I represented the United Kingdom at this month's Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels.

The Council once again failed to reach agreement on measures to establish a recovery plan for the European eel, due to inconclusive discussions and intransigence by some Member States. It is expected that decisions will be taken at the next meeting of the Council in June.

The Council was not able to reach agreement on implementation of a recovery plan and new quota allocation for bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. This is despite significant pressure from myself, other member states and the Commission. In the end the Presidency responded to calls from France and Italy, who are the main stakeholders in the fishery, to delay. Although the result was disappointing, the Commission did declare that it would close the fishery once provisional quotas were exhausted. It is expected that decisions will be taken at the next meeting of the Council in June.

The Council held a policy debate base on a Presidency questionnaire on the Commission's Report on cross compliance. Member States expressed support for a number of measures proposed by the Commission to simplify and improve the system of cross-compliance in the Common Agricultural Policy.

The Presidency updated Council on the state of the negotiations on a proposal amending the common organisation of the market in cereals, by the abolition of maize intervention.

The Council took note of a presentation by Agriculture Commissioner on new proposals to amend the sugar restructuring fund introduced as part of the 2005 sugar reforms.

The Council reached political agreement by qualified majority on a Presidency compromise proposal, laying down for the first time rules governing the conditions under which meat chickens are kept. I voted in favour of the compromise text which puts in place a package of new measures including detailed requirements for holdings where meat chickens are kept, the introduction of a maximum stocking density limit, data collection and scientific monitoring of impacts on chicken welfare, training for the industry and a possible new welfare labelling regime following a report from the European Commission. The Directive will come into force in 2010.

The Council unanimously adopted conclusions on the outcome of a recent conference on “Animal welfare -Improving by labelling”. The Council also unanimously adopted conclusions on better regulation in the plant varieties and seeds sectors.

A number of issues, as follows, were raised under any other business:

Spain supported by some Member States expressed concern about the exclusion of banana as a sensitive product in the draft Council conclusions concerning the market access to the EU market for the African Caribbean Pacific countries (ACP) products.

The Council took note of an update by the Commission on Avian Influenza and agreed that the item should be withdrawn from the agenda of future Council sessions, unless there were significant issues to report.

The Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection gave an update on the EC-Russian Federation veterinary and phytosanitary agreement negotiations. He also reported that Russia had also banned meat from various EU establishments due to evidence of salmonella and appealed to Member States to ensure they are fully applying the Memorandum of Understanding with Russia, so as to avoid any further problems.

The Agriculture Commissioner updated Council on the state of play in the WTO negotiations.