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.

Slovenia's presidency priorities and programme

During their presidency, in the second half of 2021, Slovenia will strive to actively contribute to strengthening the EU's resilience to health, economic, energy, climate and cyber crises. The presidency programme focuses on four main priority areas, which are in line with the goals of the EU’s strategic agenda: 

• the EU's recovery, resilience and strategic autonomy
• a reflection on the future of Europe
• the European way of life, the rule of law and European values
• increasing security and stability in the European neighbourhood

For more details on the priorities of Slovenia's presidency in each policy area, please consult the full programme:

• Slovenia's presidency programme