(Minister of State for
Agriculture, Fisheries and Food): I represented the
UK at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Luxembourg on 18
June.
The Council discussed the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund
(EMFF) budget for 2021-27, and agreed a partial General Approach.
The EMFF is part of the wider EU multiannual financial framework
2021-2027, and is intended to ensure the proper implementation of
the Common Fisheries Policy’s objectives. While there was
disagreement about the level of support for certain aspects of
the Fund, such as engine replacement and vessel acquisition,
Council approved the partial General Approach with a qualified
majority. Although the EMFF will not apply to the UK once we have
left the EU, I supported the proposal in line with the position
adopted by the majority of Member States.
The Commission then briefed the Council on the progress of the
Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and consultation on fishing
opportunities for 2020. While there were a number of successes
such as record profits for the industry and improved governance
of fisheries through multi-annual plans, the Commission also
outlined that challenges remained. 2020 will be the first year
that all stocks must meet Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) while
the full implementation of the Landing Obligation (LO) continues.
In an exchange of views, Member States generally welcomed the
Commission communication and restated their commitment to the CFP
objectives. I intervened to express the UK’s support for
maximising stocks at MSY, but noted that certain exceptions are
necessary, such as in mixed fisheries where by-catches must be
managed appropriately and in consideration of low volume quota
species. I also called for a formal review of the Landing
Obligation to inform how compliance can be improved.
In public session the Council discussed a presidency progress
report on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post 2020 reform
package. Open questions across all three CAP legislative files
meant that a Council partial General Approach on the texts could
not be reached at this stage. Most delegations marked areas where
they wanted further debate under the incoming Finnish Presidency.
These include the new delivery model which would give Member
States more flexibility in the way they use EU funds, achieving
environmental outcomes, the exemption of small farmers from
conditionality, voluntary coupled support/market orientation, and
gender equality.
A number of items were discussed under ‘any other business’:
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The Lithuanian delegation informed Council of the parlous
state of the cod stock in the Eastern Baltic Sea. Lithuania
urged the Commission to present an emergency support package
for fisheries relying on Eastern Baltic Cod, including direct
EMFF support.
-
The Commission informed Member States about the joint
recommendations under Article 11 of the CFP Regulation in the
field of environmental legislation (Habitats and Birds
directives). The Commission highlighted that only a few joint
recommendations on fisheries conservation measures had been
submitted so far and encouraged Member States to submit
further joint recommendations.
-
The Spanish delegation informed Council about the outcome of
the congress on the post-2020 CAP green architecture which
focused on the environmental and climate change challenges
faced by European agriculture.
