Brussels, 16/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - Included in the agenda only as a general item, the outbreak of foot and mouth disease could nevertheless take time in the meeting of the Council of Agriculture Ministers, on Monday in Brussels, at least on the same level as the dossiers officially foreseen, such as bovine encephalopathy spongiform (BSE) or the difficult reform of the cotton sector. The United Kingdom will inform its partners of the latest development in the outbreak, which now affects around 250 farms in the country. France will try to reassure its partners, in hoping that no new cases will be found, since the first discovery on Tuesday in Mayenne. It is not out of the questions that the Presidency draws new conclusions, whose aim would be to call on third countries, which have taken measure to restrict imports, to respect to bilateral veterinary agreements. Below are the main dossiers that will be handled by the Council:
BSE: The core issue will cover the external aspect of the implementation, as of 1 April, of the Community decision on the withdrawal of specific risk materials (SRM) and notably the derogations that will be granted or not to third countries in relation to the assessment of their geographic risks carried out by the Scientific Steering Committee (SSC). For the time being the SSC has examined the dossier of 14 countries (including the United States and Canada, which will be classified in category 2 of the countries with a low risk, but one which cannot be excluded) and 28 others in the process of being studied, on the basis of an interpretation covering the inventory of livestock, the composition of animal meals possibly used and the removal of SRM. Commissioner David Byrne intends to submit for approval by the Standing Veterinary Committee (SVC) on Wednesday a first list of third countries. Austria, Spain and Portugal would like to speak on the issue of the renewal of the six month ban (since last 1 January) on meat and bone meals, while the Presidency let it be known that it does not want to begin the debate on this issue before the April Council. As for the Commission, it considers this issue premature as it does not have all that elements to carryout a mid-way assessment of the ban. EUROPE adds that certain countries such as Sweden, Finland and especially the Netherlands would like for the ban on meat meals to be eased in order to enable them, at the earliest, to once more use it to feed poultry and pigs. The Netherlands and Denmark would like to discuss national measures taken by certain countries, while Spain would like its request to feed vultures with animal cadavers to be examined.
Bovine meat market: As the European Parliament rejected the urgency of the Fischler package aiming to reform certain provisions of the "bovine meat" CMO, the Presidency does not intend to launch a new debate on this issue (see EUROPE of 12/13 March, p.13). The opinion of the Parliament is expected for the month of May. Franz Fischler will produce a report on the developments in prices and the consumption of bovine meat, including the impact of foot and mouth disease.
Cotton reform: The Council will examine the plan to reform the cotton sector, presented on 13 December 1999 by the Commission, and which concerns two nearly exclusive producers: Greece (production of 1.3 million tonnes of non-gin cotton over 430,000 hectares) and Spain (350,000 tonnes over 100,000 hectares). The Presidency could either propose to the Ministers a technical compromise, on the basis of the objections put forward by these two countries, or postpone until later the reviewing of the dossier. The Commission is, in fact, proposing to maintain the main elements of the present aid system (calculated in relation to the international price for cotton and the Community institutional prices), but to increase the sanctions in case of exceeding of the national quotas so as not to endanger budgetary discipline. Spain and Greece categorically refuse this tightening of the "budgetary stabilising" system, arguing the existing sensitivity in the country with regard to this farming. The non-producer countries such as Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden and the United Kingdom, support the Commission approach aiming to lower from EUR 950 to 770 million the Community spending dedicated to this crop.
Sugar: Commissioner Fischler announced during the Council his intention to present a new proposal to reform sugar. Let us recall that he show himself to be prepared, on Tuesday before the Parliament, to show a certain flexibility by accepting to extend this system for at least two harvest years. The Commissioner should call on the Ministers to do their utmost to adopt a new regulation before the deadline, in July, of the marketing campaign. He could threaten to take conservation measures to incite the Member States to stay in line.