Brussels, 28/03/2006 (Agence Europe) - On 29 March, the European Commission is expected to adopt its proposal opening the way for exceptional market support measures, jointly funded by the EU, to help poultry farmers in difficulty since the drop in consumption caused by fear of the bird flu virus. The Commission had announced such measures at the last Agriculture Council (see EUROPE 9155). The Common Organisation of the Market (COM) in poultry meat offers the only market export refund management instrument, but is insufficient to re-balance the market in this time of crisis (drop of more than 50% in consumption in some EU countries, poultry stocks of 30,000 tonnes and embargo imposed by some third countries, thus restricting traditional export markets).
The 1975 COM regulation allows for exceptional market support measures, but only where free movement is restricted. To take account of the current context, the Commission proposes to widen the legal basis of the regulation to allow the introduction of support measures where there are serious perturbations in the market due to a loss of consumer confidence. Parliament could give a quick decision on this proposal, allowing the Agriculture Council to adopt it in Luxemburg on 25 April. Concrete support measures (private storage, offer reduction etc) are unlikely to feature in a formal proposal from the Commission, which intends to treat each case individually through the management committee procedure, in the light of suggestions made by Member States on 25 April.