Brussels, 09/01/2008 (Agence Europe) - Mariann Fischer Boel, the European commissioner for agriculture and rural development, will be bringing together actors from the milk sector for a seminar on Friday 11 January 2008 on the future of this sector. The conference will be retransmitted live on the DG Agriculture internet site as part of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) “health review”.
During this meeting, the European Commission will present its ideas on the future of Community policy in the milk and milk products sector, in the light of the report published in December 2007. It will also provide indications on the initial results of a study focusing on the impact of milk quotas on milk prices, production, exports and competitiveness in the European milk sector. The Commission recently proposed a 2% increase in milk quotas from 1 April 2008 and, in the context of the CAP health review, it is suggesting a gradual increase in quotas before they expire on 31 March 2015 (EUROPE 9563). (L.C.)