Greek Presidency priorities discussed by EP committees Committees Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, Committee on Culture and Education, Committee on Development, Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, Committee on International Trade, Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, Committee on Legal Affairs, Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, Committee on Fisheries, Committee on Regional Development, Committee on Transport and Tourism [23-01-2014 - 12:03] The priorities of the Greek Council Presidency are being outlined to the various parliamentary committees by Greek ministers, from 16 to 23 January. This text will be updated daily. Agriculture: CAP reform, animal and plant health rules and promotion measures Fine-tuning the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform,, in a manner "faithful to our political decisions", will be the top priority of the Greek presidency, Athanasios Tsaftaris, Greece's rural development and food minister, told the agriculture committee on Tuesday. "We need to finalise the CAP reform, which was our common success," to "give European farmers a stable working environment," he said. Press release Other areas in which the Greek presidency will try to advance include promotion measures for EU agriculture products at home and abroad and the animal and plant health package, which also covers rules on the production and marketing of seeds. During the debate, committee members quizzed Minister Tsaftaris about his position on the latest draft legal measures related to the CAP reform and the draft regulation on plant reproductive material (seeds). They also discussed the current situation in the dairy sector, the fairer distribution of EU funds across the EU, support for family farming, issues related to the authorisation of GM crops in the EU and cloning. Fighting unemployment and undeclared work, boosting social cohesion and inclusion The Greek presidency programme for employment and social affairs was "both ambitious and realistic", Giannis Vroutsis, the Greek minister for labour, social security and welfare, told the employment committee. His priorities included fighting unemployment, especially youth unemployment, tackling undeclared work, which he called "an economic and social crime", creating equal opportunities for all, fighting discrimination of every kind and ensuring the cohesion of the member states' social policies and the social dimension of the European Semester. Mr Vroutsis said he was confident that progress would be made under the Greek presidency with much of the legislation in the pipeline, including on posted workers and on the European network of Public Employment Services. Environment: medical devices, medicine prices, animal and plant safety, emissions trading reform Health Minister Spyridon-Adonis Georgiadis hailed the recent agreements on the tobacco products directive and clinical trials of medicines in the Environment Committee on Press Service Directorate for the Media Director - Spokesperson : Jaume DUCH GUILLOT 1/5 EN Reference No:20140120IPR33128 Press switchboard number (32-2) 28 33000 Press release Thursday. He said that the Greek Presidency would prioritize work on the medical devices regulation, in order to reinforce patient safety and restore trust among users, professionals and institutions, while improving Europe's competitiveness and reducing costs. He also mentioned legislation in the pipeline on transparency of pharmaceutical prices. Another priority is to look at immigration in terms of health, he added. Rural Development and Food Minister Athanasios Tsaftaris mentioned package of EU proposals on animal and plant safety as priorities. Although the EU has the highest level of safety in the food production chain, inaccurate labelling, fraud, or failure to identify animal illnesses show that EU legislation in the field has to be modernised, he said. The Greek Presidency will also prioritize legislation on plant propagating material, although it is aware of concerns expressed by some MEPs and citizens, he added. Environment, Energy and Climate Change Minister Yannis Maniatis said that the Presidency would focus, inter alia, on structural reform of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), maritime emissions, preparations for the 2015 climate talks, the air quality package, and legislation aiming to reduce the use of plastic bags. Internal market: product safety and market surveillance, eCall, new package travel rules and e-invoicing in public procurement The Greek development and competiveness minister, Kostis Chatzidakis, set out concrete internal market priorities to the internal market and consumer protection committee on Wednesday. They are: to advance to the next step in the debates on the EU-wide eCall system and the new package travel rules; to reach agreement on electronic invoicing in public procurement and to end the deadlock in the negotiations on product safety and the market surveillance package. Many MEPs were extremely disappointed with the Council, which is blocking the agreement on product safety, and urged the Greek presidency to promote consensus in order to guarantee that consumers are well informed on the products’ origin. Internal market MEPs also asked the presidency to put maximum pressure on the Council in order to reach a deal on e-invoicing and on new rules simplifying the transfer of cars within the EU. Industry: Reducing energy and internet costs for citizens, boosting research and innovation Top of the Greek presidency’s priorities are the development of the digital single market, the extension of broadband networks to reduce costs for citizens and businesses and the creation of systems to assure cyber and telecommunications security, Michalis Chrysochoidis, the Greek minister for infrastructure, transport and networks, told the industry, research and energy committee on Wednesday. MEPs quizzed Mr Chrysochoidis about electricity grids across Europe, the possibility of adding €250 million to EU GDP to ensure that the EU's poorest citizens can have equal access to the internet and the protection of European citizens’ private data. Industrial policy will be a key tool for tackling competitiveness problems, said the minister for development and competiveness, Kostis Chatzidakis. Reducing red tape, mitigating the negative impact of the high cost of energy, giving access to finance to SMEs and stimulating investment are high on the agenda, he stressed. The minister for the environment, energy and climate change, Giannis Maniatis, stressed the importance of tackling the harmful impact of climate change, enhancing the competitiveness of energy prices, tackling the 'energy poverty' of vulnerable citizens and completing the internal energy market. The minister for education and religious affairs, Konstantinos Arvanitopoulos, highlighted the need to improve mobility and prospects for researchers and students, and to create an innovation-friendly environment. Economic and monetary affairs: winding up failing banks, the real economy socially friendly growth, taxation rules Completing the single resolution mechanism for banks, financing the real economy, socially friendly growth and progress on taxation rules were some of the Greek presidency's main priorities, Yiannis Stournaras Greece's finance minister told the economic and monetary affairs committee on Wednesday. 20140120IPR33128 - 2/5 Press release MEPs said flexibility was very important, also from EU countries, in order for a deal on single resolution to be reached. They quizzed the minister on the wider aspects of banking reform and taxation. Finally, discussions focussed in particular on the specific situation of Greece, with various MEPs asking for proof to back the minister's assertions that the country had turned the corner. Culture and education: job-focused teaching, economic importance of art, media freedom Quality teaching, which focuses on entrepreneurship and digital skills and meets labour market needs, is the Presidency’s key education aim, Education Minister Konstantinos Arvanitopoulos told the Culture and Education Committee on Tuesday. He also stressed the need to support job training and training for teachers and trainers. For culture and sports, the Presidency’s priorities will be to promote the contribution the cultural and creative sectors to the economy, encourage the digitisation of cinemas, combat doping and match fixing and improve the sustainability of major sporting events, said Culture Minister Panos Panayiotopoulos. Media Minister Simos Kedikoglou stressed the importance of protecting freedom of expression and user rights as media converge. MEPs urged the Presidency to ensure that all projects and programmes in this area have the necessary funding. They also stressed the need for close cooperation between Parliament and the Council to find rapid solutions for files being negotiated, such as European capitals of culture and the restitution of cultural treasures illegally removed from member states. Transport: maritime policy, rail, inland waterways, alternative fuels infrastructure Maritime policy, and in particular finalising draft laws with Parliament on marine equipment, funding for the European Maritime Safety Agency and maritime spatial planning, will