Brussels, 29/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - A majority of countries seem to support the compromise text of the Polish Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers on the negotiating brief with the European Parliament regarding contractual relations in the dairy and milk products sector. The Special Agriculture Committee (SAC) will discuss the question again on Monday 5 December, just prior to the trilogue (Commission/EP/Council) during which the parties plan to seal an agreement on the proposal relating to contractual relations in the dairy sector.
Once again, SAC discussions on Monday 28 November covered compulsory contracts (and contract duration) and management of supply for quality products, namely under protected geographical indication (see EUROPE N.10500). Most delegations rallied to the wording chosen by the Presidency in the draft compromise. On the matter of contracts, the text stipulates that a county may decide to make contracts compulsory and, in this case, it may impose a minimum duration (6 months or more) that the principal buyer would have to propose to the producer at the time of negotiation. However, the producer may refuse the offer and, in that event, the contract would then be negotiated freely. The obligation would only concern the principal buyer and the minimum duration of the offer. On management of supply, the idea is to grant exemption to producers that provide raw material for PGI products, in order to limit production volume. The compromise restricts this possibility to cheeses and encompasses the exemption. Some countries, such as the Netherlands and Denmark, stress that the text should propose measures for ensuring a “gentle landing” of the milk quota system when arriving at the 2015 deadline. (LC/transl.jl)