Europe Agri articles from February 2008

Europe Agri archives from February 2008

BIOFUELS : BIOFUELS CAUSE GLOBAL WARMING, US STUDY CONCLUDES.(Report)
February 15, 2008... A new report contradicts the conventional thinking among policy makers that burning biofuels instead of fossil fuels helps fight global warming. The study, sponsored by the German Marshall Fund, says that biofuels tend to increase greenhouse...

DOHA ROUND : COMMISSION CAUTIOUS OVER NEW WTO PAPERS.
February 15, 2008... The chances of seeing a new impetus given to the Doha Round negotiations in the coming weeks remain unclear following the presentation of new draft modalities at the World Trade Organisation, on 8 February. The European Commission reacted...

AGRICULTURE : COMMISSIONER KYPRIANOU WANTS A DEBATE ON CLONING.
February 15, 2008... The EU's Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou is concerned that the issue of cloning may become an issue rather like GMOs, on which there are differences between the EU's legislative framework. In a note addressed to his colleagues at the...

COMMISSION GETS TOUGH ON CHINESE GM RICE.(Brief article)
February 15, 2008... The European Commission decided, on 12 February, to require compulsory certification, as of 15 April, for imports of Chinese rice products to ensure that they do not contain the unauthorised GMO Bt63. All Chinese products containing rice, such...

BIOTECHNOLOGY : COMMISSION INTENDS TO MAKE WARSAW KNUCKLE UNDER ON GMOS.
February 15, 2008... The European Commission decided, on 31 January, to take action against Poland for its legislation on biotechnologies. The decision comes as no surprise since the regulation put in place by Warsaw in spring 2006 is not at all in line with the...

ENVIRONMENT : COMMISSION UPDATES NATURA 2000 LIST OF PROTECTED SITES.(Brief article)
February 15, 2008... In the framework of what it calls the "dynamic adaptation" of the Natura 2000 network, the European Commission has gone ahead with the update of protected sites for the Macaronesia and Alpine regions. The Commission, which launched an...

EU/IWC : COMMISSION URGES FIRM STANCE ON WHALING.
February 15, 2008... The European Commission, concerned that the Japanese "continue to flout the international ban" on whaling under the guise of scientific research, appealed on 8 February to the European Union member states to act in unison within the...

FISHERIES POLICY : 'CONSTRUCTIVE' PROPOSALS FOR REDUCING DISCARDS.
February 15, 2008... The European Parliament hasarecommended, in an own-initiative report adopted on 31 January, that overall fishing effort must be limited and selective measures improved to cut back on discards of fish at sea. MEPs propose to test the ideas on...

CONTINUED SUPPORT FOR COTTON PRODUCING COUNTRIES.(Brief article)
February 15, 2008... The EU will not let down the African cotton producing countries in the Doha Round, indicated EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, on 5 February, in Brussels. Mandelson met with Mamadou Sanou, minister for trade, entrepreneurship and...

DE WEIDE BLIK BUY OF KATOPE APPROVED.(Katope International S.A.)(Brief article)
February 15, 2008... The European Commission cleared, on 8 February, the acquisition of Katope International S.A., a French fruit and vegetable importer and wholesaler, by De Weide Blik N.V. of Belgium, active in the production, import, export, packaging, handling...

AGRICULTURAL POLICY : EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT REPORT IN FAVOUR OF CAP HEALTH CHECK.
February 15, 2008... The own-initiative report on the health check' for the Common Agricultural Policy which is being prepared in the European Parliament is rather close to the theses defended by EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel. The rapporteur,...

EU/WTOWTO RULES AGAINST EU BANANA SCHEME.
February 15, 2008... The World Trade Organisation has once again ruled against the European Union's banana import scheme on a complaint by the United States, reported a US official on 8 February. The trade body had already ruled against the scheme in a similar...

BIOENERGY : FAO UNVEILS NEW BIOENERGY ASSESSMENT TOOL.
February 15, 2008... A decision-support tool developed by FAO will help ensure that countries can enter the rapidly growing field of bioenergy industry to produce benefits for the poor without jeopardizing their food security. The tool, an "analytical framework"...

GREECE AND ANIMAL BY-PRODUCTS.(Brief article)
February 15, 2008... The European Commission decided, on 31 January, to refer Greece to the European Court of Justice over violations of the animal by-products (ABPs) legislation. Regulation 1774/2002 provides stringent conditions throughout the food and feed...

NEW AGRICULTURAL DESIGNATIONS.(Brief article)
February 15, 2008... The European Commission added, on 6 February, three designations of agricultural and food products to the list of protected designation of origin (PDO) and protected geographical indication (PGI): Aceite del Baix Ebre-Montsia' or Oli del Baix...

BIOTECHNOLOGY : NEW RULES DUE ON ORGANIC PRODUCTS.
February 15, 2008... Due to lack of time - the new legislation on organic products must come into force on 1 January 2009 - the European Commission presented to its Advisory Committee on Organic Agriculture, on 7 February, a work document intended to clarify the...

RENEWABLE ENERGY : NGO CALLS FOR MORATORIUM ON AGROFUEL TARGETS.
February 15, 2008... While the work of the Council's experts on the draft Fuel Quality Directive was set to continue on 13 February, Corporate Europe Advisory, which represents eighteen organisations for the protection of the environment has, in a letter dated 12...

PROPOSAL TO AUTHORISE TWO GMOS.(genetically modified organisms)(Brief article)
February 15, 2008... The European Commission presented, on 12 February, to the member states proposals for the authorisation of genetically modified (GM) soybean A2704-12 and cotton LL25 for import and processing and food and feed use. The member states returned no...

TALKS ON BRAZIL BEEF BAN CONTINUE.
February 15, 2008... Discussions over the EU embargo on Brazilian bovine meat are going to last more than four months, said the Brazilian Agriculture Minister, Reinhold Stephanes. The EU had suspended its Brazilian imports of bovine meat on 31 January due to...

MEAT : AID FOR PRIVATE STORAGE OF PIGMEAT CONTINUES.
February 29, 2008... The European Commission announced, at the Agriculture Council on 18 February in Brussels, that it intends to prolong for three months its aid scheme for private storage of pigmeat. The decision responds only partially to the concerns of Germany...

ARYSTA AND PERMIRA CLEARED TO MERGE.
February 29, 2008... The European Commission cleared, on 25 February, the acquisition of the Japanese crop protection company Arysta LifeScience Corporation by Permira Holdings Limited of the Channel Islands. Permira is a private equity firm that owns an interest...

EU/BRAZIL : BRASILIA GIVES IN TO EU DEMANDS ON BEEF AND VEAL.
February 29, 2008... The Brazilian authorities have finally agreed to submit to the European Commission a list of fewer than 200 holdings that could be authorised to resume exports of beef and veal to the Union. In the absence of agreement on such a list since 31...

CLASSICAL SWINE FEVER IN CROATIA.
February 29, 2008... Following a recent outbreak of classical swine fever (CSF) in Croatia, the European Commission sent, on 21 February, an emergency veterinary team on the spot to support the local authorities to rapidly respond and to help contain the disease....

COHERENCE OVER THE HEALTH CHECK'.(Brief article)
February 29, 2008... The driving ideas of the Common Agricultural Policy's health check' are coherent with the ideas expressed on 23 February by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel at the Paris Agriculture Show....

STATE AID : COMMISSION TARGETS TAX REGIME FOR COOPERATIVES.
February 29, 2008... The Commissioner for Agriculture, Mariann Fischer Boel, and her counterpart responsible for competition, Neelie Kroes, are currently developing a new European Commission doctrine' on cooperative law. The privileged tax status granted by...

INFORMAL FISHERIES COUNCIL : CONSENSUS ON NEED TO REFORM CONTROL AND MONITORING.(Brief article)
February 29, 2008... The EU needs to reform its fishery control and inspection mechanisms, agreed the fisheries ministers meeting on 18 February in Brussels, with Slovenian Minister Iztok Jarc chairing. The European Commission, represented by Fisheries Commissioner...

AGRICULTURE COUNCIL : DIVISIONS REMAIN OVER CAP HEALTH CHECK DETAILS.
February 29, 2008... Another round of discussions by EU agriculture ministers on the health check' of the Common Agricultural Policy, held on 18 February in Brussels, confirmed that the majority of member states were in favour of a simplification of the Single...

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS : ECJ RULING PROTECTS PARMESAN.
February 29, 2008... It is Italy, and not Germany, which must defend and put in place structures for the control of its Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) Parmigiano Reggiano', according to an EU Court of Justice ruling on 26 February. Contrary to the objectives...

EU-MAURITANIA FISHERIES AGREEMENT RATIFIED.
February 29, 2008... The new protocol signed on 29 January between the European Community and Mauritania pursuant to the Fisheries Partnership Agreement was ratified, on 18 February, by the EU Council. The door is now open to technical negotiations, which will be...

FISHERIES POLICY : EUROPECHE SETS PREREQUISITES FOR ACTION PLAN FOR SHARKS.
February 29, 2008... The improvement of knowledge on chondrichthyes (sharks, rays and chimaeras) and the fisheries involved, as well as the precise assessment of the impact of fishing activities, both on stocks and on the socio-economic level, are indispensable...

EU-SEYCHELLES FISHERIES AGREEMENT.
February 29, 2008... The revision of the Protocol to the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the EU and the Seychelles, covering the period 2005-2011, was formally approved by the EU Council on 12 February. The amendments provide for an increase in the...

FISHERIES AGREEMENT WITH THE IVORY COAST.
February 29, 2008... The EU Council of Ministers formally approved, on 12 February, the conclusion of an agreement with the Ivory Coast on implementation measures for the protocol establishing fishing possibilities and financial compensation pertaining...

AGRICULTURAL POLICY : MEPS CAUTIOUS ON CAP HEALTH CHECK.
February 29, 2008... According to the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee, the health check' of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) must help consolidate the latest reforms without further reducing first-pillar credits (income and market support) or...

MILK : MEPS SUPPORT VOLUNTARY 2% RISE IN MILK QUOTAS.
February 29, 2008... In response to the European Commission's proposal for an across-the-board 2% increase in milk quotas from 1 April to meet global demand, the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee recommends a more qualified solution: a 2% increase on a...

DOHA ROUND : MINISTERS CHALLENGE MANDELSON'S STRATEGY.
February 29, 2008... A dozen member states believe the EU should not make any further effort to reach a deal in the Doha Round and have called for a fundamental rethink of Peter Mandelson's negotiating strategy. Ten days after the presentation of two revised...

NEW AGRICULTURAL DESIGNATIONS.(Brief article)
February 29, 2008... The European Commission added six designations of agricultural and food products to the list of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). The new additions are the Italian products Pane di Matera'...

FISHERIES POLICY : NEW FRAMEWORK FOR DATA COLLECTION AND MANAGEMENT.
February 29, 2008... The European Union is to have a new framework for the collection, management and use of data in the fisheries sector. The new regulation, adopted to that end by the EU Council on 25 February, retains and builds on the proven features of the...

FOREST-BASED INDUSTRIES : NEW POLICY FRAMEWORK TO STRENGTHEN SECTOR'S COMPETITIVE POSITION.
February 29, 2008... Forest-based industries have embarked upon a process of adapting towards a low-carbon economy. To support them in this initiative, the European Commission adopted, on 27 February, an action plan providing a political framework intended to help...

NO MAJORITY ON NEW GMOS.(genetically modified organisms)(Brief article)
February 29, 2008... In the Agriculture Council of 18 February, the ministers did not manage to reach a qualified majority for or against putting five new varieties of GMOs on the market for sale or export. Which leaves the field free for the European Commission to...

SUGAR MARKET : NO PREVENTIVE WITHDRAWAL OF SUGAR THIS YEAR AND NEXT.
February 29, 2008... Based on the results registered so far under the EU's sugar restructuring plan, production quotas will have to be cut by over one million tonnes once the plan has ended in 2010. That is the estimate made by the European Commission, which...

RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES.
February 29, 2008... On 20 February, the Rural Development Committee, composed of representatives of the 27 member states, issued a positive opinion on the rural development programmes presented for the 2007-2013 programming period by Italy (Molise), Romania, Spain...

ENLARGEMENT : SLOVENIA PRESSES FOR ULTIMATUM FOR CROATIA OVER ZERP.
February 29, 2008... In an apparent attempt to increase pressure on Croatia, Slovenia, holder of the EU Presidency, has decided to put a discussion on the ongoing dispute over the Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone (ZERP) on the agenda of the forthcoming 18...

STATE AID : SOUTHERN FINLAND AUTHORISED TO SUPPORT ITS FARMERS.
February 29, 2008... The European Commission approved, on 27 February, a transitional national support programme for farmers in the south of Finland which provides for structural aid and income support from 2008 to 2013. Under the Finnish Accession Treaty, the...