Brussels, 07/05/2008 (Agence Europe) - The rapid increase in food prices was on the table of the European Commission on Wednesday 7 May in Brussels, for an initial exploratory debate of the College and for the first action plans to be drawn up, at European level.
The number and complexity of factors behind the current world crisis has convinced the Commissioners that the response cannot be univocal, Commission spokesperson Johannes Laitenberger told the press. Structural factors, increased demand, particularly from the emerging countries, energy prices, poor harvests, the fall of the dollar, extreme volatility on the financial markets and a lack of response at global level are the causes he quoted, summing up the preliminary analysis of the phenomenon by the Commission. In the short term, the Commission is looking at three types of action: making better use of the reform of the common agriculture policy (on the occasion of the CAP health check) to remove ceilings on production, monitor the food supply chain in full respect of the rules of the internal market, increase food aid, and call for particular attention to be paid to this problem by the Heads of State and Government of the EU. The June European Council will discuss this question under the heading of its contribution to the G8 Summit (7-9 July in Hokkaido, Japan).
The Commission remains convinced that current European production of bio-fuel " is too small to have any effect on the increase in prices" (2% of total cereals production) and that the EU strategy for the promotion of bio-fuels is not to blame either, "as the objective of 10% between now and 2020 has just been laid down for second and third generation bio-fuels, which are not in competition with food", said the spokesperson, in response to questions from journalists. (A.N.)