HC Deb 09 February 1988 vol 127 cc154-5W
Mr. Nicholas Baker

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the Council of Agriculture Ministers meeting on 8 and 9 February in Brussels; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. MacGregor

The Council of Agriculture Ministers met in Brussels on 8 February 1988. I represented the United Kingdom.

I raised the question of fraud and the CAP, drawing the Council's attention to the recent report by the Comptroller and Auditor General on external trade measures for agricultural produce. I explained that this report commented adversely on the complexity of the Community's agricultural legislation and the scope which this created for fraud. I stressed my own concern on this issue, reminded the Council that the Community's Court of Auditors, in a report last autumn, recommended increased efforts to combat fraud, and asked the Commission for a progress report on the action it had taken in the light of this.

The Commission informed the Council of changes it is making to supervise more effectively the implementation and control of Community law by member states. The Commission also expressed the hope, which the United Kingdom shares, that the Council would pay greater attention to matters of control and monitoring when considering new proposals. The Council took note and agreed to pursue this issue on a future occasion.

The Council agreed on quotas for manufacturing beef, high quality beef and young cattle to be imported from third countries in 1988. The Community quota for manufacturing beef, in which our industry has the principal interest, is to be 12,000 tonnes.

The Council adopted a proposal for a minor change in the milk quota rules. I took the opportunity again to urge the Commission to enable member states to have greater flexibility over the detailed operation of milk quotas while remaining firmly within the basic framework regulations to ensure that quotas are applied effectively.