MEPs on the European Parliament’s agriculture committee on 22 January, said the measures, announced by the Commission, giving flexibility in the promotion programmes for wine products were insufficient. According to MEPs, these proposals do not provide an effective response to the consequences of US sanctions in the form of a 25% increase in customs duties in retaliation for European subsidies to Airbus.
MEPs Mazaly Aguilar (ECR, Spain), Anne Sander (EPP, France), Irène Tolleret (Renew Europe, France) and Éric Andrieu (S&D, France) called on the European Commission to activate “a compensation fund” and put in place “exceptional market measures provided for in the Regulation on the common organisation of the single market”. Paolo De Castro (S&D, Italy) called for certain rules to be simplified (cases of force majeure, limit on the duration of promotion programmes in the sector currently set at five years) and supported the adoption of an accelerated procedure for adopting such delegated acts. Ulrike Müller (Renew Europe, Germany) questioned whether the planned measures will be sufficient. “We can discuss the need for a compensation fund at a later date”, she said.
For Clara Eugenia Aguilera García (S&D, Spain), the intention seems good, but the proposals are bad because they take money from certain programmes to solve a problem that has nothing to do with agriculture.
Benoît Biteau (Greens/EFA, France) stressed that the Commission was providing “only short-term responses to a problem that is structural”. In particular, he called for the activation of the Globalisation Adjustment Fund for the agricultural sector.
After the green light from Member States on 15 January (see EUROPE 12404/14), the European Commission will adopt, on 29 January, the three regulations (two implementing acts and one delegated act) on these additional flexibilities. The delegated regulation will then have to be examined by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU for a maximum period of two months. Finally, the European Commission has indicated that Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan will return to Washington in the coming weeks to continue negotiations aimed at lifting US sanctions as soon as possible.
Sonny Perdue at the Agriculture Council of the EU. At the Agriculture Council of the EU on Monday 27 January (see EUROPE 12410/11), ministers will have a working lunch with US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to discuss sustainability, innovation and research, according to the official programme. But trade issues are also expected to be part of the discussion. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)