Brussels, 15/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - In Luxembourg on Monday 14 April, the agriculture ministers of the member states of the European Union once again had the opportunity to express their differences of opinion over the effects of the end of milk quotas in 2015.
The Austrian delegation asked the legal services of the Council for clarification regarding the legal basis for the payment of the superlevy (fines) applicable in the event that the quotas are exceeded after March 2015, when the milk quota system has been abolished. Readers may recall that Austria and other countries have been asking in vain for weeks for flexibility in the quota mechanism over its last year of operation. Austria wants to know whether the European Commission can legally demand the payment of fines once quotas have been abolished and is suggesting that the payment of superlevies for 2015 be staggered over five years, with no additional interest.
No legal loopholes
As far as the legal services of the Council are concerned, there will be no break in 2015 between the old rules and those due to take effect that year, as the provisions on the quotas system will apply for the marketing year 2014-2015, including the superlevy in the event that the quotas are exceeded. The Council's legal services added that the finer details for the implementation of the superlevies were a political issue to be dealt with by the Council.
Two opposing camps. Austria was backed by Germany, which also called on the legal services of the Commission for its interpretation and announced that complaints from Germany over the legal basis were to be expected. Denmark and Poland also supported Austria's request and called for the fat content coefficient to be corrected (which would be tantamount to increasing the level of the quotas). The Netherlands stressed that the legal basis on the superlevy was unclear. Ireland also called for the payment of the superlevy to be staggered over a period of five years. Bulgaria and Belgium also supported Austria.
In the opposite corner, other delegations opposed Austria's request, such as Spain and Portugal, which expressed concern at the situation following the expiry of the dairy quotas. France and the United Kingdom also stressed the need to observe the current rules, including on the superlevy. Italy did not take position on this highly sensitive subject.
European milk observatory. European Commissioner for Agriculture Dacian Ciolos described the discussion on the milk quotas as “enlightening”. He added that the subject would be discussed again in June when the Commission presents the report on the implementation of the dairy package. This report will be based on the observations of the dairy market observatory to be set in place this week. (LC)