1983 of 87,000 tonnes which had been agreed in principle last October.
There was also some discussion, following an intervention by the French Minister, on the link between the operation of the milk marketing boards and the high level of liquid consumption in the United Kingdom. After I had pointed out that consumption in the other member states would benefit if they adopted similar arrangements to those in this country, the Commission undertook to produce a report on the level of consumption in the different areas of the Community.