Bulgarian Agriculture and Food Minister Nihat Kabil left for Brussels on March 17, where he will take part in the one-day meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council of the European Union.

The top issue on the agenda of the meeting is the bloc's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and its future reform, the Slovenian presidency of the EU said. Ministers are expected to discuss the need of changes, adjustments and simplifications of the current organisation of the common agricultural policy to make it more effective.

EU agriculture ministers will also try to achieve political agreement on a two per cent increase in EU national milk quotas. It could be “one possible measure for the ‘"soft landing’ approach to milk quota abolishment in 2015,” according to the meeting's agenda.

In December 2007, the European Commission (EC) prepared a report, which established favourable conditions for additional milk and dairy products offered to the EU and global market.

The ministers will also hear a report from the EC on the progress of World Trade Organisation negotiations on the Doha programme for development, as well as the concerns Ireland has over the future development of the sheep sector and Poland's concerns regarding developments on the pigmeat market.