Preparation Agriculture/Fisheries Council of February 2007

Mariann Fischer Boel and Markos Kyprianou will be at the Council meeting for their respective points. Stavros Dimas will attend the meeting for the AOB point "Thematic strategy for soil protection". There are no Fisheries points on the agenda. On Monday morning, the Council will start with the Environment point. Food Safety issues will follow. Agriculture points will be treated on Monday afternoon and Tuesday. The German Presidency invites the Ministers for lunch on Monday noon. Theme for discussion: "Exchange of views on Member States' and Commission experiences with the implementation of controls in the food chain and ways to further implement". The points on the agenda are: Agriculture Voluntary modulation Voluntary modulation is the possible shift of up to 20% of direct aid payments into rural development funds, and was introduced by the European Council in its December 2005 agreement on the financial framework for 2007-1013. As a follow-up, the Commission adopted on 24 May 2006 a proposal to put this requirement into practice. Following a lengthy debate with the European Parliament, which had certain reservations about the concept, a new compromise text from the Presidency will now be discussed at the Agriculture Council, with a view to reach a political agreement on voluntary modulation. Single CMO On 18 December 2006, The European Commission adopted a proposal establishing a single Common Market Organisation for all agricultural products, to replace the existing 21 CMOs (see IP/06/1824 and COM(2006) 822). The move is a major step in the ongoing process of streamlining and simplifying the Common Agricultural Policy for the benefit of farmers, administrations and companies handling agricultural products. The creation of a single CMO will slim down legislation in the farming sector, improve its transparency and make the policy more easily accessible. It is an example of applied better regulation and therefore forms an integral part of the Lisbon strategy. The proposal is the most significant technical simplification of the CAP yet undertaken. However, it should not be interpreted as a way to reform the policy by the back door. Potential further simplification of a political nature will be examined in the 'Health Check' of the CAP reforms, due to take place in 2008. The proposed single CMO will allow the repeal of more than 40 Council acts and will replace more than 600 legal articles in the current regulations with less than 200. For more information on the proposal and on simplification of the CAP, see at: http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/simplification/index_en.htm The Council will have a policy debate on the Commission proposal. Employment in rural areas: Closing the jobs gap According to a Commission Communication, published on 21 December 2006 (see IP/06/1889 and COM(2006) 857), Europe's rural areas must exploit their potential or risk falling further behind urban areas in meeting Lisbon employment targets, particularly in the remotest and most agricultural areas. The Communication underlines that there are a broad range of instruments at European and national level that can be used to close the jobs divide between rural and urban areas. In particular, Rural Development measures should be fully exploited for employment and growth along with cohesion and employment policies. The Communication is accompanied by a detailed report on the employment situation in rural areas. For more information on Rural Development see at: http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/rurdev/index_en.htm The Ministers will adopt Council conclusions on the Commission Communication. AOB Oral report from the Presidency on the Nuremberg Conference on Renewable Resources; WTO � Doha Development Agenda: State of play. Food safety and animal health AOB Avian influenza The Commission will provide an update with developments on Avian Influenza in the EU and third countries. Veterinary Negotiations between EC and the Russian Federation Commissioner Kyprianou will provide an update on the latest developments, including the recent meeting between the Commission and Russian experts on 12/13 March. Conference on health, nutrition and physical activity The Presidency will brief the Council on the Conference on "Prevention for health � nutrition and physical activity � A key to healthy living" Environment AOB Thematic strategy for soil protection On 22 September 2006, the Commission proposed a strategy to ensure that Europe�s soils remain healthy and capable of supporting human activities and ecosystems (See IP/06/1241). Good quality soil is essential to our economic activities as it provides us with food, drinking water, biomass and raw materials � and all our human activities are somehow related to soil. But soil degradation is accelerating across the EU, with negative effects on human health, ecosystems and climate change � and on our economic prosperity and quality of life. To reverse this trend, the Commission�s strategy sets a common EU framework for action to preserve, protect and restore soil, but leaves Member States flexibility to implement it in a way which fits local situations best. Member States must take action to tackle threats such as landslides, contamination, soil erosion, the loss of soil organic matter, compaction, salinisation and sealing wherever they occur, or threaten to occur, on their national territories. The Soils Strategy is the last of the seven Thematic Strategies that the Commission is presenting, in accordance with the 6th Environmental Action Programme. Stavros Dimas, Environment Commissioner, will present the scope of the thematic strategy for soil protection to the Agriculture Ministers.