This is how agricultural law is developed within the EU
Jointly with the European Parliament, the Agriculture and Fisheries Council represents the decision-making body of the EU for the area of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
The Agriculture and Fisheries Council is one of the oldest Council formations and meets once per month, usually in Brussels. In April, June and October the meeting is held in Luxembourg. The goal of these meetings is to discuss the legal acts concerning these subjects in order to adopt them subsequently.
There, the Council is responsible for preparing the draft proposals submitted by the Commission to an extent that all technical questions are settled.
To find solutions to detailed questions, the Council charges the respective competent Council Working Party with the preparation of the proposals. The Council Working Parties consist of experts who evaluate the proposals formally and with respect to their substance.
Before the proposals are submitted to the Council, the dossiers that have been collected are subjected to a review either by the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC*) or by the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA**).
Within this framework, the Permanent Representatives Committee is responsible for dealing with the dossiers in the fields of fisheries and food safety as well as for questions arising in the field of the agricultural budget.
The Special Committee on Agriculture again focuses on technical issues and is responsible for the preparation of the legal files on the market organisation and the rural development.
In the course of the preparation of the Agriculture Council, a meeting is therefore in most cases held every week in which the Special Committee Agriculture decides whether the issue (in the field of the CAP) is acceptable for being addressed at the Agriculture Council.
Eventually, the Ministers of the EU Member States vote on the proposal of the Commission. Depending on the legal base of the legal act, different voting procedures are applied. Finally, the proposals are currently being implemented by the Commission.
Brief extra information:
* The Committee is made up of the Permanent Representatives of the Member States and their deputies, located in Brussels.
**The Special Committee (on) Agriculture is the body, which prepares the discussions of the Agriculture Council. In this context, the focus is above all on all areas concerning the joint shaping of the agricultural market, the agricultural structures, and rural development. The SCA plays a crucial role in the CAP.