The Agriculture and Fisheries Council adopts legislation in a number of areas relating to the production of food, rural development and the management of fisheries.

How does the Agriculture and Fisheries Council work?

The AGRIFISH Council brings together ministers from each EU member state. Most member states are represented by a single minister for both sectors, although some send two ministers - one for agriculture and another for fisheries.

The European Commissioner for agriculture and rural development, the European Commissioner for health and food safety, or the European Commissioner for maritime affairs and fisheries also take part in meetings.

Meetings usually take place once a month.

About agriculture and fisheries policy

The Council adopts legislation, in most cases together with the European Parliament, in a number of areas relating 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. Measures relating to CAP aim to increase agricultural productivity, ensure a fair standard of living for the agricultural community, stabilise markets, assure the availability of supplies and ensure that supplies reach consumers at reasonable prices.

The Council also adopts legislation on fisheries policy, the setting of annual Total Allowable Catches (TACs) and quotas for each species, and on the allocation of fishing opportunities. A key challenge is to make fisheries more environmentally sustainable and more economically viable, while addressing issues such as over-fishing and fleet overcapacity.

Priorities of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council during Portugal's presidency

Portugal’s presidency will promote a vision of the EU that is innovative, looks to the future and is based on common values of solidarity, convergence and cohesion. The presidency programme focuses on five main areas, which are in line with the goals of the EU’s strategic agenda: 

• strengthen Europe’s resilience
• promote confidence in the European social model
• promote a sustainable recovery
• speed up a fair and inclusive digital transition
• reaffirm the EU’s role in the world, ensuring that this is based on openness and multilateralism

• Priorities of Portugal's presidency