§ Lord Brougham and Vauxasked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the outcome of the Agriculture Council held in Brussels on 24 January 1994.
The Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Earl Howe)This Council meeting, at which my right honourable friend the Minister represented the United Kingdom, formally adopted the legal texts implementing the package of decisions reached at its December meeting and as described in my statement on the outcome of that meeting my right honourable friend voted against the decision on oilseeds. The Council also adopted unanimously a regulation permitting member states to impose a levy on milk production in order to fund promotional measures; considered the situation of beekeepers in the Community, on which the Commission will present a more detailed study in due course; and discussed, without reaching any specific conclusions, a report from the Commission on the sheepmeat market. My right honourable friend took the opportunity to press the Commission to reach a speedy decision on the legality or otherwise of French national assistance to pig producers, an issue which my right honourable friend had first raised in the Council last October.