Brussels, 06/12/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has decided to propose attributing an additional EUR 970 million in the Budget 2001 in order to face up to the mad cow crisis. This package will be broken down between market intervention, purchases for destruction purposes, an increase of 60-80% in advance payments of beef and veal premiums and additional testing (EUR 60 million are already earmarked in the draft Budget 2001 for the first tests). The sum of EUR 970 million is calculated on the basis of a fall in consumer demand for beef of 10-12%, as well as the financing of 15 euros per test. The Commission will submit this proposal to the management committee for beef and veal, on 12 December.
The Commission thus proposes to use most of the EUR 1.23 billion margin available in the Budget 2001 for agricultural spending. The Commission proposal specifies that, "in all events", the ceiling of this heading should not be exceeded. The regulation stipulates "budgetary discipline" which fixes the budgetary rules in agricultural expenditure, and states that "at any given moment during budgetary procedure and budget implementation" credits relating to agricultural spending must be included in the amount fixed by the financial perspectives. This same regulation also specifies that, in order to keep to these ceilings, the Commission may use its management powers and, if this does not prove sufficient, propose to the Council that it "adjust the support measures applicable from the beginning of the following marketing year". The Council must take a decision within two months following receipt of the Commission's proposal.
In other words, the backing of certain sectors could be reduced, before the beginning of the harvests (July for many sectors), if additional needs for the made cow crisis should exceed the reduced margin that will remain under the heading of agricultural spending.
Formally, the Commission should propose the inclusion of the additional 970 million in Budget 2001 at the beginning of next year through an "amending and supplementary budget".