Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)
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Question 20: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food if she will report on preparations for the Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting of 18 to 19 March 2007; the draft agenda for that meeting; the positions that Ireland will be taking at that meeting; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9146/07]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The next meeting of the Council of Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers is scheduled to take place on 19 and 20 March. At this stage, the provisional agenda for the meeting indicates that there will be policy debates on Commission proposals to amend the Common Organisation of the market in Cereals and to amalgamate the 21 existing Common Market Organisations into a single CMO. Political agreement will be sought on proposed rules for the implementation of voluntary modulation and the Council is expected to adopt conclusions on employment in rural areas: closing the jobs gap. The Council will also have an exchange of views on experiences with the implementation of controls in the food chain.

Under other business, the Commission will present information on the thematic strategy for soil protection and updates of the current position regarding the WTO negotiations, Avian Influenza and the veterinary negotiations between the EC and the Russian Federation. There will also be oral reports from the Presidency on the Nuremberg conference on renewable resources and on the conference on "prevention for Health — Nutrition and Physical Activity — A Key to Healthy Living".

Preparations for the Council are continuing at Council Working Groups, COREPER and the Special Committee on Agriculture and the nature of the discussions in the Council may change depending on the outcome of the negotiations at official level.

At this stage I have some concerns about the proposal to amend the Common Market Organisation for Cereals. The Commission proposal is to abolish intervention for maize with effect from 2007. I believe that this represents a major policy change to the CAP. Together with several of my Ministerial colleagues, I believe that the Council should consider carefully alternative means of improving the situation in the cereals market before abolishing such a market management mechanism.

I have no difficulty with the proposed implementing rules on voluntary modulation which was agreed by the European Council in December 2005 in the context of the decision on the EU Financial Perspective for the period 2007-2013. It is not my intention to avail of voluntary modulation in Ireland.

I can support the draft Council conclusions on employment in rural areas and I am looking forward to the exchange of views on the experiences of the Commission and Member States on implementation of controls in the food chain. Under Other Business, I will be reiterating my views regarding the WTO negotiations. In summary, while I favour a successful conclusion to the negotiations, the outcome must be balanced both within agriculture and between all different sectors. I will strongly oppose any outcome that sacrifices EU and Irish agriculture for the sake of an agreement or that necessitates a further reform of the Common Agricultural Policy.