Informal meeting of the agriculture ministers

Michel Barnier, French Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, is meeting with his twenty-six European counterparts and Mariann Fischer Boel, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, and Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Health, in Annecy from 21 to 23 September 2008 for the informal meeting of European ministers for agriculture.

The first item on the agenda is one of Michel Barnier’s favourite subjects, namely emerging diseases, which is also the subject of a conference in the morning of Monday 22 September, with the participation of Alain Mérieux, the Chairman and CEO of bioMérieux.

In keeping with tradition, field trips to farms and agri-food industries have also been arranged for the ministers on 22 September, including a trip to meet the people and see the products of the Bauges Mountains nature reserve just above Annecy. The mountain farming methods which have shaped the landscapes and villages of this Alpine mountain range aim to preserve the quality products and the know-how deeply rooted in the traditions of mountainous areas, and Barnier is keen for his European colleagues to discover the specific features of this type of farming and the farmers who have made a life-long commitment to the sustainable development of their farming land.

Monday’s programme includes a formal dinner on Monday evening for all the participants at this event, local elected representatives, people from civil society and the local and national farming sectors.

The finale, on the morning of 23 September, is the plenary session of the informal meeting of ministers - the highlight of the meeting, with Barnier and his ministerial counterparts discussing and debating the goals that Europe should set for the future common agricultural policy after 2013.

Farming is and remains central to the concerns of our society and is facing many challenges. It is essential to address these challenges in a community framework and come to a new consensus on the goals that Europe should set for its agriculture. The European Union needs an ambitious and balanced agricultural policy that is capable of dealing with the challenges of the future; a policy that reconciles supporting food production that is sufficient both in terms of quality and quantity and protecting the environment, taking into account the diversity of our lands.

 

In brief : The informal meeting of the agriculture ministers kicks off in Annecy

The ministers and the European Commissioner for Health, Androulla Vassiliou, met on Monday 22 September in Annecy for a conference on emerging pathogens.

For Michel Barnier, the French Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, sustainable agriculture cannot be separated from public health. He said that the French Presidency hoped to contribute to the global health protection objective, at a time when the European Commission has quite rightly emphasized a new animal health strategy in its action plan.

Before focusing on the political dimension of the informal meeting on Tuesday, 23 September, the ministers and Commissioners visited the Massif des Bauges nature reserve on Monday afternoon to meet farmers and discover the traditional products of the region.

Video of Michel Barnier, French Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries

Informal meeting of the agriculture ministers: main results

• Updated: 29.10.2008

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