Brussels, 19/05/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 18 May in Strasbourg, the European Parliament confirmed the compromise with the Council of Ministers of the EU on what adjustments should be introduced for specific measures in the area of agriculture to support the Union's outermost regions. By adopting the report of Luís Paulo Alves (Portugal) on this proposal, the EP has ratified a compromise amendment that includes a five-year extension of the authorisation for the Azores to send the rest of the Union quantities of sugar (3000 tonnes in 2011 falling by 500 tonnes per year to 1,000 tonnes by 2015) which exceeds traditional trade.
The regulation, which still needs to be adopted by the Council, includes an exemption for the Canary Islands. The latter will be able to continue to bring in supplies of dairy products covered by Code NC 1901 90 99 (skimmed milk powder and containing vegetable fats) for industrial processing up to 800 tonnes/year. The aid paid for supplies from the Union for this product cannot go above €210/tonne and is only for local consumption. Finally, for the island of La Reunion, where conditions only allow for very limited fresh milk production, milk powder imported from the EU has become a commonly used product. MEPs have therefore decided to grant this French overseas department the right to continue to produce UHT milk reconstituted from Community milk powder.
The new regulation will come into effect retroactively from 1 January 2010. (L.C./transl.rt)