Brussels, 14/05/2004 (Agence Europe) - The Praesidum of the Committee of Agricultural Organisations (Copa), which met on 13 May in Dublin, admitted twenty agricultural organisations from ten of the new Member States. Peter Gaemelke, the president of Copa was pleased to say that he was persuaded that this enlargement was going to strengthen the European agriculture in defence of the European model of farming.
Organisations joining (which have already been Copa associate members since September 2002) are: - Panagrotikos Farmers' Union (Cyprus); - Agricultural Association of the Czech Republic (Czech Republic); - Czech Agrarian Chamber (Czech Republic); - Association of Private Farming (Czech Republic); - Estonian Chamber of Agriculture (Estonia); - Estonian Farmers Federation (Estonia); - Estonian Agricultural Producers Central Union (Estonia); - Hungarian Chamber of Agriculture (Hungary); - National Federation of Agricultural Cooperators and Producers - MOSZ, (Hungary); - Association of Latvian Statutory Societies - LSA (Latvia); - Latvian Rural Support Association - LLAA (Latvia); - Latvian Farmers' Federation - LZF (Latvia); - Latvian Farmers' Parliament - ZSA (Latvia); - Lithuanian Farmers' Union (Lithuania); - Malta Agriculture Lobby - MAL (Malta); - Nat. Union of Farmers' Circles and agricultural Org - KZRKIOR (Poland); - Slovak Agricultural and Food Chamber - SPPK (Slovakia); - Union of Farmers and Agrarian Entrepreneurs - ZRAS (Slovakia); - Association of Landowners and Agrarian Entrepreneurs - ZVPAS (Slovakia); - Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry of Slovenia - KGZS (Slovenia).