The first Agriculture and Fisheries Council of the Maltese presidency was greeted by what looked like a snow storm outside the building. A protest by farmers against selling skimmed milk powder from intervention stocks took the form of spreading a liberal dusting of milk powder on the road outside, giving the impression of a fresh snowfall!

Inside, ministers were focused on current and upcoming EU trade talks, with Commissioner Hogan in attendance to provide an update from an agricultural perspective. TTIP was generally accepted as dormant, while Mercosur is receiving a push from the South American side.

Minister Creed told the Irish Farmers Journal that while Ireland is pro-trade, the EU should not be making a generous offer at the outset on beef as a sweetener. There is a feeling in Brussels that the Asian trade deals have more potential, and while talks on Japan are progressing, it was put to the agriculture commissioner that agriculture was a sticking point. He expressed surprise at this and confidence that a deal would be concluded this year. However, the feeling remains that it is issues around EU access for agricultural produce and Japanese autos and car parts that remain to be solved.

Listen to an interview with Minister Creed in our podcast below:

Listen to "Minister Creed on trade talks" on Spreaker.

Elsewhere, the Trade Committee of the EU Parliament discussed and approved CETA, the free-trade agreement with Canada. It now goes before the Parliament for a vote, which is expected next month.

Another one to note is that discussions with New Zealand will commence shortly, and the Poles put down a strong marker expressing concern on potential New Zealand dairy access to the EU. While many delegations used words like “caution” and proceeding “carefully” there was no full-blooded support for Poland.

Minister Creed spoke to the Irish Farmers Journal during a break in proceedings and explained that Ireland is an open trading nation, supportive of trade in principle, and level of market access is a matter for negotiation where the EU has to protect the interests of EU agriculture and farmers. The commissioner highlighted that Australia and New Zealand had been made aware of the sensitivities around agriculture.

Hogan’s surprise at milk protest

The milk powder protest outside the Agriculture Council in Brussels today coincided with ministers reviewing the second report on the milk package, put in place last summer in response to the dairy crisis.

The commissioner joined Maltese president of the council Roderick Galdes on the platform at the press conference to report on discussions at council, many of which involved the commission.

Performance of the milk market was highlighted, with the commissioner reporting that across the EU, on average, milk prices were up 25% since August. Against this background, he expressed surprise at the protest outside.

He was pressed on the issue by journalists in the press conference and he recognised that recovery in dairy prices is fragile. However, he pointed out that, while milk powder out of intervention was being offered, they were prepared to reject tenders as they have done because the price offered was too low, inferring that accepting them would damage the market.

Agriculture ministers in the council expressed support for continuation of the milk package beyond 2020 into the next CAP, which was welcomed by Copa -Cogeca, the Brussels-based organisation that represents farming unions across the EU.

Common Agricultural Policy

The commissioner also confirmed that consultation on the next CAP would open for 12 weeks from 2 February and that there would be a stakeholder forum hosted by DG Agri in May or June of this year. The commissioner is then due to prepare a communication, the term used to describe a formal proposal, before the end of the year.

Listen to an interview with Commissioner Hogan in our podcast below:

Listen to "Phil Hogan in Berlin" on Spreaker.