Brussels, 25/01/2005 (Agence Europe) - In addition to discussion the informal meeting with ACP and developing country sugar producers (see other article and yesterday's Europe, p.9), aid for the fishing industry in Asia after the Indian Ocean tsunami and competition problems with Russia (see yesterday's Europe, p.8), EU Member States' farm and fisheries ministers took note of the Luxembourg Presidency's work programme and discussed the situation on the cereals market. Latvia requested EU aid to cover farm losses cause by storm damage following the gales in the country at the start of January.
Luxembourg Presidency priorities. Luxembourg's farm minister, Fernand Boden, outlined to his colleagues the programmes and priorities of the Luxembourg Presidency for the first half of 2005 (see details in Europe of 22 January, p.12). Boden stressed he wanted agreement to be reached before the end of June on the planned new European Rural Development Fund and funding the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) from 2007 to 2013. The Luxembourg Presidency reiterated its desire to see progress at the Council over reforming the EU's sugar market, expecting the European Commission to unveil draft legislation on sugar at the end of June or beginning of July. In the market sectors, progress on upcoming Commission proposals on tobacco, rice, potato starch and possibly wine are the main objectives. Boden highlighted the importance of the soon to be unveiled proposal to revise EU legislation concerning organic farming. The Luxembourg Presidency said it wanted agreement to be reached on the plan to set up a voluntary licensing system for the import of timber into the EU. On food safety, the Council will examine proposals to combat avian flu, the welfare of broilers on farms and extending measures to combat transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, which run out in July. For fisheries, the Luxembourg Presidency said it wanted progress to be made on the new European Fisheries Fund (2007-2013) and agreement on conservation measures for fish in the Mediterranean and establishing a European Fishery Monitoring Agency.
Storms in Latvia. With support from Estonia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden and Denmark, Latvia has requested aid from the European Union to cover some of the estimated more than EUR 9 million damage caused in the country's farm and fishing industries and the more than EUR 50 million damage to the country's forestry industry by the violent storms on the night of 8 to 9 January. There are three forms of aid available to Latvia - Objective 1 measures under Rural Development Programmes co-funded by the EAGGF (Guidance); measures under Article 33 of the 1999 regulation on supporting rural development (re-forestation and restoring farm potential); and the EU Solidarity Fund for natural disasters.
Cereals market. The Austrian delegation, supported by France, Italy, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Malta, raised the current problems being experienced on the cereals market because of the exceptionally large harvest in 2004, lack of storage facilities in some countries, the strength of the euro against the dollar and the problems faced by countries without access to the coast which cannot export grain without incurring high transport costs. The delegations hoped the Commission would take emergency measures in this area. Several countries hailed the recent decision to restore export refunds for wheat (see Europe of 22 January 2005, p.7). Fischer Boel listed the measures that have already been taken and said the Commission would consider making use of intervention for the new Member States.
Corn market in Greece. Greece briefed the other countries on serious difficulties on the Greek corn market where large stocks had built up, asking the Commission to take special intervention measures, namely export refunds and covering the cost of transporting the corn from northern to southern Greece. Fischer Boel said the current corn price had not yet reached the intervention level and said the Commission had always refused in the past to take special intervention measures for new Member States despite the fact that these are the countries with the biggest surpluses. She said that it was unjustified, for this reason, to take special measures for the corn market in Greece.