Brussels, 18/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 17 March, the European Council took note of the situation of farmers, notably in the dairy and pig sectors, which “are seriously affected by the drop in prices”.
In its conclusions, it asked the European Commission “to quickly act upon the outcome of the Agriculture Council of 14 March” (see EUROPE 11511). The European Council committed to “closely follow the evolution of this sector of such importance for Europe”.
It was very important for France to have the European Council note the conclusions of the Council of Ministers, and especially the support to dairy producers and pig farmers, regulation and a labelling sytem, said French President François Hollande. He stated that France had obtained an agreement to test out labelling on the origin of products - especially meat. He also defended the EU's agriculture budget. The work of the Agriculture Council was mentioned in the course of this meeting, as well as the price of milk, said German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Belgium's Prime Minister Louis Michel stated: “We took a commitment to implement the decisions quickly”. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur with Camille-Cerise Gessant and Sophie Petitjean )