Brussels, 12/01/2016 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission gave formal confirmation on Tuesday 12 January of the names of the experts who will form the new agricultural markets task force, ahead of its first meeting in Brussels on Wednesday 13 January.
Under the chairmanship of former Dutch agriculture minister Cees Veerman, the task force will consist of 12 experts, all with considerable experience and expertise from different aspects of the food chain.
The mandate for the task force is to discuss relevant issues, such as market transparency, access for farmers to financial instruments and futures markets to hedge price risks, options for arranging contractual relations within the chain and legal possibilities for organising farmers' collective actions. All of this is with a view to improving the position of farmers in the food chain. The aim is for the task force to bring forward a report in the autumn with its findings, which may include concrete recommendations for policy and legislative initiatives. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)