EU – AGRICULTURE COUNCIL – 14 APRIL 2008 – OUTCOME

1. Bluetongue – ban on movements of animals

Regulation (EC) No 1266/2007 lays down rules which prevent the spread of the disease and conditions for the exemption from the ban on movements of animals from geographical zones under restriction due to BTV-8. Considering that the measures in force are proving insufficient to prevent the spread of the disease, Portugal (PT) has banned the entry of animals originating in geographical zones under restriction. Nevertheless the EU Commission will soon adopt a modification to the Regulation which will improve the safety conditions for movements of animals. In the light of this modification, PT announced its plan to lift the national restriction on purchases of live cattle from other Member States.

In the context of the issue raised by PT, several other delegations took the floor, among them:

- France (FR) drew the attention to the cost of the testing for certain cattle. - Italy (IT) wished a fast entry in force of the amended Regulation. In that case, IT may consider the lifting of its national measure. - Member states such as Germany (DE), the Netherlands (NL) expressed their disagreement concerning the national measures.

2. Chemical decontamination of fresh meat

The French (FR) delegation drew the attention of the Council and the Commission to concerns caused by the possible authorization of the chemical decontamination of fresh meat. The FR delegation recommended the investigations in terms of human health, protection of the environment should be continued before taking any decision. Also the FR delegation wondered about the merits of authorizing chemical decontamination as regards comparative advantage of EU products deriving from harnessing of good hygiene practices.

Many other national delegations supported the view of the FR delegation and underlined the need to protect consumer confidence.

The EU Commission Representative reminded about the opinion of EFSA issued in 2005 and the two last opinions issued in April 2008.The EU Commission will assess them soon.

3. Pig meat market situation

The French (FR) delegation, supported by many others, demanded that export refunds on pig meat should be maintained. The FR delegation highlighted that the prices in several Member States such as Germany and France were crumbling. Poland (PL) supported the FR delegation and even requested an increase in refunds.

In response, the EU Commission Representative expressed her surprise. It is the willingness of the EU Commission to stop the refunds on pork export. She declared that she would favour status quo pending better visibility into the market. In other words: The export refund rates remain unchanged for the time being.

4. Classical Swine Fever in Slovakia

The Council was informed by the Commission of measures taken in reaction to the outbreak of Classical Swine Fever in Slovakia. In the week commencing 7th April a CSF outbreak was confirmed in a farm rearing 7,176 pigs in the district of Levice in Slovakia (10 km away from Hungarian border). The outbreak occurred outside the restricted zone on account of CSF in wild boars.

As a result, the EU Commission adopted on 14th April a safeguard clause prohibiting movements of pigs on the Slovak territory and from Slovakia to other Member States. A meeting of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain (Animal Health Section) will be convened on 21st April in order to assess the situation and to adjust the safeguard clause if necessary.

5. Single Common market organisation

The Council adopted a Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 instituting a single CMO. The purpose of the modification is to incorporate the reformed CMOs for sugar, seeds, milk, beef [as regards the name of the meat of bovine animals aged 12 months or less; this means that Regulation (EC) No 700/2007 will be repealed], fruit and vegetables into the single CMO.

6. WTO-DDA negotiations

The Council was briefed on latest developments in negotiations, following bilateral contacts amongst the main parties over the past few weeks and in the run-up to a possible WTO ministerial meeting in Geneva in May.

The exchange of views focussed on the issue of the sensitive products due to an agreement met by six major members of WTO, among them Brazil, EU, Japan and USA. The agreement is in relation with the calculation method for the tariff quota expansion in case where a product is listed as a sensitive product. The method took into consideration the number of tariff lines by sector declared as sensitive product and the related consumption.

7. Food security and the challenges of climate change and bio-energy

The Council was briefed on preparations for a high-level conference to be organised in Rome on 3-5 June.

8. FAO regional conference for Europe

The Council was briefed on preparations for the FAO regional conference to be held in Innsbruck on 26-27 June. The conference will focus on adaptation to climate change and the promotion of traditional regional agricultural products and food.