Brussels, 07/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - As it had promised EU member states, the European Commission is to adopt by written procedure on Thursday 13 September a proposal aimed at temporarily suspending the obligation on farmers to set aside part of their land as fallow land (see EUROPE 9469). The Commission agrees to fix the compulsory set-aside rate at zero, but solely for the 2008 harvest year. It thus meets the demands of several member states that have expressed concern about the high prices of some cereals. The initiative must be considered as a timely response to market tension. Farmers that so wish may, in 2008, continue to set aside part of their land. The proposal for a regulation (concerning derogation to the 2003 regulation on CAP direct support schemes) has still to be adopted by the EU Council of Ministers.
The temporary exemption to the obligation to comply with the compulsory 10% rate of set-aside aims to allow EU farmers to produce additional quantities of cereals in order to meet growing market demand. According to Commission estimates, a zero rate could encourage EU farmers to grow a further 10-17 million tonnes of cereals.
In order to allay the fears expressed by the DG Environment services, Mariann Fischer Boel, who is commissioner for agriculture, has promised to take into account the environmental advantages of set-aside when discussing the matter with member states during the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) review on the future of set-aside. Some sources say that the DG Environment has expressed concern about the damage that could be entailed by a total abolition of the set-aside obligation, such as the loss of soil fertility and the loss of animal and plant biodiversity. It is for this reason that the DG would have preferred to maintain a compulsory 3% rate for the year 2008. (lc)