Brussels, 07/06/2011 (Agence Europe) - European agriculture ministers, meeting in extraordinary Council on Tuesday 7 June, called for money to be made available to compensate EU fruit and vegetable growers who have seen their sales plummet following the appearance in Germany of food-borne poisoning caused by the enterohaemorrhagic E.coli (EHEC) bacterium.
The European Commission initially proposed €150 million to partially (30%) compensate producers' losses, whether or not they belonged to producer organisations. A number of member states, Spain and France leading the way, felt that this sum was not enough, arguing that the market gardeners were not responsible for this crisis though they were bearing the brunt. Several ministers, in particular Rosa Aguilar from Spain, were critical of the principle of reimbursing 30% of loss of sales. Close to 10 countries called for the EU to provide compensation of between 90 and 100% of losses.
European Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Cioloº promised after the Council meeting that he would increase the level of compensation and the initial envelope of €150 million. He recalled, however, the budget constraints that exist and emphasised that over-compensation must be avoided. “I am prepared to increase the 30% level but I do not think that the budget level currently available will allow us to go up to 100% for all produce and all producers. The Commission will shoulder its responsibilities but within the limits with which it is provided by the regulations and the level of the EU budget”, he said.
According to the agricultural unions COPA-COGECA, the sector is recording losses of the order of €417 million per week, with €200 million of that being in Spain. Several ministers also highlighted the need for lessons to be learnt from the failings of the European health warning system. Cioloº and his colleague in Health John Dalli underlined the urgency of the need to identify the source in order to restore consumer confidence and have lifted the various embargos on the import of European vegetables put in place, particularly by Russia.
Here are the details of the proposals put to ministers by Commissioner Cioloº:
Emergency clause. In view of the scale of the crisis, the Commission intends to invoke Article 191 of the single common market organisation (CMA), namely an emergency clause to enable it to come to the assistance of producers who are members of producer organisations and also those who are not. Two thirds of Europe's producers do not belong to producer organisations. These measures will be available to all member states and will relate only to those products most affected by the crisis: cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuces. The aid will be back-dated to the start of the crisis, 26 May, and will run until the end of June. Aid will equate to 30% of market prices recorded in June over the period from 2007 to 2010. The sum made available for this purpose, to be met entirely by the Commission, is likely to come to €150 million. This will depend, however, on requests received by the Commission. The Commission intends to re-assess this sum, increasing the level of compensation and of produce covered (with the addition, for example, of courgettes and peppers).
With regard to producer organisations: there are firstly measures that can be activated within the framework of producer organisations and withdrawal of produce. This aid is set at 5% of production per year. There are other measures, such as non-harvesting, promotion and free distribution. All these measures are co-financed by the EU budget - member states are required to make top-up contributions.
De minimis aid. In addition, member states have the right (without having to inform the Commission) to provide national aid of up to €7,500 per producer over three years.
Timetable. The management committee met in the late afternoon on Tuesday 7 June to discuss the draft regulation on compensation for EU vegetable producers. The management committee vote on the text is scheduled for 14 June.
Estimates of financial losses to producers following on from contamination of the food chain by E.coli. A first estimate was provided on 6 June by the member organisations of COPA-COGECA, measuring losses in millions of euro per week. Losses (unsold produce) continue to rise by the day: Germany (€30 million per week), Belgium (€6 million), Denmark (€0.75 million), Spain (€200 million), France (€30 million), Lithuania (€0.15 million), the Netherlands (€50 million) and Italy (€100 million).
According to Commission estimates, between weeks 21 and 22 of 2011 (23 May to 5 June), the average price of cucumbers across the EU fell by 36% (-70% in the Netherlands and -50% in Spain). (L.C./transl.rt)