Europe Agri articles from December 2008

Europe Agri archives from December 2008

AID FOR BSE TESTS IN BELGIUM UNDER INVESTIGATION.
December 5, 2008... The European Commission decided, on 26 November, to launch a formal investigation into unlawful state aid granted by Belgium since 2002 to farmers for the BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) tests of bovine animals. The state aid rules for...

EU/AUSTRALIA : COMMISSION AND CANBERRA SIGN DEAL ON WINE TRADE.
December 5, 2008... The EU and Australia have put an end to a long-standing dispute over the "misuse" of geographic indications (GIs) such as Champagne, Burgundy or Sherry, through an agreement signed on 1 December in Brussels. Australian exporters will give up...

RENEWABLES : COUNCIL AND EP REMAIN AT LOGGERHEADS OVER TARGETS.
December 5, 2008... The negotiators of both the Council and the European Parliament are sticking to their positions in trilogue meetings over the draft Renewables Directive. A further meeting, on 26 November, is now tasked with ironing out important differences in...

AGRICULTURE COUNCIL : DEAL SEALED ON CAP HEALTH CHECK' DESPITE PROFOUND DIFFERENCES.
December 5, 2008... German tension against any excessive increase in dairy quotas and any attack, "other than a symbolic one," on the subsidies paid to the biggest farms. Dutch onslaught to hasten the increase in dairy quotas before their scheduled disappearance...

2009 BUDGET : DEAL SECURED ON ONE BILLION EURO FOOD AID.
December 5, 2008... The European Council and European Parliament finally agreed, on 21 November in Brussels, during their budgetary consultation meeting, on ways to finance a 1 billion food aid package for developing countries. The EU's budget ministers also...

AGRICULTURE COUNCIL : DIFFERENCES PERSIST ON FUTURE OF CAP.
December 5, 2008... Beyond the agreement on the health check' in mid-November, the French EU Presidency did not succeed in defining the consensual bases between the 27 EU member states on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy after 2013. Paris had to...

RENEWABLES : ENVIRONMENTALISTS FEAR "GREENWASHING" OF BIOFUELS SUSTAINABILITY.
December 5, 2008... With negotiations over new EU targets for biofuels drawing to an end, environmentalists are warning that the current state of compromise will lead to a "climate time bomb" if the sustainability criteria for biofuels are not dramatically...

EU/US/ECUADOR/WTO : EU LOOKS AT DOHA TO SOLVE BANANA DISPUTE.
December 5, 2008... Following another condemnation at the World Trade Organisation, the EU turns to the Doha Round negotiations to solve the long-standing dispute with the US and Latin American producers over bananas. On 26 November, in Geneva, the WTO Dispute...

EU/ICCAT : EU PROPOSES BANNING DIRECT FISHERIES FOR CERTAIN SHARK.
December 5, 2008... The European Commission had announced its intention to be very firm during the annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT): it proved it by putting on the table, on 19 November, three proposals...

FISHERIES POLICY : INCREASE IN GUIDE PRICES FOR SMALL PELAGICS IN 2009.
December 5, 2008... Continuing its preparations for the annual negotiation (on 17-19 December) of quotas and guide prices for fishery products, the European Commission presented, on 25 November, its proposals for guide prices for certain fresh and frozen fishery...

EU/ICCAT : LUKEWARM RECEPTION FOR AGREEMENTS ON TUNA AND SHARK.
December 5, 2008... This was to be, according to EU Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg, "a last chance meeting" for bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean. Weary, the 46 members of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, gathered in Marrakesh...

MEASURE TO COMBAT SCRAPIE.
December 5, 2008... The EU Committee of Veterinary Experts approved, on 26 November, a European Commission proposal banning the use of milk for feeding purposes for ruminants from sheep from scrapie infected flocks (the measure does not concern milk for human...

AGRICULTURE COUNCIL : MEMBER STATES DIVIDED OVER FOOD AID FOR NEEDIEST EUROPEANS.
December 5, 2008... The member states' agriculture ministers, meeting on 28 November in Brussels, debated the European Commission's proposal to implement a renewed programme for food distribution to the most deprived Europeans from 2009. The expectations of those...

NEW DOHA COMPROMISE ON HORIZON.(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... The chairmen of the World Trade Organisation negotiating groups on agriculture and industrial goods (NAMA) could present soon new revised compromise texts to WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy, paving the way for a possible ministerial meeting to...

PROBE INTO AID TO FARM DAIRY FLEVOLAND.
December 5, 2008... The European Commission decided, on 26 November, to launch an investigation against possible illegal state aid of 715,000 granted in 1999 by the Dutch province Flevoland to the undertaking Farm Dairy Flevoland, active in the production of...

SAPARD FUNDS IN BULGARIA AND ROMANIA.(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... The European Commission adopted, on 2 December, a decision allowing Bulgaria and Romania to extend the deadline for payments of SAPARD (Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development) funds by one year, from 31 December 2008...

TENDER FOR STUDY ON FORESTRY SECTOR.
December 5, 2008... The European Commission launched, on 25 November, a call for tender for a study on prospects for the market supply of wood and other forest products from areas with fragmented forest ownership structures. The main objective of this study is to...

WTO COUNTDOWN.(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... The coming days will reveal whether a breakthrough in the Doha Round is possible before the end of the year. While the economic crisis strikes on all the continents, efforts to relaunch the multilateral trade negotiations, which were scuppered...

ZIMBO-BELL MERGER CLEARED.(Brief article)
December 5, 2008... The European Commission granted clearance, on 1 December, to the acquisition of sole control of Zimbo Fleisch- und Wurstwaren GmbH & Co. KG of Germany by Bell Holding AG of Switzerland, belonging to the Swiss Coop group. Bell and Coop both...

EU/NORWAY : AGREEMENT ON TACS AND ENHANCED FISHERIES COOPERATION.
December 19, 2008... General fishing opportunities for species managed jointly by the European Union and Norway will be increased by 30% in 2009, although catches for some, like saithe, will be reduced by 15% compared to 2008. After a month of discussions, the...

ENERGY : BATTLE ENDS OVER FUTURE RENEWABLES DIRECTIVE.
December 19, 2008... In the early hours of 9 December, a final session of negotiations between the European Parliament, the French EU Presidency and the European Commission brought about agreement on the new directive on renewable energy. This ostensibly removed...

EU/CHINA : CHINESE SOY UNDER STRICT SURVEILLANCE.(Brief article)
December 19, 2008... Following the discovery of high levels of melamine in soy meal, the European Commission indicated, on 3 December, its intention to quickly prohibit all Community imports of Chinese products containing soy intended for children. Such a ban has...

GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS : COMMISSION NOT CONVINCED OF NEED FOR AN AGENCY.(Conference news)(Brief article)
December 19, 2008... Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel is of the opinion that her services will be perfectly capable of making good their delay in the review of applications for new designations of origin or geographical indications - of which around...

FOODSTUFFS : COMMISSION PLANS INCREASED LIBERALISATION IN FOOD DISTRIBUTION.
December 19, 2008... Hostile to any reference to opening supermarkets on Sundays, EU Justice, Freedom and Security Commissioner Jacques Barrot opposed, on 3 December, the presentation by the European Commission of its road map on the functioning of the food chain,...

ENVIRONMENT : COMMISSION TAKES ON INVASIVE SPECIES.
December 19, 2008... Invasive (non-native) species can disrupt local flora and fauna, be harmful to human health and have serious economic repercussions (of up to 12 billion a year, notes the European Commission) when they damage crops, for example. Although this...

COUNCIL CLEARS FOOD FACILITY.
December 19, 2008... On 16 December, the EU Council formally adopted - without debate - a regulation establishing a rapid response facility to the surge in food prices in developing countries, following a first reading agreement with the European Parliament, on 21...

AGRICULTURAL AIDS : CROSS-COMPLIANCE NOT EFFECTIVE, SAYS COURT OF AUDITORS.
December 19, 2008... The EU Court of Auditors attacked, on 9 December, one of the key elements of the new Common Agricultural Policy: cross-compliance. It believes that the objectives of this policy, which consist in rendering the subsidies paid to farmers...

AGRICULTURE : EP COMMITTEE CALLS FOR MORE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES.
December 19, 2008... Following the agreement reached between the European Parliament and the 27 member states to grant an additional 1 billion in aid to developing countries in order to cope with food price volatility, MEPs consider that investment in agriculture...

ENVIRONMENT : EU EXECUTIVE INITIATES DEBATE ON BIOWASTE MANAGEMENT.
December 19, 2008... While waste management in the European Union is governed by a substantial body of regulations, there may be room for further improvement in the area of biowaste, which offers potential advantages as a source of renewable energy and recycled...

FRENCH AGRI AID SCHEME AUTHORISED.(Brief article)
December 19, 2008... The European Commission approved, on 10 December, an umbrella scheme notified by France, which involves aid for members in all the farm sectors represented by recognised agricultural inter-branch organisations. The scheme (250 million per year)...

BIOTECHNOLOGY : GMO RISK ASSESSMENT TO BE REINFORCED.
December 19, 2008... Assessments of the risks involved in the cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) will be reinforced, in particular regarding long-term impacts on the environment and ecosystems and through the inclusion of socio-economic factors in...

INDIAN OCEAN TUNA FISHERIES.
December 19, 2008... The EU Council adopted, on 2 December, a regulation transposing into Community law the management measures adopted by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC). This text codifies Regulation 40/2008, which establishes, for 2008, the fishing...

ITALIAN BIRD FLU AID REJECTED.
December 19, 2008... The European Commission decided, on 10 December, that a 20-million aid package, which Italy had planned to grant in the form of urgent measures (purchase of poultry meat, suspension of tax payments and social security contributions,...

EU/UN/CLIMATE CHANGE : MEMBER STATES AGREE TO CURB DEFORESTATION.
December 19, 2008... By endorsing, on 4 December, a communication on the fight against deforestation and the degradation of forests in the framework of the European Commission's fight against climate change(1), the EU's environment ministers specify, in the form of...

MISSHAPEN FRUIT CLEARED TO RETURN.(Brief article)
December 19, 2008... The European Commission formally adopted, on 5 December, the regulation repealing specific marketing standards for 26 types of fruit and vegetables as of 1 July 2009. This measure, endorsed on 12 November by the EU's fruit and vegetable...

NEW AGRICULTURAL DESIGNATIONS.(Brief article)
December 19, 2008... On 10 December, the European Commission added three agricultural and food product designations to the list of protected designations of origin (PDO) and protected geographical indications (PGI): the Spanish cheese San Simon da Costa' (PDO),...

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS : NEW PROGRAMMES TO PROMOTE EU PRODUCTS IN THIRD COUNTRIES.
December 19, 2008... Eleven programmes to promote European agricultural products in third countries were approved by the European Commission, on 12 December. These programmes - from Germany, Greece, France, Italy, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Spain and Ireland - will target...

OPEN FORUM : RECESSION: RETAIL TRADE IN THE FIRST LINE OF FIRE.
December 19, 2008... The current economic crisis has set in after a year of constant high volatility in commodity prices. Unless the competitiveness of business is given due consideration, the crisis will have a severe impact on the real economy and the first signs...

RECOVERY OF AGRICULTURAL AID.
December 19, 2008... The European Commission asked 15 member states, on 11 December, to refund an overall total of Eur 528.5 million corresponding to irregular expenditure made in the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy. Out of this total, Eur 105.5 million...

ROUNDUP READY 2 SOYBEAN AUTHORISED.
December 19, 2008... The European Commission adopted a decision, on 4 December, authorising market release (but not cultivation) of Monsanto's Roundup Ready 2 soybean (MON89788). The authorisation is valid for ten years and will allow the use of this transgenic...

MEAT : STORAGE AID TO COPE WITH IRISH PORK CRISIS.
December 19, 2008... The EU will activate a private storage aid scheme for pigmeat in Ireland to help producers who will suffer heavy losses due to the detection of dioxin at nine farms in the country. At the same time, the Irish government will set up a...