The Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting of April 2013 will take place in Luxemburg on 22 April 2013, under the presidency of Mr Simon Coveney, Irish Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Fisheries issues (the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy and theprotection of seabirds) will be dealt with on Monday afternoon. A press conference will be held at the end of the discussions. The public debates and the press conferences can be followed by video streaming.

Commissioner Maria Damanaki participated in the European Parliament plenary debate in Strasbourg on 15th April, answering a question on - Unsustainable mackerel fishing in the North East Atlantic - tabled by Mr Gallagher, MEP

The European Parliament voted on Tuesday to adopt a ban on discarding unwanted fish of 35 species caught in the Skagerrak (the strait running between Norway, Sweden, and the Jutland). Under the discard ban, fishing vessels would be obliged to land all caught fish in order to halt "discards" – the practice of throwing fish back into the sea, usually because they are of an unwanted species or size.

The Conference - The High Seas, our Future, has been organised by the French Conseil Economique, Social et Environnemental as a follow-up to the Rio+20 Conference.

Commissioner Maria Damanaki is in Dublin today to address the high level seminar, organised by the Irish Presidency of the EU and Mr Alan Shatter Irish Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence.