Brussels, 16/09/2009 (Agence Europe) - Mariann Fischer Boel, the European Commissioner for Agriculture, will be appearing at the hemicycle of the European Parliament this Thursday 17 September to explain the initiatives she intends to present to help milk producers to overcome the crisis. She is likely to disappoint the many countries and producers calling for new market measures or a change in the rules on quotas, and propose only actions, some of which for the medium term, which will remain true to the current policy.
"The crisis in this sector is still dramatic and shows no signs of improving", said Paolo De Castro (S&D, Italy), the president of the committee on agriculture of the European Parliament, on Wednesday 16 September. "We are confident that, in view of the pressure brought to bear by the EP, the Commission will finally give us the right answers". In the wake of Thursday's plenary debate, the EP is set to adopt a resolution calling for measures which are both ambitious and short term, such as an increase in export refunds, private storage for cheese, export credit insurance mechanisms and the Community dairy fund of 600 million euros.
Progress on national aid, milk in schools, producer grouping?
On the sidelines of the informal meeting of Agriculture Ministers of the Member States of the EU on Monday 14 September, the experts of the special committee on agriculture (SAC) continued their technical examination of the report by the Commission (dating from late July) on the dairy situation. The positions expressed at the Agriculture Council of 7 September have not changed, although two delegations, Spain and the Czech Republic, have rallied to the appeal of the 16 countries of the EU which, at the last meeting of the Council, called for new efforts on the part of the Commission (EUROPE 9971). The representative of the Commission pointed out that Ms Fischer Boel is opposed to three of the principal requests of this group of countries, namely increasing intervention prices, increasing export refunds and using milk powder to feed calves. The Italian request (private storage of cheese) met with the same refusal.
Given the crisis, the Commission is inclined to agree to increase the limit of national aid which can be granted within the agriculture sector from 7500 to 15,000 (per holding and over three years), but only until the end of 2010. However, a number delegations argue that the aid must be notified to the Commission, which may mean that the procedure is left hanging for six months, by which time the crisis may already be over.
In discussions underway at technical level to extend the range of products covered by the Community programme for the distribution of milk to schools, the Commission is believed to be on the verge of agreeing to include certain milk drinks containing fruits.
The Commission seems inclined to consider the possibility, but in the medium term (when milk quotas have gone, in 2015), of allowing primary producers to organise themselves and self-regulate (to produce less, for example, if needs be). For the time being, this is impossible due to competition rules (cartel). This, the Commission states, is another area to look into. Unclear labelling of imitation products (milk product substitutes), such as certain cheeses used on pizza containing just milk powder mixed with vegetable oil. In Germany, these false dairy products, which are misleading to consumers, are believed to represent 1% or 2% of the dairy products market, but this figure is on the increase.
Qualified majority on extending intervention
At the SAC, the Swedish Presidency noted the existence of a qualified majority of countries in favour of Commission's proposal to extend the intervention period for butter and powdered skimmed milk until 28 February 2010. The Council of Ministers of the EU is set to adopt this proposal at its October meeting, whilst the EP will return its opinion on this text this Thursday.
Furthermore, on Wednesday 16 September the European Coordination "Via Campesina" called for a European Council on the crisis in the dairy sector to be held. This, it explained, must serve to "define the outlines of another CAP and an EU budget which are legitimate economically, socially, environmentally and internationally". (L.C./trans.fl)