Brussels, 10/02/2006 (Agence Europe) - On 16 February in Strasbourg, the European Parliament is likely to come out in favour of ambitious risk and crisis management measures in the agricultural sector, a dossier that is dividing EU Member States (see EUROPE 9857). The draft report from Friedrich-Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf (Greens/EFA, Germany) welcomes the Commission's efforts, which examines the various options on risk and crisis management (financial contribution to insurance premiums, support for operation of agricultural mutualisation funds, basic cover against income loss), but “questions the one-sided approach, based on compensation and indemnification”. The Parliamentary Agriculture and Rural Development Committee, which recently adopted this draft report, calls on the Commission to pay greater attention to preventive measures, such as the use of vaccination and better surveillance for illegal imports, to reduce and avoid crises.
The draft report, to be debated on 15 February in Strasbourg, considers co-financing by the Commission, Member States, the farming industry and farm holdings of measures for preventing risks and dealing with crises to be acceptable, “provided that it can be made mandatory and does not lead to inequalities between Member States and groups of farmers”. The EP Agriculture Committee comes out against the Commission proposal to finance risk and crisis management solely with 1% of funds from modulation (modulation allows for a reduction in direct aid and for savings to be channelled towards rural development). Favouring an increase in funding for crisis prevention, it calls on the European Commission to examine alternative sources of funding for these measures, for example a percentage determined on the basis of the gross value of agricultural production.
The rapporteur Mr Graefe zu Baringdorf draws attention to the increasing damage caused by climate change and natural disasters (floods, droughts and fires) and the damage caused by animal disease which are being spread more rapidly through the transport of animals and illegal imports. Within the context of liberalisation of agricultural markets as part of the WTO negotiations, the Commission is called on to carry out a detailed assessment of instruments and measures that could prevent or deal effectively with collapses in prices, market crises and farmers' income losses. The draft report supports the introduction of safety net measures in the event of a crisis not only in the COM in beef, but also for other sectors, such as fruit and vegetables, wine, pork and poultry.
The Commission is also called on to assess the impact of the emerging problem of scarce oil supplies and to consider the possibility of granting aid for the purchase of fuel in times of exceptional prices. Finally the report calls for an increase in the aid granted per area for the production of energy crops.