Brussels, 11/09/2013 (Agence Europe) - Three major players in the production and processing sectors in French agribusiness created the association France Agro Europe (FAE) on Tuesday 10 September. The aim is to ensure that these French operators are represented at European Union level.
The association allows “its members to have a link within Community decision-making procedures” on issues which concern them directly, such as social dumping, international trade agreements and the common agriculture policy (CAP). “FAE gives first processing companies (slaughter, cutting, dairy processing) direct representation in Brussels” and is a “multi-products association”, its creators explained. The principal dossiers dealt with by the FAE include “competition distortion” within the EU, which is laid at Germany's door in particular. According to the FAE, Germany “has a definite competitive advantage on the European meat processing market”, particularly by using “foreign temporary labour”, from other member states or from third countries. This advantage, the FAE explains, “has helped to increase its self-sufficiency in pig from 80% to 120% via not only an increase in pig production (+14% in five years), but also by taking a large proportion of the transfer of live animals from other European countries for slaughter”.
The new association is also working for “obligatory country-of-origin labelling at all stages of production and processing”. It is also opposed to producers and processors being “competed against on our own market by imported products which do not have to comply with the same requirements as those imposed on us”. These imports are mostly in the ready meals industry.
France Agro Europe will also get involved in the following dossiers: implementation of CAP agreements (particularly in the dairy sector), bilateral trade agreements and animal health package. (LC/transl.fl)