Brussels, 01/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission and the experts of the member states are working flat out ahead of the Agriculture Council to be held in Brussels on Friday 5 September, which will be given over to the measures aiming to attenuate the effects of the Russian ban on many agricultural products of the EU (see EUROPE 11142 and 1114).
The Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA), which is made up of the experts of the EU countries, is to meet this Tuesday 2 September to discuss the dossier and prepare the debate of the agriculture ministers of the EU. The representative of the European Commission will report back on progress with the measures taken so far and the anticipated consequences of the Russian ban. The Italian Presidency of the Council of the EU has put forward three topics of debate to the SCA experts: - the agricultural products affected, in each individual member state, by the Russian restrictions; - measures taken at national level to offset the negative impacts of the ban on agricultural products; - additional measures which could be taken nationally and at EU level (on top of those already taken in the fruit, vegetables and dairy products sectors). The discussions of Friday's Agriculture Council is expected to focus its talks on the same themes.
Readers may recall that the market in products affected by the Russian ban (fruit, vegetables, milk and dairy products, meat) were worth €5.3 billion euros last year. Fortunately, the Russians have excluded important products such as wine, spirits, pasta and cereals from the embargo.
On Wednesday 3 September, Commissioner for Agriculture Dacian Ciolos will present the College of European Commissioners with indications on the measures already taken, possible additional measures and forecasts for the agricultural markets against the backdrop of the Russian ban. For instance, it is already known that the apples and pears sectors have been hard hit, as 6% of all European production of these products goes to Russia. The Commission is not anticipating a steep drop in prices in the meat sectors (or in any case, not before the end of October).
The other measures include the early payment of agricultural support (50% of the aid on 16 October). The Commission does not feel that export refunds are a useful tool. It is believed to be considering the option of refocusing promotion campaigns on potential new export markets. The idea would be to divert the money earmarked for promotion campaigns targeting Russia to action targeting other third countries, as Russia has closed off its market to EU agricultural products.
Vote on dairy products on Tuesday. The Management Committee for the Common Organisation of the Agricultural Markets is expected to vote, on Tuesday 2 September, on measures (contained within an implementing act) in favour of milk and dairy products. These measures consist of private storage aid for butter and skimmed milk powder (additionally, the public intervention period for butter and skimmed milk powder will be extended until the end of the year). The Commission will also present the experts of the EU member states with the text (delegated act) to extend private storage to cheeses. All cheeses will be eligible, with the exception of soft cheeses, as they cannot be stored for long.
Budgetary questions. Private storage aid for butter, skimmed milk powder and cheeses could, according to a number of highly provisional forecasts, cost the Community budget between €10 and €20 million. Aid for peaches and nectarines stands at €32.7 million and the measures for perishable fruit and vegetables €125 million.
The reserve budget earmarked for agricultural crises stands at €423 million in the 2014 budget, and €433 million in the 2015 budget. The Commission anticipates that most of the money will come from the 2015 EU budget, as the 2014 budget ends on 15 October. However, it considers that a large proportion of the measures will be paid for out of unused credit in the CAP budget, rather than the crisis reserve. In October, the Commission will present a letter of amendment containing the latest estimates on agricultural expenditure anticipated to 2015. By then, there will be a clearer picture of the CAP funds still available. (LC)