Brussels, 23/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - In Brussels on 23 January, the agriculture ministers of the Member States of the EU lent their support to the action plan in the field of biomass, which was presented by the European Commission on 7 December (EUROPE 9084). This action plan provides for a coordinated programme of Community actions aiming to increase demand for biomass, shore up supply, remove technical obstacles and develop research. At the Council, all the Member States of the EU recognised that Europe must put an end to its dependence on fossil fuels and that the use of biomass (for the production of fuel, electricity and heating) would be one of the main possible solutions. The Council stressed the importance of a stand-alone EU strategy in this field.
At the exchange of views at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council, several Member States, including Italy, France, Belgium, Austria, Lithuania and Cyprus, stressed the fact that the EU must maintain a sufficient level of tariff protection in order to avoid mass imports of cheap bio-ethanol, particularly from Brazil. Italy, supported by Belgium and Lithuania, felt that the sum of specific aid for energy-producing cereals, which was brought in in 2003 as a result of the reform of the common agricultural policy (CAP), was too low. This aid stands at a level of 45 EUR per hectare, payable on a maximum guaranteed surface area of 1.5 million hectares (the aid is gradually scaled down should this surface area be exceeded). The Commissioner for Agriculture, Mariann Fischer Boel, said that in 2004 (the first year in which the reform was implemented), this aid had been provided to 300,000 hectares. In 2005, this had risen to over 500,000 hectares. At the end of 2006, the Commission will present a report on the implementation of this aid regime, together with proposals taking account of new objectives in terms of bio-fuels.
France, Germany, Spain and Sweden regretted the fact that the action plan does not include any possibilities for other products, such as solvents, lubricants, farming residues or other animal bi-products. Furthermore, the Commission proposes to bring in a certification regime, which will help to ensure that all bio-fuels used respect certain quality criteria. Certain Member States, however, including France, Italy, Spain, Finland and Cyprus, feel that this certification system will serve no purpose, as the provisions of the CAP already provide for the principle of conditionality of aid (payment of aid conditional upon observation of environmental standards, amongst other things). Biomass currently satisfies 4% of the EU's energy requirements. The Commission believes that if the EU fully exploits its potential, it will be able to more than double its consumption of biomass between now and 2010.