Strasbourg, 13/02/2001 (Agence Europe) - Tuesday evening, the European Commissioner for agriculture Franz Fischler presented the European Parliament with a seven-point plan (an "emergency package", a "crisis package", he said) that the Commission had just adopted to tackle the beef crisis linked to BSE. Storing meat, that's not enough, we have to change direction to be able to avoid over-production, Fischler told MEPs, stating that, in the coming weeks, we shall have to store some 30,000 tonnes of beef. The Commissioner also stressed that the proposed measures would be implemented from 1 January 2002, except those, that take immediate effect, not to implement the annual ceiling of 350,000 tonnes for public intervention purchases (so as to avoid recourse to the costly so-called "safety net" intervention). We cannot compare this crisis to that of a factory manufacturing light bulbs, it will take time to implement these reforms, said Mr. Fischler, while placing emphasis on the need to act rapidly, to render the situation less explosive.
Mr. Fischler briefly set out the seven-point plan, consisting in: (1) encouraging biological farming by authorising the use of set-aside land to produce plants like clover; (2) encouraging extensive farming, by reducing from 2.1 to 1.8 units of large cattle per hectares the maximum number of animals that may benefit from the special premium for male cattle and the premium for suckler cows; (3) promoting extensification too by rendering compulsory the limit of 90 animals per farm that may benefit from the special premium for male cattle; (4) introducing, at the time when the screening of cattle of over 30 months become compulsory, a "special purchase regime" to replace the "purchase regime in view of destruction" (thus, Member states will be able to decide either to immediately destroy meat from these cattle or store it to place it back onto the market after the Commission's approval: this regime would be co-funded by the EU to the tune of 70%); (5) introduce a system of individual rights to the premium for male cattle replacing the application of a regional ceiling of rights to the premium (as, by reducing the number of animals that may benefit from this premium we reduce the incentive to production); (6) reducing production by altering the conditions for granting premiums to suckler cows (to benefit from this premium, at least 20% of the animals the subject of a request must be heifers); (7) not to apply in 2001 and 2002 the ceiling of 350,000 tonnes a year for public intervention purchases.
In 2002, the Common Agricultural Policy will be on the block, "mad cow or no mad cow crisis", and the Commission intends using the year 2001 to prepare this reform, Fischler also said.
Briefly answering questions from MEPs, Fischler turned to the following issues: - possibility of paying farmers directly: this can not be envisaged in the framework of the new agricultural reform that is not the subject of the debate; - premiums linked to grazing: the Commission has not objections of principle, but wonders about the feasibility of such a measure, due to differences, notably meteorological, between Member States; - certified products. Certification of products is regulated by provisions that entered into force last September. Two stages have been provided for, in agreement with Parliament. National certification must be subjected to notification and private certification must respect the principle of truth. Mr. Fischler here affirmed that the guarantee was not automatically assured from wherever it came; - guarantee that animal meal is not used in imported meat: the Commission will be making proposals.