Brussels, 12/12/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 11 December, the European Parliament invited the European Commission to keep a close eye on developments in milk production in mountainous, outlying and disadvantaged regions, and to assess the economic consequences of the expiry of milk quotas (in 2015) on dairy farms. With the adoption of the report by Herbert Dorfmann (EPP, Italy) with several amendments, the EP calls on the Commission to submit a report on the issue by 2017 accompanied by a legislative proposal in the event of a considerable decrease in milk production in those regions. The Commission should also, MEPs say, develop programmes - for example, based on the model of fund collection - with a view to attenuating the impact of the rapid and foreseeable drop in milk prices.
The plenary firmly rejected an alternative resolution submitted by the GUE/NGL Group, calling in particular for the current milk production quota regime to be maintained after 2015.
The EP underlines that expiry of milk quotas must be the subject of a separate assessment for mountainous and outlying regions, in the light of their specific features, with a view to developing measures targeting support and maintenance of production. Fifty-nine percent of the agricultural surface area of mountainous regions is permanent grassland or dairy pasture. Most of the time, no other farming activity is either possible or viable. The milk produced in mountainous areas accounts for around 10% of milk from the EU27, but constitutes two-thirds of milk production involving three quarters of producers in Austria, Slovenia and Finland (the figures are also very high in some ten other countries), the EP notes.
The EP considers that, given that there can be no substitute for milk production in certain outlying regions as a motor for the economy, the European Commission and member states must, in such regions, use the POSEI programmes for channelling increased aid in the context of direct payments and market measures, as well as rural development programmes for the strengthening of aid in the context of the second CAP pillar. The EP considers it is essential to establish a premium linked to herbivores as part of the first pillar (direct aid and market spending) of the CAP and within the framework of the POSEI programme in the outlying regions for farms that are made up of pasture and cattle feed zones.
Rural development. The member states and the regions are invited to develop, where appropriate, a specific programme for milk production in those regions in the context of rural development. The EP requests that the higher investment costs needed to ensure milk production due to the specific configuration of the mountainous or outlying regions, the isolation of the regions, or the extreme fragmentation of farming units, should be “adequately compensated for” under the second pillar.
Observatory. The EP underlines the need to develop a milk production market surveillance tool (a milk observatory) in order to collect and diffuse data and information relating to production and supply, to issue information on commercial imbalances, and to carry out analyses in the context of price instability “with a view to making precise adjustment to milk production upon request”.
Producer organisations (POs). The EP underlines that it is appropriate to support small farmers in such regions to set up producer organisations to strengthen their power of negotiation. It backed milk producer banding together in POs. The POs should, MEPs say, be able to implement operational programmes co-funded by the Community budget, with measures such as: - the promotion of access to new markets, commercial development, quality control and innovation and advertising campaigns, notably with regards the new “mountain produce” label (or other optional denominations) that can be approved, protected names of origin and other quality labels.
Milk programme in schools. The EP calls on the Commission and member states to improve the effectiveness of the milk distribution system in EU schools and, in particular, to give stakeholders the possibility to make explicit reference to the milk from mountainous areas in publications thanks to the “mountain produce” mention. It also invites member states to use short supply circuits in the context of the programme to encourage milk production at local level and to limit carbon emissions linked to transport. (LC/transl.jl)