Europe Agri articles from July 2006

Europe Agri archives from July 2006

AGRI-ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK.(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... The implementation of the acquis communautaire in the agricultural and environmental sectors might create problems in the new member states and other candidate countries, particularly in the Western Balkans and Turkey. A seminar, organised on 4...

BAN ON RATITES FROM S.AFRICA.(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... Following a recent outbreak of avian influenza H5N2 - a highly pathogenic strain but unrelated to the Asian' H5N1 virus - on an ostrich farm in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, the Standing Committee has endorsed a European...

ANCHOVY FISHERY : BAY OF BISCAYa CLOSED AGAIN.
July 14, 2006... Anchovy fishing in the Bay of Biscay is to be banned until the end of the year, stated the European Commission on 3 July, with a Regulation closing the fishery expected to be adopted by the College of Commissioners within the next two weeks....

BIRD FLU LANDS IN SPAIN.
July 14, 2006... The presence of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 in a wild water bird, the first official case in Spain, was reported by Spain's Agriculture Ministry on 7 July. The great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus) was found dead in a...

CHEERS AND TRIBULATIONS IN FINLAND.(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... So, the Finnish Presidency wants to increase the minimum level of excise duties on alcohol and spirits in order to combat alcohol abuse. On the face of it, a noble intention. However, in reality this is an issue of both national and fiscal...

ENVIRONMENT : COMMISSION TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE USE OF PESTICIDES AND SOIL.
July 14, 2006... Cutting back on the use of pesticides and amending rules on the way they are marketed; protecting soil against pollution, erosion and other damage and restoring it where possible. These are the main objectives of two thematic strategies due to...

FRUIT : COMMISSION WANTS TO BRING RED FRUIT MARKET BACK INTO BALANCE.
July 14, 2006... Facing stagnation in the consumption of red fruit based products as well as increased competition from Chinese producers, the European Commission sees it as necessary to proceed with a crop removal campaign for a part of the production capacity...

PUBLIC HEALTH : CONSIDERABLE IGNORANCE OVER RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH AVIAN INFLUENZA.
July 14, 2006... There are significant gaps in Europeans' knowledge about the risks associated with avian influenza, according to a special Eurobarometer survey on bird flu published by the European Commission on 7 July.aMost respondents (between 70% and 80%...

AQUACULTURE : CORMORANT NUMBERS A GROWING PROBLEM, SAY MEMBER STATES.
July 14, 2006... Improving the competitiveness of the EU's aquaculture sector was one of the major issues discussed at an informal meeting of member states' Directors-General for fisheries held in Vaasa, Finland, between 29 June-1 July. The meeting was...

FISHING QUOTAS : COUNCIL APPROVES NEW CALENDAR FOR SETTING QUOTAS.
July 14, 2006... The Council of Ministers has given its backing to a reform of the annual timetable for setting fishing quotas, and total allowable catches (TACs), in a statement adopted on 27 June. Under the new arrangements, set out by the Commission in a...

OECD/FAO : DEVELOPING COUNTRIES SHAPING FUTURE OF WORLD AGRICULTURE TRADE.
July 14, 2006... Production and consumption of farm products are expanding faster in developing countries than in developed economies. But a new, joint report by the OECD and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation says productivity growth in the poorest...

DG AGRICULTURE.
July 14, 2006... Jerzy Bodgan Plewa was appointed on 28 June as the new Deputy Director-General in charge of international affairs in the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development. Mr Plewa, 51, is a Polish agricultural sector expert. Mr Plewa...

GENETIC ENGINEERING : DIMAS RELUCTANT TO SET THRESHOLD FOR GM SEED CONTAMINATION.
July 14, 2006... Several EU member states, notably France and Germany, piled pressure on Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas at the Environment Council meeting in Luxembourg on 27 June to outline a threshold for the adventitious contamination of conventional...

LIVESTOCK : EU CATTLE POPULATIONS CONTINUE TO DECREASE.
July 14, 2006... The December 2005 livestock survey carried out by Eurostat shows that the cattle population continued to fall slowly in the EU25. The survey shows that the total number of cattle in December 2005 was around 85.8 million, which constitutes a...

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS : EU PROVIDES 27.6 MILLION TO PROMOTE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.
July 14, 2006... The European Commission has agreed to co-finance 31 programmes to provide information on and to promote agricultural products in the European Union. A sum of 27.6 million has been released for this purpose. And for the first time measures have...

AVIAN INFLUENZA : EU REMAINS ON ITS GUARD.
July 14, 2006... The European Union is not lowering its guard in the fight against avian influenza. Certain prevention measures already in place regarding non-EU countries affected by the disease have been extended in the light of an opinion issued on 4 July by...

FARM AID FIGURES.
July 14, 2006... The European Commission has published indicative figures on the distribution of direct farm payments by size-class of aid received for the 2004 financial year (having previously done likewise for 2002 and 2003). The figures have been derived...

FRUIT & VEGETABLES : FARMING ORGANISATIONS REACT TO PROPOSED MARKET REFORMS.
July 14, 2006... EU farming organisations Copa and Cogeca have adopted a position on the future reform of the Common Market Organisation (CMO) for fresh and processed fruit and vegetables. Their stance is based on various options presented recently to the...

COUNCIL OF MINISTERS : FINLAND TO PREPARE SENSITIVE DOSSIERS FOR GERMANY.
July 14, 2006... Finland is taking over from Austria for its six month stint at the helm of the European Union, with somewhat limited ambitions in terms of agriculture. On the eve of a working session of the Presidency and the Commission in Brussels, on 3 July,...

EU/UN : GMOS COVERED BY AARHUS CONVENTION.(European Union)(United Nations)(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... European citizens will soon be able to take part in the decision-making process concerning the voluntary dissemination of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). Back in March 2005, the European Commission had received a mandate from the Council...

FOOD & DRINKS INDUSTRY : GREEN LIGHT FOR SCOTTISH & NEWCASTLE/KUEHNE+NAGEL BEER VENTURE.
July 14, 2006... The European Commission said on 29 June it had given regulatory clearance to plans to set up a joint venture for UK drinks distribution between the UK brewery group Scottish & Newcastle and Kuehne+Nagel Logistics Ltd. Scottish & Newcastle...

FOOD SAFETY : INDUSTRY RECOMMENDS LIMITED LABELLING ON FOODSTUFFS.
July 14, 2006... In the same way as for other non-governmental and consumer organisations, the agri-foodstuff industry has been requested by the Commission to form a European action platform to establish a balance between diet, physical activity and health in...

ITALY WARNED OVER BIOFUELS.
July 14, 2006... The Commission decided on 28 June to send a reasoned opinion to Italy regarding implementation of the Directive on the promotion of biofuels (2003/30/EC). Rome stands accused of failing to justify its target of 1% market share for biofuels in...

JOINT EU-CANADA FISHING PATROLS.
July 14, 2006... Joint sea inspection patrols by the European Union and Canada are to be carried out in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) regulatory area, it was announced on 6 July, as a measure to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated...

EU/WTO : LAMY: DOHA ROUND IN CRISIS.
July 14, 2006... On the edge of Lake Geneva, the deadlock in the Doha Round negotiations has given way to a mood of crisis due to the failure of the Ministerial meeting that was called to break the agriculture and industry impasse. The sixty or so Ministers,...

FISH STOCKS : MAXIMUM SUSTAINABLE YIELD THE WAY FORWARD FOR EU FISHERMEN.
July 14, 2006... Maintaining or restoring fish stocks to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield (MSY) should be a guiding principle for the EU, explained the Commission in a Communication adopted 5 June. The idea behind the term is that fishermen...

CAVIAR : MORE COOPERATION IN FIGHT AGAINST ILLEGAL TRADE.(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... A set of measures to crack down on the illegal trade in caviar has been agreed by the EU, along with other importer and producer countries, following a meeting hosted by the European Commission on 27-29 June. Among these were agreements to...

DAIRY PRODUCTS : MRS FISCHER BOEL QUESTIONED OVER FUTURE OF MILK MARKET.
July 14, 2006... In view of the current difficulties affecting the milk market, European Agriculture Commissioner Marian Fischer Boel appears inclined to make a number of changes to management mechanisms without too much delay. The level of intervention prices...

FOOD SAFETY : OVER 3,100 ALERTS OVER FOOD AND FEED SAFETY.
July 14, 2006... The rapid alert system designed to guarantee food safety in Europe was activated 3,158 times in 2005, indicated the annual report presented by the European Commission on 30 June. The figure represents a rise of 22% compared with the preceding...

TIGHTER RULES ON TOOTHFISH.(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... The problem of illegal and unregulated fishing was a principal motivation behind a Council Regulation, adopted on 27 June, which amends the catch documentation rules for the Antarctic Toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) and the Patagonian...

EU/SOLOMON ISLANDS : TUNA FISHING AGREEMENT SIGNED.(European Union)(Brief article)
July 14, 2006... New fishing opportunities for EU vessels off the Solomon Islands have been formally agreed following the signing of a Partnership Agreement on 27 June. It provides that fishing licences will be granted for the catching of tuna to four...