HL Deb 12 January 1998 vol 584 cc182-3WA
Lord Williams of Elvel

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What was the outcome of the Agriculture Council held in Brussels on 15 to 16 December.

Lord Donoughue

My right honourable friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and I represented the United Kingdom at the meeting of the European Union Council of Agriculture Ministers in Brussels on 15 and 16 December.

My right honourable friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food informed our ministerial colleagues of developments in relation to BSE, in particular my decision to ban from 1 January 1998 the import into the United Kingdom of meat from which the specified risk material had not been removed. This decision had been taken in the light of the postponement for three months of an EU-wide ban on such material. He also informed the Council of the prohibition which he had announced on 3 December in relation to the marketing of bone-in-beef in the light of the scientific evidence which he had received from SEAC.

The Council considered and reached agreement on two animal welfare measures: one attaching welfare conditions to the payment of export refunds, which was adopted unanimously, the other laying down standards for vehicles used for the transport of animals. The latter was agreed in principle by qualified majority. My right honourable friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, with our Swedish and Danish colleagues, was unable to support the measure on the grounds that the standards of animal protection would be insufficiently high, and difficult to police. Detailed texts implementing this agreement will be considered early in the United Kingdom Presidency.

The Council discussed at some length a Commission report on the impact of third country trade agreements on the EU's Mediterranean producers. My right honourable friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food insisted that, in drawing conclusions on this matter, the Council should have available to it an assessment of the trade benefits of such agreements to the EU as well as the impact on EU producers. The Council also considered a report from the Commission on progress in the negotiations on a veterinary equivalence agreement with the US. It noted that, although the conditions were not yet right for concluding that agreement, the Commission should continue its negotiations with a view to reaching a satisfactory conclusion as soon as possible in the new year.

Amongst other matters discussed and agreed at the Council were measures on the granting of national aid to sugar beet producers in Portugal (Italy voting against) an extension of the temporary derogations for imports of wine from the US (Portugal voting against); rules governing veterinary checks on products entering the EU from third countries (by unanimity); and a proposal consolidating the drinking milk regulation (Greece and Denmark voting against).

The Irish Minister raised in the Council his Government's concerns over the recent interruptions to trade between the UK and the Republic of Ireland as a result of UK farmers' protests at ports; but he emphasised the close co-operation which exists between the two governments in seeking to resolve this matter. My right honourable friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food stressed the absolute commitment of the Government to maintaining the rule of law and our intention to do everything necessary to allow the unimpeded movement of goods within the EU single market.