Brussels, 17/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission may cut quantities eligible for support under the new fruit and vegetables producers' assistance system.
This aid mechanism has existed since the Russian imposed embargo in August 2014 on EU agri-foods. The new programme is due to enter into force at the end of June, following on from the current mechanism. A draft text has already been presented to the committee responsible for these matters and is causing concern to the EU farmers and agricultural cooperatives' organisations (Copa-Cogeca). During the Agriculture Council on Tuesday 17 May, Poland, Spain and Italy also criticised the lack of ambition contained in the mechanism currently being examined.
In an effort to justify this significant cut, the European Commission argued that out of 838,800 t of products the Commission was prepared to withdraw from the market between June 2015 and June 2016, requests have only been addressed for 270,337 t up until 15 April (out of a budget of €91 million), which is slightly more than 33% of the mechanism, despite the Commission planning to expand the list of eligible products.
In total, the European Commission has already spent €262 million for withdrawing 1,000,000 t of fruit and vegetables from the market (free distribution, green harvesting and composting, etc.) since the beginning of the Russian embargoes in August 2015.
Copa-Cogeca recently sent a letter to protest against the cut in programme loans for fruit and vegetable growers. It is particularly concerned about the high stock levels of apples and pears and is calling for: setting maximum guaranteed quantities allocated to member states based on the amount they exported to Russia and on their fruit and vegetable production; raising the level of compensatory aid for withdrawing produce from the market, prioritising purposes other than free distribution; ensuring the deadline to pay farmers is shortened; raising the volume for the member states from 3,000 to 5,000 tonnes and grant them flexibility on the eligibility of products. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)