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The Minister for Agriculture, Food & the Marine Simon Coveney, TD, will present a revised comprehensive compromise Irish Presidency text to Council next Monday seeking a new mandate to re-enter final negotiations with European Parliament on a reformed CFP.

Minister Coveney said that these decisive negotiations for agreeing a comprehensive reform of the EUs Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) at the EU Council of Fisheries Ministers in Brussels on 13-14 May are likely to be very difficult given the significance for the next decade of what may be decided at the meeting. “An enormous amount of work has gone into progressing the Reform with Council, Commission & Parliament during the Irish Presidency. We now have an Irish Presidency substantially revised set of compromise proposals which I believe give us a sound basis for positive engagement at Council. Agreement at Council on this Presidency compromise package would support an ambitious reformed CFP which would secure a better future for our fish stocks and for the fishermen & coastal communities who depend on them.

There is a very short window of opportunity for Council & Parliament to agree and deliver an effective Reform of our Fisheries policy and the Irish Presidency is doing all it can to bring the institutions together to take this historic opportunity. I believe that if all parties focus on the critical elements of a Reformed CFP, we can by working together reach realistic and substantial agreement through the co-decision process during the Irish Presidency.”

Formal negotiations with the European Parliament have resulted in the Irish Presidency drawing up a revised compromise 200 page legal text, which Minister Coveney will use, as President of the Council, as the basis of negotiations with EU Fisheries Ministers. The objective is to get political agreement on a final compromise package to enable conclusion of negotiations with the Parliament and the Commission on CFP Reform during the Irish Presidency.

Minister Coveney will also update EU Ministerial Colleagues on progress made to date by the Irish Presidency during ‘Trilogue’ process where EU Presidency (Council), Commission and Parliament have been engaged in complex discussions on refining proposals for CFP reform