At the meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council, the Ministers of Agriculture approved a conclusions document on how to improve the operation of the food supply chain in the European Union. The document focuses on four priorities:

    * Promoting sustainable market relations between the parties concerned.
    * Increasing transparency in the food supply chain to encourage competition and improve resistance to unstable prices.
    * Improve the integration and competitiveness of the agro-food chain.
    * Eliminate obstacles to ending practices that lead to a fragmented domestic market.

At the press conference after the meeting, the Spanish Minister for the Environment and for the Rural and Marine Environment, Elena Espinosa, specified that these priorities were adopted following an in-depth analysis of market issues, such as competition and the lack of transparency, which "cause distortion and affect competitiveness".

The Ministers also approved the joint position maintained by the EU at the forthcoming Euromed conference on water, scheduled for 13 April in Barcelona, which will focus on approving a common long-term strategy for water management in the Mediterranean basin.

The Minister explained that this will entail "facilitating dialogue and seeking solutions to common water problems", such as the effects of climate change on water and "extreme climate change in the Mediterranean, veering from drought to flooding".

Following the agreement reached in Brussels, "the EU will participate with one voice and with its own experience of managing issues such as the use of hydrographic basins and of scientific and technological progress.

The Council also analysed the role of the agro-food sector in the 2020 Strategy and how this sector can contribute to emerging from the crisis in a situation of "intelligent, sustainable and integrating growth", said Espinosa.

Finally, the Agriculture and Fisheries Council discussed market management measures beyond 2013, an "ambitious strategy involving a great deal of work", on which there was consensus between the Trio Presidencies in order to guarantee its continuity.

• Video: Highlights of the press conference with the Spanish Minister for the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs, Elena Espinosa, following the Agriculture and Fisheries Council. [29-3-10]