Europe Agri articles from December 2007

Europe Agri archives from December 2007

2008 TACS FOR THE BALTIC SEA.(total allowable catches)(Brief article)
December 7, 2007... The EU Council on 26 November adopted a regulation setting the total allowable catches (TACs) for 2008 for the Baltic Sea, thereby confirming the political agreement of 23 October. Furthermore, the Council has decided to renew restrictions in...

EU/NORWAY : AGREEMENT REACHED ON 2008 FISHING POSSIBILITIES.(Brief article)
December 7, 2007... The European Commission and Norway, on 26 November, reached agreement on the fishing possibilities for 2008 and the agreement was ratified by the Council on 27 November. The agreement includes significant cuts to the fishing capacities for...

AVIAN INFLUENZA IN ROMANIA.
December 7, 2007... The Romanian authorities have informed the European Commission of a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the province of Tulcea, in the Danube Delta. Samples have been sent to the Community Reference Laboratory in Weybridge, UK, for...

BAN ON DOG AND CAT FUR TRADE.
December 7, 2007... The EU Council adopted by qualified majority (Italy voted against), on 26 November, a regulation banning the sale and import into or export out of the EU of dog and cat fur and products containing it. Exceptional and punctual dispensations can...

AGRICULTURE COUNCIL : CAP HEALTH CHECK' RECEIVES CAUTIOUS WELCOME FROM MINISTERS.
December 7, 2007... The EU's agriculture ministers reserved a generally positive but cautious welcome, at the Council on 26 November in Brussels, to the European Commission's communication initiating the health check' of the Common Agricultural Policy. The matter...

FISHERIES POLICY : COMMISSION PROPOSES FURTHER CUTS IN TACS.
December 7, 2007... Based on the latest scientific advice on the state of fish stocks, which estimates that three-fourths of Community fish resources are not being exploited sustainably, the European Commission proposed, on 28 November, additional cuts in TACs...

CEREALS : COMMISSION PROPOSES SUSPENSION OF IMPORT DUTIES ON CEREALS.
December 7, 2007... In reaction to a modest European harvest and high market prices, the European Commission proposed to the EU agriculture ministers on 26 November to suspend remaining import duties on cereals to the end of the 2007-2008 marketing year. ...

COMMISSION RAIDS FRUIT IMPORTERS.(European Commission)(Brief article)
December 7, 2007... The European Commission confirmed that on 28-30 November its officials carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of various producers and importers of fresh exotic fruits. The EU executive has reason to believe that the companies...

DOHA ROUND : EU AND US PROPOSE TARIFF CUTS TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE.
December 7, 2007... The EU and the US unveiled a joint proposal to the World Trade Organisatinon's Doha Round of trade talks on 30 November, aimed at tackling climate change by scrapping tariffs on environmental goods and services. Such a move could boost trade...

VETERINARY POLICY : EU EARMARKS 187 MILLION EURO TO FIGHT ANIMAL DISEASES.
December 7, 2007... A total of 197 annual or multi-annual programmes benefiting from Community funding to the tune of 186.57 million in 2008 will tackle animal diseases that impact both human and animal health throughout the Union. This sizeable contribution,...

MEAT : EU PLANS TO SUBSIDISE PORK EXPORTS.
December 7, 2007... Faced with a very serious crisis in the pig meat sector, the European Commission has decided to grant export refunds to traders in the sector. The final decision will be taken at the end of the Management Committee meeting planned for 29...

FISHERIES POLICY : EXPERTS CITE LACK OF RELIABLE DATA FOR DEEPWATER STOCKS.
December 7, 2007... The lack of reliable data and the negative impact on the ecosystems for deepwater fisheries were the main statements put forward by the experts invited by the European Parliament's Committee on Fisheries to participate in a workshop dedicated...

FINLAND'S PROGRAMME FOR FISHERIES.
December 7, 2007... The Commission has approved the operational programme for the Finnish fisheries industry for the period 2007-2013. The total eligible public expenditure of the programme amounts to 91,848,827, with EU assistance through the European Fisheries...

ENVIRONMENT : FLOOD RISK PREVENTION IS NOW MANDATORY.(Brief article)
December 7, 2007... The European Union member states are henceforth responsible for evaluating, preventing and managing flood risks: the Directive on the assessment and management of flood risks (2007/60/EC), adopted on 23 October, officially entered into force on...

RURAL DEVELOPMENT : FURTHER SET OF PROGRAMMES AGREED.
December 7, 2007... A series of rural development programmes for the funding period of 2007-2013 were approved on 21 November by the Rural Development Committee (consisting of representatives of the 27 member states) following up on the programmes already approved...

FISHERIES POLICY : MEPS SUGGEST WAYS TO SOLVE PROBLEM OF DISCARDS.
December 7, 2007... The European Parliament's Fisheries Committee "encourages" the European Commission, the member states and the other stakeholders to establish incentives for improving fishing practices and suggests a number of ways forward, among them a cut in...

FISHERIES COUNCIL : MINISTERS APPROVE BLUEFIN TUNA RECOVERY PLAN.
December 7, 2007... The European Union's fisheries ministers, meeting in Brussels on 27 November, unanimously adopted the recovery plan for Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna. Certain last-minute adjustments convinced Italy and Spain to drop their...

BIOTECHNOLOGY : MINISTERS EQUIVOCATE ON GMOS.(genetically modified organisms)
December 7, 2007... The EU's agriculture ministers are engaged in the delicate exercise of trying to avoid rushing things with the public opinion, a majority of which opposes genetically modified organisms (GMOs), without turning feed professionals and stock...

EU/RUSSIA/POLAND : POLAND SEEKS TRILATERAL MEETING ON RUSSIA'S MEAT BAN.
December 7, 2007... The new Polish government, led by Donald Tusk, is looking to hold trilateral talks in December - including the European Commission - to break a prolonged stalemate in negotiations over Russia's embargo on Polish meat, said Poland's Agriculture...

AGRICULTURE COUNCIL : PORTUGAL HOPING TO REACH AGREEMENT ON WINE.
December 7, 2007... The EU is at the final stage of negotiations that should lead to an in-depth reform of the common organisation of the wine market. At the end of a series of trilateral meetings (EU Presidency, European Commission and member states) during the...

GMOS : WASHINGTON KEEPS PRESSURE ON EU.(genetically modified organisms)(European Union)
December 7, 2007... Washington has decided not to turn to sanctions right away in the dispute pitting it against the European Union over genetically modified organisms (GMOs). However, the "reasonable period" granted by the World Trade Organisation, during which...

EU/ECUADOR : WTO LOOKS SET TO OUTLAW EU BANANA RULES.
December 7, 2007... The World Trade Organisation is understood to have once again ruled against the EU banana import scheme following the complaint lodged by Ecuador against the 27. A confidential preliminary report transmitted to the two parties on 29 November...

2008 GUIDE PRICES FOR FISHERIES PRODUCTS.
December 21, 2007... A slight increase in guide prices for the majority of white fish (cod, redfish, pollack and haddock), decrease in the prices for pelagic species and frozen products (halibut, hake, swordfish, prawns and squid) and a price hike for processed...

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS : 20 MILLION EURO FOR THE PROMOTION OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.
December 21, 2007... Eighteen programmes planning measures to provide information on and to promote EU agricultural products in non-EU countries were approved by the European Commission on 10 December. Included in the approval were programmes from Denmark, Germany,...

EU/FAROE ISLANDS : AGREEMENT ON FISHING POSSIBILITIES FOR 2008.
December 21, 2007... The agreement on the respective fishing possibilities reached on 5 December between the European Commission and the Faroe Islands foresees a general reduction of authorised catches in 2008. According to the Commission, the arrangement confirms...

BIOTECHNOLOGY : ANTI-GMO REGIONS COME TOGETHER.
December 21, 2007... A group of 43 regions that are hostile to the development of GMOs in the European Union came together in Brussels on 5 and 6 December to show that it is still possible to provide EU farms with vegetable protein from conventional plants. These...

AVIAN FLU IN POLAND AND ROMANIA.
December 21, 2007... Following recent outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Poland and Romania, the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health voted on 3 December in favour of a decision setting out the eradication and control measures for...

AVIAN INFLUENZA IN GERMANY.
December 21, 2007... Following confirmation of an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a backyard flock in Brandenburg, Germany, the European Commission adopted on 17 December a decision defining the risk area around the outbreak and confirming the...

ENERGY : COMMISSION ACCUSED OF SETTING WEAK BIOFUELS STANDARDS.
December 21, 2007... Environmentalists are accusing the Commission of setting weak standards for biofuels. These standards have been set out in a leaked draft of the directive on the promotion of the use of renewable energy sources. The directive, setting out the...

COMMISSION PROPOSES TO INCREASE MILK QUOTAS.
December 21, 2007... The European Commission proposed, on 12 December, a 2% increase in milk quotas beginning on 1 April 2008 to meet growing demand both within the European Union and on global markets. The increase, a total of 2.84 million tonnes, would apply on...

DAIRY SECTOR MERGER CLEARED.
December 21, 2007... The European Commission cleared, on 3 December, the joint acquisition of the French company Cofranlait SAS by the French companies Entremont Alliance and Sodiaal Industrie, the latter controlled by Sodiaal Union de Cooperatives agricoles....

AGRICULTURE COUNCIL : ELECTRONIC ID FOR SHEEP POSTPONED TILL LATE 2009.
December 21, 2007... The EU's agriculture ministers decided, during the Agriculture Council of 17 December, to set the date of entry into force of compulsory electric ID tagging for sheep and goats at 31 December 2009. This system, very costly according to some...

FISHERIES POLICY : EP ASKS FOR REFORM OF CMO AND FINANCIAL MEANS.
December 21, 2007... The common market organisation (CMO) for fish and aquaculture products must be the subject of an "ambitious" reform in order to guarantee the incomes of various operations, market stability and a better marketing of fishery products. This is...

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS : EP DEMANDS MORE RESOURCES FOR PROMOTING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.
December 21, 2007... In expectation of an agreement at the World Trade Organisation which would reduce the European Union's mechanisms for the protection of agriculture, the European Parliament considers that the EU should strengthen the promotion of its...

ANIMAL HEALTH : EU27 APPREHENSIVE AT COST OF PROPOSED STRATEGY.
December 21, 2007... At their meeting on 17-18 December, EU agriculture ministers are set to adopt conclusions on the new animal health strategy presented by EU's Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou last September. Their veterinary experts reached a compromise on...

ACTION TO COUNTER OBESITY : EU HEALTH MINISTERS BACK REFORMULATION OF FOODS AND LABELLING.
December 21, 2007... The EU health ministers have retained, besides targeted campaigns, a series of more concrete actions to curb the increase in obesity within the EU in their Health Council conclusions of 6 December. For example: the reformulation of foods to...

AGRICULTURAL POLICY : EU MUST ADOPT CAP HEALTH CHECK' BEFORE 2009.(Common Agriculture Policy)(Brief article)
December 21, 2007... The Common Agriculture Policy's (CAP) health check' will not be a big check-up'. "I would describe it rather as an intermediate adjustment," explained Jean-Luc Demarty, the director general of the European Commission's DG Agriculture during...

MILK : FISCHER BOEL JUSTIFIES INCREASE IN DAIRY QUOTAS.
December 21, 2007... The results of the analyses conducted by the European Commission have revealed that the market is able to absorb a 2% rise in dairy quotas, said Mariann Fischer Boel, the EU's Agriculture Commissioner, during a recent visit to Italy. The most...

FISHERIES AGREEMENT WITHaGUINEA-BISSAU.
December 21, 2007... The EU Council has approved, in the name of the European Community, the agreement setting out the fishing opportunities and the financial contribution provided for in the EU's fisheries partnership agreement with Guinea-Bissau for the period 16...

FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE IN CYPRUS AND UK.
December 21, 2007... Member states endorsed, on 3 December, the European Commission's proposals to revise certain foot and mouth disease measures in both Cyprus and the UK to reflect the fact that there have been no recent outbreaks in either country. At the...

BIOTECHNOLOGY : FOUR NEW GMO PRODUCTS ON THE COUNCIL TABLE.
December 21, 2007... The European Commission transmitted proposals to the member states, on 18 December, for the authorisation of three genetically modified maize hybrids and one genetically modified potato. The procedures do not concern cultivation of these...

AGRICULTURE COUNCIL : MEMBER STATES EQUIP THEMSELVES WITH ROAD MAP ON ANIMAL HEALTH.
December 21, 2007... The EU's agriculture ministers adopted, on 17 December in Brussels, conclusions on the new animal health strategy presented by Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou in September this year. The ministers are happy with the project, launched by...

WINE : MEPS SIDE WITH PRODUCER COUNTRIES.
December 21, 2007... In an opinion adopted on 12 December on the reform of the common market organisation (CMO) for wine (497 to 109, with 89 abstentions), the European Parliament rejects the automatic liberalisation of planting rights, limits grubbing to three...

AGRICULTURE COUNCIL : MINISTERS AGREE COMPROMISE ON PESTICIDES.
December 21, 2007... The EU's agriculture ministers agreed a compromise, on 17 December in Brussels, on legislation encouraging the sustainable use of pesticides. They also reviewed the work carried out by their experts on the marketing of plant protection...

AGRICULTURE COUNCIL : MINISTERS AGREE ON MINI WINE REFORM.
December 21, 2007... After quite desultory negotiations, begun on 17 December, EU agriculture ministers have reached, on 19 December in Brussels, an agreement on the reform of the Common Market Organisation for wine which will come into force on 1 August 2008. The...

EU/POLAND/RUSSIA : MOSCOW AGREES TO LIFT POLISH MEAT IMPORT BAN.
December 21, 2007... The agriculture ministers of Poland and Russia have reached an agreement on the resumption of meat trade, ending a two-year ban on Polish exports to Russia that has strained the EU's ties with Moscow. "We are in complete agreement on resuming...

NEW REGULATION ON PROMOTION OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.
December 21, 2007... The Agricultural Council adopted, on 17 December, a regulation which merges two regulations on the promotion of agricultural products in the EU and in non-EU countries. The European Parliament gave its advisory opinion on 13 December. Taking...

FISHERIES POLICY : NGO CALLS ON COUNCIL TO TAKE ACCOUNT OF "REAL CATCHES".
December 21, 2007... Just as the debate on fishing opportunities for 2008 is getting underway, Oceana, an international organisation that campaigns to protect and restore the world's oceans, has highlighted the ineffectiveness of the EU's current fish stocks...

ORGANIC FARMING : ORGANIC FARMERS "FRUSTRATED" OF POLITICAL PROMISES.
December 21, 2007... If approved in the coming weeks by the member states, the future logo for organic products will show the stars of the European flag and a white smile against a green background, with the term BIO'. At this stage, the United Kingdom, which...

REGULATIONS ADAPTED TO COMITOLOGY PROCEDURE.(Brief article)
December 21, 2007... The Agriculture Council adopted, on 17 December, two proposals for regulations aiming to adapt Regulations 1924/2006 (nutrition and health claims made on foods) and 1925/2006 (the addition of vitamins and minerals and of certain other...

FISHERIES POLICY : REPORT HIGHLIGHTS FLAWS IN COMMUNITY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT.
December 21, 2007... Absence of reliable data, ineffective inspection systems and unsanctioned infringements: the report(1), published on 4 December by the EU Court of Auditors on the control, inspection and sanction systems relating to the rules on conservation of...

FISHERIES COUNCIL : UNANIMOUS AGREEMENT ON TACS AND QUOTAS FOR 2008.
December 21, 2007... Authorised catches will be reduced by 9% to 41% depending on species, except for southern hake (+15%) and North Sea cod (+11%), and anchovy fisheries in the Bay of Biscay will remain closed, as expected, at least until spring 2008. The EU's...

WTO : US FARM SPENDING BILL AT ODDS WITH WASHINGTON'S DOHA CONCESSIONS.
December 21, 2007... The US administration's efforts to scale back its agricultural subsidies with a view to striking a deal in the Doha Round of world trade talks are being undermined by US legislators. On 14 December, the US Senate adopted, by 79 votes to 14, a...

WINE : VINEYARD GRUBBING PROGRAMME REDUCED TO 175,000 HECTARES.
December 21, 2007... To avoid misrepresenting her draft reform on the common market organisation (CMO) for wine by making concessions on the essential, Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel made another gesture on the voluntary grubbing-up scheme. While...

VODKA IN THE BROAD SENSE.
December 21, 2007... The battle over vodka is over. The 27 EU agriculture ministers approved, on 17 December, a proposal for a regulation which changes labelling requirements. The traditional' recipe, using cereals and potatoes, will have to be labelled vodka',...