Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will be supporting as President of the Council of Ministers, the abolition of sugar quotas; the current position in relation to this proposal; the attitude of the Commission and the EU Parliament to it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14648/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I strongly support the abolition of sugar quotas at an early stage. The EU Commission’s proposal was to abandon quotas from September 2015. In discussions at the Council of Agriculture Ministers, it emerged that Member States were deeply divided on the issue between a group of Member States, including Ireland, who favoured early abolition and another group who wished to extend quotas to 2020 and beyond. As President of the Council, I made a compromise proposal, that garnered the support of a large majority of Member States, to extend the quota regime for a further two years until 30 September 2017.

The European Parliament is in favour of extending quotas to 2020. The Council is now well placed to enter into trilogue discussions between the EU Commission and the Parliament on the future of sugar quotas in the EU.