Agriculture
Financing the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF)
Following the Commission Amending Letter to the draft 2015 budget and in the context of the ongoing 2015 budget conciliation procedures (see Fact sheet from 22/10/2014), Ministers will discuss the situation for next year's EU budget. Commissioner Hogan will recall the broader context of the overall EU budget and the situation in terms of payment appropriations.
Cyprus State Aid
The Cyprus Minister has asked to raise a question concerning a state aid for agricultural fuel in Cyprus. The Commission has made clear its readiness to work bilaterally with the Cyprus government to find a solution in line with EU rules.
Fisheries
Deep-sea species fishing opportunities
Political agreement will be sought on a Commission proposal for fixing fishing opportunities for EU vessels for deep-sea fish stocks in EU and international waters in the North-East Atlantic for 2015-2016. The proposal covers catch limits for 22 stocks and is based on scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES). Available data for most deep-sea stocks are insufficient to allow scientists to fully assess the stock status, either in terms of number of fish or fishing mortality.
AOB
Agriculture
Impact of Russian import ban and the Ukraine crisis on agricultural products in Greece
Greece will update Member States about the negative impact on the Greek peaches & nectarines sector of the Russian ban on imports of EU agricultural products, following on from the difficulties caused by the Ukraine crisis.
Statement on organic package by certain Member States
Slovakia will present a joint declaration on the ongoing organics review by 7 Member States (PL, HU, CZ, SK, SI, RO & BG) following a recent meeting of the so-called Visegrad group. This statement comes as discussions on the dossier progress in the Council and the European Parliament.
Young Farmers
The Italian Presidency will bring to Ministers' attention a Presidency document on strengthening EU policies to support young farmers, mentioning specifically the issues of access to credit, access to land, and experience exchange.
Health
The Slovenian delegation will debrief delegations about the outcome of a conference on honey bees held in Maribor in August.
Moreover, the Austrian along with the Hungarian delegation, will raise the issue of corn rootworm controls.
