Brussels, 05/02/2016 (Agence Europe) - France, which has been experiencing increasing numbers of demonstrations by farmers, sent a memorandum to the European Commission and to the Dutch presidency of the Council on Thursday 4 February suggesting “avenues for regulation” in the face of the livestock crisis being suffered by several EU countries.
The purpose of the document is “to find allies in Europe and together to tackle the crises in agriculture”, said French Agriculture Minister Stéphane Le Foll. At the start of the week, he held a telephone conversation with his Dutch counterpart Martin Van Dam, who currently chairs the Agriculture Council.
The French memorandum “sets out a number of avenues for regulation” of the milk and pork markets, said Le Foll. He acknowledged that, within the EU, “there are many liberals who believe that the market can decide everything”. The issue will be discussed at the next Agriculture Council, in Brussels on 15 February. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)