Europe Agri articles from April 2008

Europe Agri archives from April 2008

FOOD : MOZZARELLA: ITALIAN GOVERNMENT COMPLIES.(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... The European Commission is 'satisfied' with the measures taken by the Italian government to guarantee that any batches of dioxin-contaminated mozzarella will be kept off the market and it sees 'no reason to take other measures at European...

DAIRY PRODUCTS : ANALYSTS PREFER SOFT LANDING' TO ABRUPT ABOLITION OF MILK QUOTAS.
April 11, 2008... The impact of the abolition of EU milk quotas on the European dairy sector is the subject of a study carried out by the French Institut d'Economie Industrielle (IDEI) at the request of the European Commission. The study forms part of the...

AUSTRIA TO RECEIVE WARNING.(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... The European Commission announced, on 3 April, that it would send a formal notice of complaint to Austria for failure to carry out the EU Court of Justice's ruling of 29 November 2007 (Case C-393/05). In this ruling, the Court considered that...

ENERGY : BERLIN CANCELS E10, PUTTING FURTHER PRESSURE ON EU BIOFUELS TARGET.
April 11, 2008... The EU's commitment, published in January 2008, to increase to 10% by 2020 the share of biofuels used in transport is taking a further battering. Germany's government has cancelled plans to introduce E10, a mix of 10% ethanol in petrol or...

BIOETHANOL PRODUCTION SLOWS DOWN.
April 11, 2008... After two years of historic' growth rates at over 70%, EU bioethanol production has increased only moderately. Total EU production in 2007 was around 1.77 billion litres, up only 13.5% on the previous two years. Still, production almost...

EU/CANADA : CANADIAN DIPLOMAT DEFENDS SEAL HUNTING IN BRUSSELS.
April 11, 2008... With the opening of the 2008 hunting season, on 28 March, the European Commission has announced that it is considering trade sanctions against Canada over this country's "inhumane" methods of slaughtering seals. "We are preparing a text that...

EU/RUSSIA/WTO : COMMISSION REGRETS MOSCOW'S INCREASE OF EXPORT DUTIES ON WOOD.
April 11, 2008... The European Commission has reacted angrily to Russia's decision to raise export duties on wood, saying that the case was a major obstacle on Moscow's road to World Trade Organisation membership. "It is disappointing. We regret Russia's...

ANIMAL WELFARE : COMMISSION TREADING CAREFULLY OVER ANIMAL WELFARE PROPOSALS.
April 11, 2008... Under pressure from animal welfare associations, the European Commission must still take part in delicate discussions before presenting its draft revision of the directive on animal wellbeing at slaughter. The exercise is all the more difficult...

FOODSTUFFS : COMMISSION URGES CAUTION ON NANOTECHNOLOGIES.(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... In a proposal for a code of conduct for responsible nanosciences and nanotechnologies research, transmitted recently to the EU member states, the European Commission states that "as long as risk assessment studies on long-term safety are not...

FOOD SAFETY : CONTROVERSY OVER RESIDUES OF VETERINARY SUBSTANCES IN FOOD.
April 11, 2008... The draft regulation that seeks to limit consumer exposure to pharmacologically active substances not authorised in the European Union in food of animal origin has raised an outcry in many member states. They criticise the European Commission...

EUROPEAN COMMISSION : DG FISHERIES AND MARITIME AFFAIRS IS REVAMPED.
April 11, 2008... The European Commission has decided to reorganise its Directorate-General in charge of fisheries and maritime affairs. The former DG FISH' becomes the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries and will be known as DG MARE. In...

DOHA MINISTERIAL MEETING CALLED OFF.
April 11, 2008... The calendar of the Doha Round is slipping again. The World Trade Organisation has postponed until May any plan to convene a ministerial meeting originally planned in April, according to sources in Geneva. The decision was taken by WTO...

FISHERIES POLICY : EP PRESSES FOR BETTER CONTROLS ON DEEP-SEA FISHING.
April 11, 2008... Deep-sea fish stock management requires better biological knowledge and statistics on demersal species, so as to identify those types of fish that need to be protected, and quotas that better reflect the reality of fish stocks. These are some...

FISHERIES POLICY : EU EXECUTIVE AMENDS COD RECOVERY PLAN.
April 11, 2008... After several years of application, measures taken under the cod recovery plan established by Regulation (EC) 423/2004 have failed to allow cod stock to recover. As a result, and based on scientific advice from the International Council for the...

EU/US/WTO : EU IN DELICATE POSITION IN BEEF HORMONE DISPUTE.
April 11, 2008... European misgivings over the use of growth hormones by American cattle farmers will continue having an impact on EU food exports. Based on a ruling by the World Trade Organisation in favour of the United States and Canada on the substance of...

BEVERAGES : EU PARTIALLY APPROVES HEINEKEN BUY OF SCOTTISH & NEWCASTLE ASSETS.
April 11, 2008... The international drinks producer and distributor Heineken has been authorised by the European Commission to purchase Scottish & Newcastle's businesses in Belgium, Finland, Portugal and the UK, but the Irish component of the takeover has been...

EU/BRAZIL/MEAT : EUROPEAN INSPECTORS FIND "SYSTEMIC FAILURES" IN BRAZIL.
April 11, 2008... Some time before the almost total closure of EU borders to Brazilian beef in late January, veterinary inspectors sent by the EU had found "systemic failures" in the recording methods for farms and the identification and control of animal...

EU-SEYCHELLES FISHERIES AGREEMENT.
April 11, 2008... The European Parliament's Fisheries Committee endorsed, on 27 March, the EU-Republic of Seychelle fisheries agreement, which amends the Protocol to the 2006 Fisheries Partnership Agreement. Fishing possibilities remain unchanged: 40 tuna...

AGRICULTURAL EXPENDITURE : EU TO RECOVER 83 MILLION EURO OF UNDULY SPENT FUNDS.(European Union)(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... EU member states will have to refund a total of 83 million worth of irregular expenditure made in the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The European Commission's decision to this effect, announced on 8 April, is the...

GETRANKE ESSMANN BUY OF RADEBERGER CLEARED.(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... The European Commission cleared, on 27 March, the acquisition of Getranke Essmann by Radeberger (brewery and drinks wholesaler, belonging to the Oetker group), both German companies. Getranke Essmann is mainly active in the wholesale...

GM MAIZE AUTHORISED.
April 11, 2008... The European Commission formally adopted, on 28 March, a decision authorising the GM maize GA21 for feed and food use and for import and processing. The authorisation, valid for ten years, is not approved for the cultivation of this maize in...

PESTICIDES : MAJORITY OF CONVENTIONAL WINES ARE CONTAMINATED.
April 11, 2008... Intensive use of pesticides in viticulture has resulted in the systematic presence of numerous residues in wine. A study (1) by Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN-Europe) and Movement for the Rights of Future Generations (MDRGF, France) on 40...

MAD COW DISEASE : MEAT AND BONE MEAL BACK BEFORE YEAR-END?
April 11, 2008... "The aim is not to reverse the ban on inter-species cannibalism or the ban on meat and bone meal for ruminants," EU Health Commissioner Androula Vassiliou recently told the European Parliament. She announced, however, that, by the end of the...

GMO : MEP UPS PRESSURE TO EASE IMPORT OF GMOS.(genetically modified organisms)(members of European Parliment)(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... The Chairman of the European Parliament's Agriculture CommitteeaNeil Parish is challenging the EU's policy of zero tolerance towards unauthorised GMOs. He is expected to submit an oral question along these lines to the European Commission at a...

FOOD SAFETY : MOZZARELLA: ITALIAN GOVERNMENT COMPLIES.
April 11, 2008... The European Commission is 'satisfied' with the measures taken by the Italian government to guarantee that any batches of dioxin-contaminated mozzarella will be kept off the market and it sees 'no reason to take other measures at European level...

NAMES OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.
April 11, 2008... The Commission has added three names of agricultural products and foods to the lists of protected designation of origin (PDO) and protected geographical indication (PGI). The products concerned: from Italy, Cipolla Rossa di Tropea Calabria'...

GMOS : ROMANIA GETS SET TO BAN GMO MAIZE CROP.
April 11, 2008... By 15 April, Romania could take the step of banning the cultivation on its territory of the only GMO authorised to date in Europe, namely Mon 810 maize.The environmental organisation Greenpeace is reporting that Romania's Environment Minister...

EU/RUSSIA/POLAND : RUSSIA LIFTS RESERVATIONS ON TRADE IN POLISH PLANT PRODUCTS.(European Union)(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... Russia's sanitary and phytosanitary watchdog, Rossielchoznadzor, confirmed, on 26 March, that the memorandum on the safety of plant products signed the same day between the European Commission and Russia puts an end to Russia's embargo on the...

SABMILLER-MOLSON COORS JV CLEARED.
April 11, 2008... The European Commission granted clearance, on 7 April, to the joint venture between SABMiller plc (UK) and Molson Coors Brewing Company (US). SABMiller and Molson Coors are both active in the worldwide production, distribution and sale of beer...

AGRICULTURE MARKETS : STRONG GROWTH IN EUROPEAN MARKETS UNTIL 2014.
April 11, 2008... The European Commission, which has just revised its forecast for agriculture markets for the 2007-2014 period, still foresees strong agricultural growth in the EU until 2014, particularly thanks to cereal production. Forecasts are also very...

ENVIRONMENT COUNCIL : SYNERGY BETWEEN CLIMATE CHANGE AND FORESTS AT HEART OF TALKS.
April 11, 2008... Climate change and biodiversity will be the focus of talks by the EU's environment ministers, who will meet on 11 and 12 April in Brdo (Slovenia) for an informal Council session. More specifically, the ministers will debate the impact and role...

EU/US : WASHINGTON UPS PRESSURE ON CHLORINATED CHICKEN.
April 11, 2008... In a letter addressed to Commissioner Gunter Verheugen, dated 24 March, United States Trade Representative Susan Schwab showed herself to be very irritated by the European Commission's procrastinations on the chlorine-rinsed chicken issue. She...

WTO CONDEMNS EU BANANA REGIME.
April 11, 2008... The World Trade Organisation has condemned the EU again in its dispute with Ecuador over banana imports. The panel set up by the WTO's dispute settlement body ruled that the EU's current banana import regime, in particular its preferential...

CLIMATE : IPCC REPORT RAISES ALARM OVER WATER RESOURCES.(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change )
April 25, 2008... The planet's fresh water resources are directly threatened by the effects of climate change, warnsathe United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Its new Technical Paper on Climate Change and Water, presented at a meeting...

78 COMMITMENTS AGAINST ALCOHOL ABUSE.
April 25, 2008... Seventy-eight commitments: this is the first result of the European Alcohol and Health Forum, launched by the European Commission in June 2007, which today unites 46 members (companies, NGOs, associations, advertisers, etc). Presented on 16...

FOOD SECURITY : BARNIER: EU MUST LEAD EFFORT TO EASE WORLD FOOD CRISIS.
April 25, 2008... French Agriculture Minister Michel Barnier proposed to fellow EU ministers, meeting in Luxembourg on 14 April, to launch a "European initiative for food security," which would focus on increasing agricultural production and providing more help...

AGRICULTURAL POLICY : CAP REFORM AND WTO TALKS UNDER FIRE.
April 25, 2008... Some 10,000 Irish farmers demonstrated in Dublin, on 17 April, in protest of EU proposals in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations, threatening to vote against the Lisbon Treaty. The event, of a scale not seen in Ireland in recent...

CLASSICAL SWINE FEVER IN SLOVAKIA.
April 25, 2008... The European Commission adopted, on 14 April, urgent protection measures to prevent the further spread of classical swine fever (CSF) after the detection of an outbreak in a pig farm in the Slovakian district of Levice over the weekend. No pigs...

FISHERIES POLICY : COMMISSION PUSHES FOR AN ECOSYSTEMIC APPROACH'.
April 25, 2008... The European Commission believes that fisheries management policies need to take into account the harmful effects on already fragile ecosystems, particularly along coastlines. Its analysis is set out in a communication adopted on 11 April, in...

ENLARGEMENT : CROATIA TO REQUEST TRANSITION PERIOD ON SALE OF LAND TO FOREIGNERS.
April 25, 2008... Zagreb appears set to ask for a transition period on the sale of land to foreigners. In order to prevent its landa- highly attractive for tourists and investors - from being sold to citizens of EU member states, Croatia wants to receive a...

DOHA ROUND : CRUCIAL MINISTERIAL MEETING SLATED FOR MAY.
April 25, 2008... For the first time since 2006, World Trade Organisation members will make a fresh attempt to unlock the Doha Round trade negotiations at a ministerial level in May. According to sources in Geneva and Brussels, the ministers will meet for a...

EU BOOSTS FOOD AID.
April 25, 2008... In response to the dramatic increase in world food prices and its impact on the populations of developing countries, the European Commission has decided to give a boost to its food aid. Louis Michel announced a new aid package of 117.25 million...

CHICKEN : EUROPEAN PROFESSIONALS CONCERNED OVER CHLORINATED CHICKEN.
April 25, 2008... "It is not necessary to soak poultry in chlorine baths like in the USA to have microbiological criteria under control," insisted the Association of Poultry Processors and Poultry Trade in the EU countries (AVEC), after the polemic launched by...

SALT : EUROPEAN RECOGNITION FOR ARTISAN SALT AND COTTON.(Brief article)
April 25, 2008... Following lengthy consideration by the European Union as products free from any special circumstances, artisan salt and cotton are on the path to achieving recognition. The EU27 indeed decided, on 17 April, to extend to salt and cotton...

FOODSTUFFS : GBI-ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOODS MERGER UNDER INVESTIGATION.
April 25, 2008... The proposed acquisition of certain parts of Dutch company GBI by the UK-based company Associated British Foods (ABF) could pose competition problems. Both companies produce dry, compressed and liquid baker's yeast. The European Commission...

BIOTECHNOLOGY : GMO SUPPORTERS FACE OBSTACLES IN EUROPE.
April 25, 2008... Controversies in France and Romania, deadlock with EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas and heavy reluctance from the new EU Health Commissioner, Androula Vassiliou. The pro-GMO lobby is concerned by the terrible political situation for...

BIOFUELS : GREENS CALL FOR FOOD SECURITY ASSESSMENT.
April 25, 2008... Green MEPs have made a further call for the European Commission to drop the 10% target for biofuels set in its renewables proposal published on 23 January. Friedrich-Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf (Germany), also vice-chair of the Committee on...

LETERME AND BARROSO ON AGROFUELS.(Yves Leterme)(Jose Manuel Barroso)(Brief article)
April 25, 2008... The EU should not side-step a potential revision of its agrofuels objectives, said Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme, on 16 April in Brussels, in the wings of a meeting with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. "We have to...

FOOD SECURITY : MANDELSON WARNS OF FOOD PROTECTIONISM.
April 25, 2008... Further agriculture liberalisation rather than protectionism is the best answer to the rise of global food prices, said Peter Mandelson in a swift reply to a fresh French proposal on food security. "Erecting new trade barriers is the last thing...

EU/US : MEMBER STATES OPPOSE EARLY REOPENING OF EU MARKET TO US CHICKEN.
April 25, 2008... France, backed by most of the EU member states, remains "concerned" over "the proposal for authorisation by the European Commission of chemical decontamination of fresh meat," which would pave the way to imports of American chicken that have...

ENVIRONMENT : MINISTERS HESITANT ON FINANCING FIGHT AGAINST DEFORESTATION.
April 25, 2008... Deforestation is an important element of climate change and the loss of biodiversity, two problems judged to be of the utmost importance by the EU. And combating this problem is "the least expensive way of reducing greenhouse gases" (GHG), said...

POLAND TO REPAY OVERFISHED COD QUOTAS.
April 25, 2008... Poland will repay the quantities of cod overfished in the Baltic Sea in 2007, EU fisheries ministers agreed, without debate, at their meeting in Luxembourg on 14 April. The agreement, negotiated between Warsaw and the European Commission, sets...

ANIMAL HEALTH : PORTUGAL FALLS IN LINE WITH EU MEASURES ON BLUETONGUE.(European Union)(Brief article)
April 25, 2008... With the European Commission's decision to strengthen its protective measures against the spread of the bluetongue serotype 8 virus(1), Portugal announced, on 14 April in Luxembourg at the Council of EU agriculture ministers, that it planned to...

ANIMAL HEALTH : PRESSURE ON SLOVAKIA TO ERADICATE SWINE FEVER.
April 25, 2008... On the occasion of the EU Agriculture Council, held on 14 April in Luxembourg, the European Commission had called upon Slovakia to strengthen measures to combat classical swine fever. This appeal was heard by the Slovak authorities, who have...

FISHERIES COUNCIL : PROSPECTIVE IUU REGULATION DEEMED TOO COMPLEX.(illegal, undeclared and unregulated)
April 25, 2008... The EU's fisheries ministers, meeting in Luxembourg on 14 April to discuss the proposal for a regulation relating to the fight against illegal, undeclared and unregulated (IUU) fishing, consider it to be "too complicated". This was their...

FISHERIES COUNCIL : REVISION OF COD QUOTAS WILL DEPEND ON ICES DATA.(International Council for the Exploration of the Sea)(Brief article)
April 25, 2008... The revision of fishing quotas, anticipated according to the reconstitution plan for cod, will depend on the spring report by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), indicated Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg to the...

RULES ON ANIMAL MOVEMENT TO BE MODIFIED.(Brief article)
April 25, 2008... In an effort to control bluetongue disease, the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health approved, on 8 April, a draft European Commission regulation modifying rules for the movement of animals. Under the new rules that will apply...

SUGAR TALKS AUTHORISED.(Brief article)
April 25, 2008... The EU Council, on 14 April, authorised the European Commission to open negotiations with the ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) producer states and with India on guaranteed prices applicable to cane sugar from these countries in the delivery...