Brussels, 15/01/2001 (Agence Europe) - At the end of the meeting of COPA's Praesidium, in which Commissioner Franz Fischler took part, the professional farming organisations COPA and COGECA addressed a letter to the new President of the "Agriculture" Council, Margareta Winberg, on the BSE crisis and its consequences for farmers. COPA and COGECA observe that: in many Member States, beef consumption has fallen sharply, business activity in steep decline, prices are in free fall and large EU export markets closed; - screening capacities are far from adequate in a large majority of Member States, with as consequence that many abattoirs are unable to keep up with the demand for tests, which further worsens the situation on farms where animals continue to accumulate. COPA and COGECA call for:
Member States to do all they can to provide themselves with the necessary screening capabilities as soon as possible to relieve farms;
The withdrawal programme for destruction, in Member States where it is to be implemented, to contribute to the rapid re-balancing of the market, the price for withdrawing the animals concerned being situated at an adequate level for the different categories and qualities concerned and for farmers to actually receive the money;
Intervention purchases to actually contribute in stabilising the market and increasing prices;
An operation of aid to private storage to be envisaged too, notably for veal;
Measures to be taken (including through refunds) to re-establish exports.
The letter recalls that the market support measure decided by the Council and implemented by the Commission, as well as the Community's partially taking on board the cost of screening, will probably exceed the margin available in the Budget 2001. For COPA and COGECA, it is imperative that additional budgetary means be released at Community level to compensate farmers. They also call for the costs of measures taken in the name of consumer health protection, especially the ban on meat meal, to be fully taken on board by Community public funds. They also place emphasis on the issue of BSE to continue to be managed at community level, with as goal to decide on harmonised Community measures and thereby avoid unilateral national measures. COPA and COGECA want imports from third countries to respect the same sanitary and safety conditions as those applied in the EU.
At a press conference, COPA President Noel Devisch welcomed all measures taken to restore consumer confidence and guarantee food safety. He did, however, express concern as to who would foot the bill. While considering that it would be ideal were the Community to take on board all the expenditure, he acknowledged that one had to be "realistic" and that the "budgetary margin" was inadequate. Each Member State is in the process of finding solutions, he observed, nevertheless hoping that the EU would adopt "guidelines" to avoid distortions to competition. Mr. Devisch again placed emphasis on the adoption of a deliberate policy to reduce dependency in the EU on imported vegetable proteins (the EU depends to the tune of 75% on imported proteins and three million additional tonnes are necessary to replace animal meal: Ed.) and hopes for legislative measures - aid to crops rich in protein and possibility of using currently set-aside land for this crop - to be implemented next year.