Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 29 May 2013
201. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the discussions he has had with colleagues at the 27 May meeting he hosted in Dublin at the informal meeting of EU agriculture and fisheries Ministers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26108/13]
View answerI had very useful and very fruitful discussions with my Member State colleagues and with the European Parliament in the course of what I think was a very successful informal meeting of Agriculture Ministers in Dublin over the last few days. I would acknowledge in particular the positive and very helpful engagement of the European Parliament, which I believe made an important contribution to the Irish Presidency’s ongoing efforts to achieve a political agreement on the reform of the CAP by the end of June. It was clear that all three institutions acknowledge the fact that important decisions need to be made in the very short term.
I think the Parliament’s participation was particularly valuable in allowing all three institutions to have a meaningful exchange of ideas and to better understand each other’s positions on some of the key outstanding political issues. It also afforded the Council the opportunity to reflect on these exchanges and to have its own follow-up discussions on how the resolution of these political issues might be pursued. I have no doubt that this will prove to have been of invaluable assistance as we move into what I hope will be the final few weeks of negotiations.
The discussion with the European Parliament took place on Monday morning, when the Council was joined by the Chairman of the Parliament’s Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development, Paolo DeCastro, the Rapporteurs on each of the four CAP reform dossiers, and the Co-ordinators from each of the Parliament’s political groups. Mr. DeCastro and the Rapporteurs outlined their positions on key issues that included internal convergence of direct payments, coupled payments, sugar quotas, export refunds and areas of natural constraint. Ministers were then given an opportunity to state their concerns and to exchange views with the Parliament in an attempt to identify potential areas of common ground. This was a very useful and informative exchange, conducted in a very positive atmosphere in which it was clear that all three institutions remain firmly focused on achieving agreement by the end of the Irish Presidency.
Tuesday’s second day of the informal meeting featured a more regular Council gathering, during which I led a follow-up discussion that reflected on the outcome of Monday’s exchanges. The positions of each of the three institutions on the respective issues were debated by my Member State colleagues, and I sought their views on how the differences between the institutions might be narrowed in the broader context of reaching a satisfactory overall agreement. Again I was very satisfied with the exchanges, which were conducted in a very positive atmosphere and underpinned by a desire to find common ground with the Parliament.
I listened very carefully to the debate over the two days of the informal meeting, and it will very usefully inform the Presidency’s ongoing interaction with the Parliament and the Commission as we try to reach an accommodation over the remaining trilogues and the parallel political discussions in the coming weeks. Above all, the talks in Dublin have reinforced my confidence that I will be able to present a package of measures to the Council at the end of June that will allow us to finalise an overall political agreement within the timescale we set for ourselves at the commencement of the Irish Presidency.
