Simon Coveney TD, Minister for Agriculture, Marine and Food, held a bilateral meeting with Minister Rosa Aguilar, Minister of Environment, Rural and Maritime Affairs in Madrid in March to discuss the planned reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and to identify areas of mutual interest.
The EU Commission has been in consultation over the past year on the reform of the CFP and Commission proposals are expected in June/July for adoption by the end of 2012.
The meeting focused on the key areas of importance to both countries in the Common Fisheries Policy. Minister Coveney and Minister Rosa Aguilar agreed to focus on key elements of the CFP Reform and to develop a mutual understanding in advance of key negotiations later this year. Commenting on the meeting, Minister oveney said: "While there are certain areas where Ireland and Spain have opposing positions, particularly in relation to access to fish stocks, there are many areas where both countries have similar concerns. Both countries have coastal communities very dependent on fishing and related activities and the new CFP must be reformed to work positively in the long term to support these communities".
Reform of Common Fisheries Policy
