Brussels, 08/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - Many MEPs called on Monday evening 7 March in Strasbourg for measures to be taken immediately to address the crisis currently affecting a number of agricultural sectors, including livestock (dairy, pigmeat) and fruit and vegetables.
While showing himself willing to listen and to explore a number of avenues, such as, for example, a voluntary reduction in milk production and increasing the intervention ceilings for powdered milk, Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan pointed out that he was restricted in what he could do by budgetary constraints. He said he was doing his best within the current legislative framework and in light of the support he could win from the other members of the college of commissioners. “DG Competition sometimes has a different view of things”, he acknowledged, referring to the articles of the common organisation of the markets (CMO) which derogate from competition law.
Article 222 of the CMO. Hogan said he was prepared to consider using Article 222 of the CMO to allow those producers who wish (thus, on a voluntary basis) reduce milk production. He acknowledged that DG Competition would want to look at this closely since this article allows the Commission to bring in derogations to competition law for a range of initiatives by producer organisations, associations of producer organisations and recognised inter-professional organisations. The commissioner wondered what would happen in the countries which wanted to maintain production levels. Michel Dantin (EPP, France) argued that the opportunity to strengthen the power of producer organisations, as Article 222 permits, must be explored to reduce milk production and enhance the position of farmers in their negotiations with the other agri-food chain players. “Commissioner Hogan would seem to be giving this serious consideration”, Dantin added.
Market measures. Hogan repeated his opposition to raising the intervention price for butter and powdered milk but was willing to consider increasing the intervention ceilings. Currently, the ceiling is 109,000 tonnes of skimmed milk powder per calendar year. France has suggested an increase to 160,000 tonnes for 2016.
He said that it would have to be determined why private storage of pigmeat had worked in Spain but not in France, for example. “But action will have to be taken within the next few months if there is no recovery in prices”, the commissioner stated. He also said that the European Investment Bank (EIB) could help farmers restructure their debt.
Fertilisers. Along with Commissioner Pierre Moscovici, Hogan is studying the proposal for a temporary suspension of customs duties on fertilisers.
Russian embargo on pig products. “The solution is not in our hands”, Hogan recognised, explaining that it was difficult to hold talks with the Russian agriculture minister “who is on the EU's black list”. It takes two to tango, he said sardonically.
Export credits. Hogan recalled existing possibilities for putting in place an export guarantee scheme. “Operators have to be paid, it's not about dumping”, he commented. Germany, for example, has such a scheme: why not encourage other countries to follow suit? Hogan added that the EIB could help fund such mechanisms.
Food supply chain. “It is unacceptable that farmers' profits drop every year. The agricultural markets task force will report after the summer” and may suggest solutions to this problem.
De minimis aid. Hogan said he was looking at the possibility of increasing the current cap (€15,000 per farm in any three-year period) for de minimis aid (which does not require the Commission to be notified).
September package. Only 10 of the 28 member states have currently implemented measures under the September 2015 targeted aid package worth €420 million. Hogan said that he would prefer not to dip into the agricultural crisis contingency fund as this was the farmers' money. The contingency reserve is financed by reducing direct aid.
Czeslaw Adam Siekierski, (EPP, Poland), chair of the Parliament's agriculture committee, stressed that the situation was deteriorating and called on the Commission to take emergency action before thinking about longer-term measures. Albert Dess (EPP, Germany) called for support measures for butter. Paolo De Castro (S&D, Italy) said that the mid-term review of the multiannual financial framework 2014-2020 had to be used to provide the common agricultural policy with more effective risk management tools. “Supply has to be better managed in the milk sector”, he stated. James Nicholson (ECR, UK) argued for a reduction in the price paid by farmers for fertilisers. He sounded a warning on the situation facing pig farmers. Jan Huitema (ALDE, Netherlands) was critical of costly market measures and argued for improved competitiveness and for new markets to be won. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)