Brussels, 16/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - Several EU agriculture ministers, meeting in Brussels on Monday 15 December, called for further measures in the pig meat and fruit and vegetable sectors.
The Russian embargo on EU agricultural products is continuing to wreak havoc. At the Agriculture Council, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, France, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Estonia and Austria called on the Commission to activate temporary aid for the private storage of pig meat until alternative markets can be found. The market situation is worrying, they said, because of the embargo. Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan said that he would consider their request but indicated that the difficult situation was largely the result of overproduction. The price of pork has, indeed, fallen but there is not yet a crisis, according to the Commission. It will re-assess the situation at the start of next year.
Fruit and vegetables. The Commission recently took the decision to extend, until June 2015, the aid scheme for perishable fruit and vegetables (which has a total envelope of €165 million) since there was still some money remaining. Poland called for additional measures for apples. Spain and Cyprus sought a further hand for fruit and vegetables. Spain believes that the scheme has to be better tailored to needs (period covered). France argued for greater flexibility in the operational programmes and Italy backed the Spanish and French calls. (LC)