Brussels, 17/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - The package of €500 million proposed by the European Commission to support farmers in crisis received an overall positive welcome at the European Parliament, during an evening debate held in Brussels on Wednesday 16 September.
As is to be expected, there were differences of opinion within the hemicycle as to the soundness of the management measures for the agricultural markets, and a number of MEPs would have preferred to see a bit more ambition on the part of the Commission.
Albert Dess (EPP, Germany) called on the Commission to use the €900 million from the super-levies (fines for milk production quota overruns) for measures to stabilise the milk market. Many MEPs also recommended this approach. Dess acknowledged the differences of opinion within the EPP and even within his own party over the idea of increasing the intervention price. “Personally, I am not greatly in favour of this. And I am pleased to note that Commissioner Hogan shares my view on this”, Dess said. He went on to state that it will be more effective to have a system whereby the Commission would lay down certain quantities which it could withdraw from the market at a given price. This would also be effective in limiting the powers of the supermarket chains. “We cannot solve the problems with the instruments of the last century, such as intervention”, he said. Michel Dantin (EPP, France), for example, takes the opposite view that by refusing to increase the level of the intervention price, the Commission is “contributing to an unhealthy atmosphere between member states”.
For Paolo De Castro (S&D, Italy), the package proposed is a step in the right direction, an initial response to farmers “facing up to a considerable crisis” in the dairy, pork meat and fruit and vegetables sectors. He called for the proposed private storage mechanism for cheese to be improved.
“500 million euros is a lot of money”, said James Nicholson (ECR, UK). He expressed regrets at the fact that the Commission is refusing to review the intervention price. “The measures rolled out by the Commission could prove insufficient”, he said. Jan Huitema (ALDE, Netherlands) hit out at the countries which are calling for intervention on the markets. Matt Carthy (GUE/NGL, Ireland) expressed disappointment at the Commission's response. “This package represents an opportunity wasted”, he said. He regretted the lack of solidarity towards farmers and expressed fears that European agriculture will witness one crisis after another.
“Proposing storage is going back to the 1970s, with mountains of butter in refrigeration”, said José Bové (Greens/EFA, France). Producers want prices that cover their production costs (and therefore tools to manage production in order to regulate supply and demand), and this package does not answer their expectations, Bové explained. He even went as far as to tear up the document featuring the Commission's proposals, saying that he was “ashamed of the agriculture ministers who have signed this agreement and ashamed of the European Commission, which continues to pursue this policy”. (Lionel Changeur)