Luxembourg, 19/06/2000 (Agence Europe) - The Agriculture Council opened on Monday in Luxembourg while over one thousand Spanish farmers gathered outside the building to protest against the coming disappearance of aid to the production of nuts. In all, the demonstration will have drawn in around 5,000 people including two to three hundred Italian and French farmers. In Spain, nut production takes up 640,969 hectares. Some 100,000 Spanish farms provide 77% of the dried fruit produced in the European Union.
During the session, Commissioner Franz Fischler refused to negotiate a change to the reduction proposed by the European commission for monthly increases concerning cereals (see EUROPE of 17 June, p.13) and so the Council again postponed its decision on the farm price package for the 2000/2001 marketing year. It hopes the European Parliament will give its opinion during the July session on reform of the hemp and flax sector, which would give the Commissioner a budgetary margin of manoeuvre for negotiation on cereals. The prices of sugar and pigmeat have, however, been renewed.
The Council gathered a simple majority, following the bovine spongiform encephalopathy epidemic for the proposal aimed at definitively banning risk material (certain parts of the head and spine, in particular) as of 1 October 2000. These products must be destroyed. Imports from third countries of such products will be banned as of 1 April 2001. The formal decision must be adopted by the European Commission as the Council has not gathered the qualified majority for definitively adopting the text itself. Four countries (Spain, Finland, Austria and Greece) voted against and Germany abstained. The decision, which concerns bovine, sheep and goats, should be adopted by the Commission next week at the latest.
Ministers also held a first exchange of views on proposals concerning: 1) establishment of national guarantee funds for the income of pig farmers; 2) reform in the rice sector. These proposals are far from giving rise to enthusiasm and some opposition was expressed.
At the opening of the meeting, Italian Minister Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio gave a box of mozzarella cheese to Commissioner Franz Fischler to ask him to rapidly carry out a control procedure enabling Italy to guarantee that the traditional method of making this cheese, using fresh milk, is being respected. There must be checks to ensure that Italian producers are not adding milk powder, which is allowed in other countries, notably Germany, also a major producer.