The Agriculture & Fisheries Council will be held under the Presidency of Michel Barnier, French Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries. It is said that European Union Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg and Mariann Fischer Boel will represent the Commission at the meeting. The meeting will discuss difference fisheries points and a conference will be held at the end of the Council.
It is informed that the French presidency will host an informal ministerial conference on Monday on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. The aim of this conference is to kick-start the debate on the future reform of the CFP, which is mandatory for certain aspects before 2012. Borg will present the Commission’s recent reflections on this subject, following on from the decision by the Commission on 17 September to call for the immediate launch of a wide-ranging review of the CFP (IP/08/1339).
According to a source the points on the formal agenda of Council are review of cod recovery plan-orientation debate; fisheries partnership agreement with Mauritania – information from the Commission; and deterring illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
Council is said to hold an orientation debate on the Commission’s proposal (IP/08/493) to amend the cod recovery plan which has been in place since 2004. Acting on behalf of the EU, the European Commission agreed a new protocol under the Fisheries Partnership Agreement with Mauritania for the period 1 August 2008 to 31 July 2012 (ME/08/0314).After much hue and cry over the political agreement reached in Council on June 2008, Council will now formally adopt the regulation aimed at eliminating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities (IP/08/1013).
