Brussels, 22/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - According to a draft version of the conclusions of the European Council on 28 and 29 June, amendments to which are expected to be made following the meeting of member states' permanent representatives to the EU (Coreper) on Tuesday 21 June, EU leaders will call on the European Commission to take fresh measures to help farmers struggling in this time of crisis (see EUROPE 11574).
According to draft conclusions, the European Council says it has taken stock of the developments in the dairy and pig meat sectors. It intends to call on the Commission to urgently implement all necessary support measures including, “where appropriate”, financial support to assist farmers. The European Council calls on all actors in the supply chain to help reduce market imbalances.
At Tuesday's Coreper meeting, the French delegation expressed disappointment that the paragraph on agriculture was less ambitious than the text proposed a week previously by the Czech Republic. France, with the support of a number of countries, including the Czech Republic, Poland, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland and Luxembourg, underlined the need for Community funding to be released to tackle the crisis on the dairy and pig meat markets. Spain and Greece called for the fruit and vegetables sector to be included among the markets needing additional support. A new version of the European Council conclusions text is expected to be available on Thursday 23 June.
The Agriculture Council, meeting in Luxembourg on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 June will take stock of the situation on the agricultural markets (see other article and EUROPE 11577). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)