MEPs voted on Tuesday to adopt a ban on discarding unwanted fish of 35 species caught in the Skagerrak (between the North Sea and the Baltic). The ban, to take effect gradually between 2014 and 2016, would be enforced with a remote electronic monitoring system.

To deliver secure supplies of high-quality food while protecting the environment better, the new EU farm policy must make "greening" measures mandatory but flexible and help farmers to cope with market challenges. So says Parliament's position, as voted Wednesday, for negotiations with EU member states as voted on Wednesday. This will be the first EU farm policy reform shaped by Parliament as a full co-legislator with EU member states.

Parliament set out its position on EU farm policy reform in texts voted on Wednesday, after more than a year's debates with farmers, cooperatives, EU agriculture ministers, MPs, experts and academics. This position will pave the way for negotiations with EU member states, which are expected to start in late March/early April.

Fisheries Committee MEPs backed a proposed ban on discarding unwanted fish of 35 species caught in the Skagerrak (between the North Sea and the Baltic) in a vote on Tuesday. The ban, to take effect gradually between 2014 and 2016, would be enforced with a remote electronic monitoring system.

The US wine association's definition of "Château" differs from the EU's. So if the European Commission plans to allow "Château" labels to be used on American wines sold in the EU, then they must meet EU quality standards, said MEPs in a debate with Commissioner Algirdas Šemeta on Wednesday.

A major reform of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) which aims to cut fishing to sustainable stock levels, end dumping at sea, and base long-term planning on sound scientific data, was approved by Parliament on Wednesday. Overfishing is widely seen as the worst failure of the current CFP, dating from 2002. The new one is to take effect in 2014.

Banana growers in the EU's outermost regions will get a one-off payment of up to €40 million in financial 2013 to offset their lack of competitiveness and changing EU market conditions. MEPs approved on Tuesday the informal deal, struck by Parliament and Council negotiators in November 2012.

EU farm policy reform must distribute EU funding more fairly, make "greening" measures mandatory but flexible, better equip farmers to cope with market challenges and cut red tape. So says the Agriculture Committee's opening position for negotiations with EU member states, as set out in texts voted on Wednesday. This will be the first EU farm policy reform shaped by Parliament as a full co-legislator with member states.

Certain restrictions on how and where fishermen may fish in EU waters were removed by a vote on Wednesday. Small-scale fishermen will be able to catch Baltic cod in coastal areas during closed-season summer months thanks to the resolution drafted by Jarosław Leszek Wałęsa (EPP, PL).

The EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) needs radical reform to cut fishing to sustainable stock levels, end discards, and use better long-term planning based on reliable scientific data, said Fisheries Committee MEPs on Tuesday. Overfishing is widely seen as the worst failure of the current CFP, dating from 2002. The new one is to take effect in 2014.