§ Dr. George TurnerTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the Agriculture Council held in Brussels on 17 to 18 November; and if he will make a statement. [17437]
Dr. John CunninghamI represented the United Kingdom at a meeting of the European Union Agriculture Council on 17 and 18 November.
The principal task of the Council was to reach conclusions on the proposals to reform the Common Agricultural Policy in the context of the Commission's Agenda 2000 initiative. Discussions on these proposals have gone on in the Council since September. After long negotiations, it was possible to reach agreement on conclusions that met the key requirements which I had identified for the UK. These are, first, that there should be a rapid start to negotiating the necessary legislative changes to agricultural market regimes in order to give effect to CAP reform; second, that there should be recognition of the need for EU agriculture to be sustainable and competitive on domestic and international markets; third, that CAP reform should facilitate EU enlargement and allow the EU to take a positive negotiating stance in the next WTO round; and fourth, that there should be confirmation that the agricultural guideline imposes an absolute ceiling on spending in this sector. The Council confirmed the approach to reform along the lines I have advocated, namely reduced 277W price-support, compensated through direct aid and complemented by reinforced agri-environmental and rural development measures.
The conclusions finally adopted fully achieved these objectives. They were endorsed by 14 of the 15 member states, Spain being unable to associate itself with the language reconfirming the unchanged nature of the agricultural guideline. The Council's conclusions will be passed to the General Affairs Council and ultimately to Heads of Government for consideration at their meeting in Luxembourg in December.
In my view, this Council marked an important step in the process of reforming the Common Agricultural Policy, which is a key Government objective in the EU. I look forward to beginning the process of detailed negotiation as soon as the Commission's formal proposals are available.
Aside from Agenda 2000, the Council had a detailed report from the Agriculture Commissioner on BSE, in the light of the European Parliament's recent report; and on the need to amend the July decision on specified risk materials in order to provide derogations for the imports of necessary pharmaceutical products. A proposal to this effect is to be made very shortly. I joined my Dutch and German colleagues in putting pressure on the Commission to bring forward proposals as rapidly as possible on battery cages for laying hens.