Brussels, 11/05/2001 (Agence Europe) - According to the weekly bulletin from the specialised press agency Agra Europe (of 11 May), the European Commission intends to carry out certain improvement to the regulating of the milk sector. This will be in order to ensure a better respect for the production quota scheme and to improve the efficiency of the additional deduction (sanction in case of exceeding quota).
The draft text presently examined at the "milk" management committee level notably foresees to: - shorten the time for the execution of management measures such as the exchange of information between operator, Member States and the Commission, for the collection or production declarations; - enhance the sanctions in case of exceeding the quotas and foresee, in case of non respect of the cut-off date for control (31 December of the civil year following the end of the harvest) with the buyers; - enhance the role of the Member States by providing more repressive legal means to incite the operator to answer the requirements of the Community regulation on the additional deduction. Due to the numerous changes to the national legislation required by these changes in the common market organisation (CMO) for milk and milk products, these new provisions should enter into force during the next marketing year.
As a reminder, during the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy in 1999, the milk sector experienced limited changes compared to those of the bovine meat and arable crops sectors. The milk quota scheme was prorogued until 2006 and the national quotas have been increased in a linear manner by 1.5%. The 15% reduction in the intervention price for butter and powdered skimmed milk will only take place as of 2003/2004, in three equal parts. The Berlin European Council is agreed that the reform in this sector will enter into force in three stages, as of the 2005-2006 harvest year. A mid-way re-examination is foreseen in 2003.