Brussels, 24/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - After the Agriculture Council debate on the situation of nut production, Commissioner Franz Fischler promised to present a detailed report on the social, economic and ecological aspects of the sector as soon as possible. The report may be accompanied by proposals. Although he did not disclose his practical intentions, Mr Fischler was particularly sensitive to the difficulties facing producers: "After over 10 years of Community spending amounting to EUR 870 million in the context of improvement plans, production in many regions is still not competitive", admitted Mr Fischler, adding that this production, which is often extensive and located in disadvantaged areas, "plays a social and environmental role by preventing erosion of these regions and creating jobs". See EUROPE of 24 July, p.10, concerning the Italian and Spanish requests.
The Council also noted the contributions of certain delegations. Austria, backed by the Luxembourg delegation, felt that indepth analysis of the harmonisation needs for agricultural production means as a whole (veterinary medicines, pesticides, fertilisers, seeds) should be undertaken, especially with a view to enlargement. This analysis could later serve as a base for an action programme in support of equality of farm production conditions in the EU. Mr Fischler pointed out that the assessment of harmonisation needs was under way and that a policy paper would be established as soon as possible. The Danish delegation expressed the hope that the Commission would present a proposal of amendment for the 1991 Regulation on the organic production of farm produce, with a view to setting up comitology procedure in conformity with the 1999 decision. The Commission pointed out that the number of acts that must be aligned with the new comitology measures is quite important and that, for this reason it intended to present a horizontal proposal in the autumn. The Minister for the United Kingdom, Margaret Beckett, briefed the Council on the foot-and-mouth situation in her country. According to her information, the number of new cases noted since last month has fallen considerably (3 to 4 cases per day) and, as a result, half of the 134,000 British farms are no longer subject to restrictive measures. Commissioner David Byrne felt that the cost of the foot-and-mouth disease for the Community budget was currently EUR 800 million, that is, "twenty times more than the allocation earmarked for veterinary and phytosanitary spending".
Given the results of the latest Agriculture Council, the Ministers adopted the following points without debate: - the changes in the common market organisation for beef and veal (series of measures intended to rebalance the market); - the extension of the aid regime to olive oil; - renewal of the aid regime to the hops sector. The Council also adopted conclusions concerning the Commission's report on the strategy for olive oil quality (see following article).