Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine Martin Heydon and Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine Timmy Dooley are attending the AgriFish Council meeting in Brussels today (Monday, January 26).

The council, which brings together ministers from each EU member state, adopts legislation in relation to the production of food, rural development and the management of fisheries.

Areas under agricultural policy include the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), rules on the internal market for agriculture, forestry, organic production, quality of production and food and animal feed safety.

AgriFish Council

Minister Heydon, said that "today’s meeting provides an opportunity to discuss a range of issues at the heart of the current EU agriculture agenda".

"These include the opportunities associated with the bioeconomy, the importance of EU food security and trade-related issues.

"The agenda will also include a discussion on a targeted amendment of the organic farming regulation," he said.

Along with recent developments on the EU-Mercosur deal, the meeting will discuss import controls for food, which Minister Heydon said is important to give confidence to consumers and farmers.

Minister Heydon is planning to highlight "the importance of market diversification, including through the finalisation of EU Free Trade Agreements, while also restating the need to protect vulnerable sectors".

The minister added that he has "been very clear about Ireland’s concerns in relation to the EU-Mercosur Agreement, and particularly its potential impact on the beef sector".

Minister Heydon will also reiterate his concerns in relation to the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) Regulation.

"Fertiliser is a critical input cost for Irish and EU agriculture, and the potential impact of the CBAM regulation on fertiliser costs risks the undermining of farm competitiveness, food production and sector sustainability," he said.

"We agree with the general principle of CBAM and what is trying to be achieved, but from the perspective of its impact on increasing the cost of fertiliser, [and] the uncertainty in quarterly reporting.

"There are technical measures there that we do need an understanding of and we will work with member states on as well," he added.

Minister of State with special responsibility for fisheries, Timmy Dooley will be raising "the need for urgent EU action regarding third countries fishing at unsustainable levels for mackerel in the north-east Atlantic".