Europe Agri articles from January 2007

Europe Agri archives from January 2007

FISHERIES COUNCIL : BORG CLAIMS SUCCESS AS FISHING OPPORTUNITIES AGREED FOR 2007.
January 12, 2007... Ministers were able to reach unanimous agreement on the fishing possibilities to apply in Community waters in 2007 on 21 December, but only through a significant denting of the European Commission's original proposals. One of the central...

AGENDA.(Calendar)
January 12, 2007... COUNCIL OF MINISTERS Agriculture and Fisheries Council a a24-25 October Luxembourg Draft agenda on agriculture points: - Commission communication on the reform of the CMO for wine General discussion - Proposal...

AGRICULTURE / ROMANIA-BULGARIA : PORTRAIT OF TWO SUBSISTENCE AGRICULTURES WITH A PROMISING FUTURE.
January 12, 2007... Without even mentioning the hygiene and food safety rules for which the European Commission has taken various precautionary measures the last few weeks, the challenges ahead for farmers from the two new EU member states, Romania and Bulgaria,...

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS : 9.1 MN EURO TO PROMOTE EU PRODUCE.
January 12, 2007... The European Commission announced on 11 December that it has approved an EU contribution of 9.1 million to cover 50% of the total cost of programmes promoting EU agricultural products outside the EU. Just ten programmes have been accepted by...

AARHUS CONVENTION APPLICABLE TO GMOS.
January 12, 2007... EU environment ministers adopted a decision on 18 December accepting on the European Community's behalf an amendment to the Aarhus Convention on access to information, public participation and access to justice on the environment, imposing...

ENVIRONMENT : AGREEMENT ON STRATEGY FOR PROTECTION OF MARINE ENVIRONMENT.
January 12, 2007... The member states will take the measures needed to achieve a good environmental status for marine waters by 2021, following the EU environment ministers' political agreement on the draft strategy for protection of the marine environment (first...

AGRICULTURE REVENUE.
January 12, 2007... The European Commission is surprised at the indignant reactions in France to the 'neither new nor revolutionary' words spoken by the EU's Commissioner for Agriculture Mariann Fischer Boel on the future developments for EU farmers (see...

AGRICULTURE COUNCIL : AID FOR ENERGY CROPS EXTENDED TO EIGHT NEW MEMBER STATES.
January 12, 2007... The EU Agriculture Council on 19 December approved the extension to eight new member states of aid worth 45/ha for energy crops, subject to an increase of 1.5 to 2 million ha in the land surface eligible across the Community, as well as an...

AQUACULTURE : AQUACULTURE ACCOUNTED FOR 19% OF FISHERIES OUTPUT IN 2004.
January 12, 2007... In 2004 the aquaculture sector of EU25 countries accounted for 18.8% of theatotal fisheries production, representing an increase of almost 2% compared to 2000. 78% of the aquaculture production was in marine waters: 63% from the Atlantic and...

AUSTRIA ESCAPES GMO BAN ORDER.(Genetically modified organisms)(Brief article)
January 12, 2007... The EU Council, on 18 December, rejected by qualified majority a proposal by the European Commission to oblige Austria to lift its ban on the use or sale, on Austrian soil, of two forms of genetically modified maize (MON 810 and Bayer T25)....

EU/RUSSIA : BALTIC AGREEMENT WITH RUSSIA SUBMITTED TO COUNCIL.(europe)(Brief article)
January 12, 2007... Details have been presented by the European Commission on 22 December of the draft bilateral agreement negotiated between the EU and Russia in relation to fisheries management in the Baltic Sea. The agreement addresses the joint management...

BALTIC REGULATION ADOPTED.(Brief article)
January 12, 2007... The agreement reached on 2007 total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas in the Baltic Sea has been formally approved by Council on 12 December, following the deal reached by ministers at the October Fisheries Council. The formal adoption of...

CHICKEN DIRECTIVE COMPROMISED.(Brief article)
January 12, 2007... The future of the European directive setting the maximum densities for broiler chicken breeding has been compromised. Seven countries (France, Poland, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary and Slovakia) blocked the latest text presented...

MAIZE : COMMISSION DETERMINED TO DRAW A LINE UNDER MAIZE INTERVENTION.
January 12, 2007... The European Commission approved a proposal through the written procedure on 11 December aiming to end public intervention for maize from the 2007-2008 marketing season. Compensation will be offered to Hungary, the member state most...

AGRICULTURE COUNCIL : COMMISSION ENVISAGES SUGAR IMPORT QUOTA TO HELP CHEMICAL INDUSTRY.
January 12, 2007... During the Agriculture Council in Brussels on 19 December, Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel announced that a proposal was to be presented to the Management Committee on 21 December, recommending that in view of the lack of necessary supply on...

AGRICULTURAL POLICY : COMMISSION LOOKING TO SIMPLIFY MARKET MANAGEMENT.
January 12, 2007... Delivering on its pledge in October 2005, the European Commission is expected on 18 December to propose that member states replace the 21 existing Common Market Organisations (CMOs) for agricultural produce with a single regulation "in order to...

ENVIRONMENT : COMMISSION SATISFIED WITH RESULTS OF PACKAGING DIRECTIVE.
January 12, 2007... The objectives set in Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste on ways to improve the recovery and recycling of packaging are still relevant and should not be amended in the short or medium term: such is the main conclusion of a...

COMPETITION : ECJ BACKS FINE FOR FRENCH BEEF FARMERS.
January 12, 2007... The EU Court of Justice has confirmed a European Commission decision fining French farming and slaughterers' federations for fixing beef prices. By the EU Court of First Instance decision of 14 December, the amounts of the fines were, however,...

STATE AID : ECJ OVERTURNS DECISION ON TAX FOR SPANISH COOPERATIVES.
January 12, 2007... The EU Court of First Instance annulled on 12 December a European Commission decision concerning tax benefits given to Spanish agricultural cooperatives. The Court said that the Commission had not given "clear or sufficient reasons" why...

EUROPEAN TIMBER TRADE ASSOCIATION.(resignation of Pierre Steenberghen)(Brief article)
January 12, 2007... For several years, the European Timber Trade Association (FEBO) General Secretariat has been run by Pierre Steenberghen, based in Brussels at the Belgian member Federation nationale des negociants en bois (FNN). Now that Steenberghen has left...

EU/US : EXPECTATIONS LOW OF DOHA BREAKTHROUGH.(European Union)
January 12, 2007... A key meeting for EU-US relations takes place on 8 January when European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso visits to Washington to meet US President George Bush. In the trade relations field, resuscitation of the Doha development round...

GERMAN VINEYARD AID.
January 12, 2007... The European Commission is to investigate aid given by the German Land Hessen to the largest German vineyard, Hessische Staatsweinguter, which is owned by the Land. An estimated 2.3 million was given by the Land to the aiming company, which...

GM COTTON AND SUGAR BEET.
January 12, 2007... The European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) has made available certified reference materials for the analysis of genetically modified (GM) cotton and sugar beet. The release of the two new materials, together with a set of...

AGRICULTURE COUNCIL : MINISTERS ADOPT BANANA SECTOR AID REFORMS.
January 12, 2007... The Council of EU Agriculture Ministers voted without a debate by qualified majority on 19 December to adopt the reform of the support regime for Community banana producers, tabled by the European Commission in September. Cyprus abstained...

AGRICULTURE COUNCIL : MINISTERS REACH A GENERAL APPROACH ON LABELLING OF ORGANIC PRODUCTS.
January 12, 2007... The Finnish EU Presidency has announced that it succeeded on 19 December in ironing out the difficulties barring the way to a compromise by the EU25 on reform of the rules governing organic products. Community sources confirm that, while there...

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS : MIXED REVIEW OF PROGRAMMES TO PROMOTE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.
January 12, 2007... In a report adopted at the end of December, the European Commission presented a mixed review of the measures for promoting agricultural products. It therefore envisages various adjustments to improve the operation of the system. It...

EU/RUSSIA : MOSCOW LIFTS THREAT TO BAN EU MEAT IMPORTS.
January 12, 2007... Russia is not expected to impose a general embargo on European meat, as it had been threatening to do from 1 January next, in connection with the EU's enlargement to include Romania and Bulgaria. At the conclusion of negotiations in Moscow...

NEW EU LAB FOR FOOD SAFETY.
January 12, 2007... The European Commission inaugurated the Community Reference Laboratory (CRL) for Food Contact Material on 7 December. The new laboratory will work to ensure the safety of articles that come into contact with food, such as packaging, kitchen...

FISHERIES : NO CATCH LIMITS FOR EXPERIMENTAL' ANCHOVY FISHING.
January 12, 2007... The deal reached by EU ministers on fishing for anchovy in the Bay of Biscay over the opening months of 2007 raises the question of what actually constitutes an experimental' fishery. To recall, as part of the agreement reached on the 2007...

RESEARCH : ORGANIC PRODUCE BRINGS CLEAR HEALTH BENEFITS, RESEARCHERS CLAIM.
January 12, 2007... Scientific evidence suggesting that organic milk has specific benefits in the fight against heart disease and obesity was one of the new findings highlighted by the European Commission on 12 December, during a presentation of the latest...

ENERGY : PARLIAMENT ISSUES WARNING ON BIOMASS STRATEGY.(Brief article)
January 12, 2007... Members of the European Parliament wish to encourage the use of biomass to produce energy - of that there is no doubt, but not at any price. The European Parliament, on 14 December, adopted a full report on the biomass and biofuel strategies....

FOOD SAFETY : PROPOSALS ON ANIMAL FOODSTUFF INGREDIENTS IN THE OFFING.
January 12, 2007... Taking advantage of the complete revision of the legislation on the labelling of foodstuffs, which is to take place during the course of 2007, EU Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Markos Kyprianou is preparing to present some new...

FOODSTUFFS : REGULATION ON NUTRITIONAL CLAIMS ON TRACK.(Brief article)
January 12, 2007... The European Commission, on 20 December, welcomed the final adoption of the regulation on nutritional claims by the Council and the European Parliament. The new legislation is intended to guarantee the clarity, accuracy and quality of...

SALE OF UNITED BISCUITS APPROVED.
January 12, 2007... The UK's United Biscuits is to be bought jointly by the US Blackstone Group and PAI Partners of France - respectively a private merchant bank and a private equity firm. The European Commission cleared the deal under the simplified procedure on...

SIMPLIFICATION OF THE CAP.(common agricultural policy)(Brief article)
January 12, 2007... The European Commission presented a proposal on 18 December to establish a single Common Market Organisation for all agricultural products to replace the 21 existing CMOs. The move is a major step in the ongoing process of streamlining and...

EU BUDGET : STATES ARE OBLIGED TO PUBLISH THE NAMES OF FUND BENEFICIARIES.
January 12, 2007... On the list of challenges to be met under its Transparency Initiative, the European Commission can tick off the publication of data on the beneficiaries of EU funds. Indeed, with adoption of the new Financial Regulation applicable to the...

EU/MOZAMBIQUE : TUNA AGREEMENT INITIALLED WITH MOZAMBIQUE.(European union)(Brief article)
January 12, 2007... A quota of 10,000 tonnes for tuna and related species, such as swordfish and certain kinds of sharks, has been agreed by the European Commission and the government of Mozambique, in a new Fisheries Partnership Agreement initialled by the two...

UN FISHERIES RESOLUTION.
January 12, 2007... The United Nations General Assembly has, as expected, adopted its resolution on 7 December concerning sustainable fishing practices on the high seas. The resolution was adopted by consensus, and follows the agreement reached on a draft text...

UPDATE FOR FISHERIES DATA.
January 12, 2007... Changes to the rules for the submission of data on landings of fish have been agreed by the European Parliament and the Council, following a second reading plenary vote in the Parliament on 12 December. The Council's common position, which was...

RURAL DEVELOPMENT : USE OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT FUNDS TO CLOSE JOBS GAP.
January 12, 2007... Europe's rural areas must exploit their potential or risk falling further behind urban areas in meeting Lisbon employment targets, particularly in the remotest and most agricultural areas, according to a Commission communication published on 21...

VETERINARY SERVICES IN GREECE.(Brief article)
January 12, 2007... The European Commission decided on 12 December to refer Greece to the EU Court of Justice for failing to properly staff its veterinary services. This persistent understaffing of the veterinary services has resulted in poor controls and...

VITAMINS AND MINERALS.(Brief article)
January 12, 2007... The EU Council adopted without debate on 20 December the new regulation on additions of vitamins and minerals and certain other substances in foods. The legislation includes a positive list of vitamins and minerals that can be added to...

EU/US/WTO : WILL BIOFUELS BE THE BATTLEGROUND OF THE FUTURE?
January 26, 2007... While differences over agriculture continue to be the main stumbling block in the current Doha Round of world trade talks, support for the biofuels sector has so far generated little debate. This even though biofuels are transforming the...

AGRICULTURE : ANIMAL WELL-BEING CRITERIA MAY DISTORT COMPETITION.
January 26, 2007... Since 1 January, subsidies paid to animal breeders have been subject to certain standards of animal well-being being met. Professional farming associations within the EU have warned the Agricultural Commissioner, Marianne Fischer Boel, that...

AGRICULTURAL TRADE.
January 26, 2007... The best outcome for the world trade talks in agriculture is a balanced approach, with the greatest benefits for agricultural trade liberalisation coming from the cumulative effects of cuts in domestic support, export subsidies and tariffs....

ARLA-INGHAM FOODS MERGER.
January 26, 2007... On 15 January, the Commission approved a merger whereby the Swedish firm Arla acquires the Finnish dairy products company Ingman Foods. Arla produces and sells dairy products in Denmark, Sweden and the UK(subsidiary of the cooperative Arla...

MEDITERRANEAN : BORG HOPEFUL FOR BETTER MANAGEMENT OF FISHING IN THE MED.
January 26, 2007... The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean will henceforth be "fully operational," according to the European Commission, following the organisation's Annual General Meeting in Rome on 9-12 January. The GFCM, which is the...

PESTICIDES : COMMISSION SET TO AUTHORISE FOUR ACTIVE SUBSTANCES.
January 26, 2007... The European Commission is expected to decide on 9 January to amend Directive 91/414/EEC on the marketing of plant pesticides used to increase agricultural production, with the intention of adding four active substances contained in these...

FRUIT & VEGETABLE REFORM : COMMISSION'S PROPOSALS FOR REFORM OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLE SECTOR.
January 26, 2007... The European Commission presented on 24 January its proposals for reform of the Common Market Organisation (CMO) in fresh and processed fruit and vegetables. Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel intends to place the fruit and vegetable...

EU/RUSSIA : EU HOPES TO SETTLE POLISH-RUSSIAN MEAT TRADE DISPUTE.
January 26, 2007... The European Commission was set to sign an agreement with Russia, on 18 January, that will hold at bay the threat of a general embargo on European meat exports. The Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, Markos Kyprianou, was expected...

EU-MALAYSIA FLEGT NEGOTIATIONS.
January 26, 2007... Formal negotiations between the European Commission and the Malaysian government, with the aim of concluding a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT), were initiated during a meeting...

GMOS : EUROPE'S ANIMAL SECTOR AT THE MERCY OF A CONTAMINATION.(Genetically modified organisms)
January 26, 2007... The virtually total absence on the global market of alternatives to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the feed sector constitutes a weakness for which the European trade has no remedy for the moment. The possible contamination of the...

FISCHER BOEL LAUNCHES BLOG'.
January 26, 2007... Mariann Fischer Boel's new blog' was launched on 15 January. In her blog, the commissioner for agriculture and rural development will comment on her experiences as she visits member states, talks to farmers and other members of the public. She...

AGRICULTURE : FISCHER BOEL SPELLS OUTOPTIONS FOR THE POST-2013 PERIOD.
January 26, 2007... The Agriculture Commissioner, Mariann Fischer Boel, took advantage of the festive season, during which she made several speeches to warn European farmers about the post-2013 period and the consequences of the recently announced in-depth reform....

COMMON MARKET ORGANISATION : FRUIT AND VEGETABLES FALL INTO LINE IN THE CAP.
January 26, 2007... 'A sound and competitive future' and a 'contribution to the health of European citizens' are what Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel says will be offered to the fruit and vegetable sector with the reform proposed on 24 January by the...

COUNCIL OF MINISTERS : GERMAN PRESIDENCY'S PROGRAMME IS AMBITIOUS, WITH LIMITS.
January 26, 2007... The Agriculture Council's work programme set out by Germany for its six-month Presidency appears to be an ambitious one as it covers various sensitive issues such as the conditionality of direct aid, rural development, GMOs and animal...

EU/INDIAN OCEAN : ILLEGAL FISHING IN INDIAN OCEAN TO BE TARGETED BY EU FUNDS.(Brief article)
January 26, 2007... Community funding is to be provided to help combat illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing in the South West Indian Ocean, following a written decision adopted by the European Commission on 9 January. The decision means that a...

ENVIRONMENT : NITRATES: FRANCE THREATENED WITH RECORD FINE.
January 26, 2007... The European Commission is getting ready to refer France to the EU Court of Justice for failure to respect the Directive on the quality of groundwater used to produce drinking water in Brittany. It is expected to ask the Court to impose a fine...

GMOS : OVER 100 MN HECTARES OF GMOS WORLDWIDE.(Genetically modified organisms)(Report)(Brief article)
January 26, 2007... More than 100 million hectares of genetically modified (GMO) crops were cultivated worldwide in 2006, an increase of 13% compared with 2005, according to the annual report published by theaInternational Service for the Acquisition of...

DOHA ROUND : PARIS WARNS MANDELSON NOT TO MAKE CONCESSIONS.(Brief article)
January 26, 2007... As diplomatic efforts resume to get the Doha Round multilateral negotiations back off the ground, France has warned Peter Mandelson to resist all temptations to make further concessions on agriculture. French Prime Minister Dominique de...

RENEWABLE ENERGY : ROAD MAP TO REACH 20% TARGET FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY BY 2020.
January 26, 2007... The European Union will have to move up a gear if it really wants to exploit the full energy potential of renewable sources, previous measures having been described as either inadequate or non-existent. The Commission's Energy Package of 10...

AGRICULTURE COUNCIL : SIX FORMAL MEETINGS SCHEDULED FOR FIRST HALF OF 2007.
January 26, 2007... Six formal meetings of the Agriculture Council will be organised by the German EU Presidency during the first half of 2007. 29-30 January, Brussels. Draft agenda: Presidency work programme; regulation on fruit and vegetables sectors'...

EU/EGYPT : TALKS ON LIBERALISATION OF AGRICULTURAL TRADE TO START IN FEBRUARY.
January 26, 2007... In order to give a boost to the lagging trade liberalisation in the Mediterranean region, the EU and Egypt have agreed to launch negotiations on the agricultural sector in February. Cairo responded positively to the proposal put forward by the...

EU/INDONESIA : TALKS TO AIM FOR AGREEMENT ON ILLEGAL LOGGING.
January 26, 2007... Indonesia's Forestry Minister M.S. Kaban and Commissioners Stavros Dimas (Environment) and Louis Michel (Development) agreed, on 8 January in Brussels, to initiate formal negotiations for the conclusion of a voluntary partnership agreement to...

BIOFUELS : THE UNION WANTS TO BREAK OIL'S GRIP ON TRANSPORT.
January 26, 2007... The Biofuels Directive 2003/30/EC requires the publication before end 2006 of an interim report on progress in its implementation, providing input for an analysis of the need for revision of the text. Publication of that report was postponed...

FISHERIES POLICY : UK NOT COMPLETELY SATISFIED WITH COMMISSION'S DEAL ON HERRING.
January 26, 2007... The EU has been granted a quota of 83,328 tonnes for Norwegian spring-spawning herring in 2007, following the successful conclusion of negotiations with the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway and the Russian Federation on 18 January. This...