Europe Agri articles from July 2008

Europe Agri archives from July 2008

CAUTION OVER WTO MINISTERIAL MEETING.
July 11, 2008... The European Commission remains cautious over the chances of achieving a breakthrough in the Doha Round, despite Pascal Lamy's decision to convene a decisive World Trade Organisation ministerial meeting, on 21 July in Geneva. The WTO's...

DOHA ROUND : FRANCE CALLS DOHA EMERGENCY MEETING.(Brief article)
July 11, 2008... France has called for an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers to discuss the European strategy on the Doha Round ahead of a decisive World Trade Organisation ministerial meeting scheduled on 21 July. Paris, which will take over the EU...

DOHA ROUND : SARKOZY AND MANDELSON BICKER OVER FIGURES.(Nicolas Sarkozy)(Peter Mandelson)(Brief article)
July 11, 2008... The battle between Nicolas Sarkozy and Peter Mandelson over the Doha Round of international trade talks continues with the sides exchanging conflicting figures about the cost for European agriculture of a possible World Trade Organisation deal....

FRUITS : 90 MN EURO ALLOCATED FOR EU SCHOOL FRUIT SCHEME.
July 11, 2008... The European Commission proposed, on 8 July, to the 27 agriculture ministers the launch of a programme at the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year for the distribution of fruit and vegetables in schools. The action would have a budget of 90...

FISHERIES POLICY : COMMISSION EASES AID PROCEDURES.
July 11, 2008... A new block exemption regulation, adopted on 2 July by the European Commission, simplifies the rules applying to state aid schemes in the fisheries sector. Member states will no longer have to notify certain types of aid to the Commission and...

FISHERIES POLICY : COMMISSION PROPOSES EMERGENCY MEASURES FOR FISHERMEN.
July 11, 2008... With the fisheries sector hit head-on by the surge in fuel prices, the European Commission presented, on 8 July, a set of urgent measures to help it cope. (1) It is nevertheless maintaining its line on fisheries policy, ie giving precedence to...

DAIRY PRODUCTS : ECA REPORT: QUOTA SCHEME WELL APPLIED IN NEW MEMBER STATES.
July 11, 2008... Contrary to certain forecasts, the 2004 enlargement of the EU has not destabilised the European market for milk and dairy products and has not led to a budgetary drift, says the EU Court of Auditors in its special report of 4 July on the...

EP CONFIRMS DEAL ON FOOD ADDITIVES.
July 11, 2008... The European Parliament has confirmed its second-reading informal agreement with the Council on the new European authorisation procedure for food additives, enzymes and flavourings. It will be simplified and updated to reflect scientific...

BIOFUELS : EP ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE FURTHER WEAKENS BIOFUELS TARGET.
July 11, 2008... The European Parliament's Environment Committee (ENVI) called, on 7 July, for a substantial weakening of the European Commission's proposed 10% mandatory biofuels target. Voting 36 in favour, with eight abstentions, the ENVI called for the...

EU-EGYPT AGRICULTURAL AGREEMENT.
July 11, 2008... A preliminary agreement, which remains to be formalised by the parties, was reached between the EU and Egypt to further liberalise trade in agricultural, processed agricultural and fish and fishery products. It will give the EU free and...

FOOD CRISIS : EU TO HELP POOR COUNTRIES WITH CAP SURPLUSES.
July 11, 2008... On 3 June, during a conference organised in Brussels by the French Presidency of the EU, Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel warned political leaders about the need for the agricultural populations of developing countries to remain in...

BUDGET : EU TO RECOVER 410 MN EURO OF CAP EXPENDITURE.(European Union. European Commission)(Brief article)
July 11, 2008... The European Commission will ask several member states to repay a total of 410.3 million, corresponding to irregular expenditure under the Common Agricultural Policy. This is due to inadequate control procedures or failure to comply with EU...

G8 CONDITIONS FOR DOHA DEAL.(Brief article)
July 11, 2008... The world's largest industrialised nations have urged emerging countries to make concessions in order to conclude the World Trade Organisation's Doha Round of multilateral trade talks as soon as possible. The G8 summit, held on 8 July in...

AGRICULTURAL POLICY : MEMBER STATES READY TO ABOLISH OBLIGATORY SET-ASIDE.
July 11, 2008... The vast majority of member states will agree to abolish set-aside as proposed in the Common Agricultural Policy health check' proposals, concluded the outgoing Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council at a 1 July meeting of the Special...

INFORMAL ENERGY COUNCIL : MINISTERS "DISCOVER" BIOFUELS ARE NOT AN OBLIGATION.
July 11, 2008... Although he spoke with a smile, Jean-Louis Borloo nevertheless dropped something of a mini-bombshell: the French energy minister and president-in-office of the Council announced, on 5 July, that the Council had "discovered" that the 10% target...

INFORMAL ENVIRONMENT COUNCIL : MINISTERS OPEN REFLECTION ON GMOS.(genetically modified organisms)(Brief article)
July 11, 2008... Though there is no question of a recasting of the assessment procedures for genetically modified organisms (GMOs), the system will nonetheless be the subject of an in-depth reflection within an ad hoc group in the Council. The creation of the...

FOOD & FEED : NEW DETAILED NORMS FOR ORGANIC PRODUCTS.
July 11, 2008... Conversion rules for conventional farms to organic farming, norms for the production of milk, mushrooms, honey, pig, cow, goat and sheep meat, poultry and manufacturing processes for organic foodstuffs: experts from the EU27 approved, on 2...

FOOD CRISIS : PRESIDENCY WARNS AGAINST FURTHER AGRICULTURE LIBERALISATION.
July 11, 2008... Further agriculture liberalisation will only exacerbate the current world food crisis, warned the French Presidency of the EU, triggering a negative reaction from Pascal Lamy, the director-general of the World Trade Organisation, on 3 July in...

RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN SPAIN.
July 11, 2008... The Rural Development Committee approved, on 25 June, the rural development programme of the Spanish national rural network for the financial period 2007-2013. Funding from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development for this network...

EU/RUSSIA : RUSSIAN VETERINARY SERVICES LAUNCH NEW OFFENSIVE.
July 11, 2008... With the entry into force on 1 July of the Memorandum on export conditions for meat and meat-based products', signed last march by the EU and Russia, there could well be considerable disruptions to exports to Russia starting next week. In a...

SCHUITEMA/CVC MERGER.
July 11, 2008... The European Commission cleared, on 26 June, the acquisition of the Dutch-based food retail company Schuitema by the investment fund CVC Fund IV, belonging to CVC Capital Partners Group of Luxembourg.aAmongst other portfolio companies, CVC...

BIOFUELS : SLOW PROGRESS ON SUSTAINABILITY CRITERIA FOR BIOFUELS.
July 11, 2008... In the midst of the debate on the surge in food prices, experts from the EU member states are attempting to define sustainability criteria for the production of agrofuels. Not without difficulty, they want to find a formula which will make it...

SOUTH AMERICAN MEAT IMPORT CONTROLS RELAXED.
July 11, 2008... The Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health on 1 July expressed its support for a European Commission proposal to allow imports of fresh meat from additional areas in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, which are in a position to...

GMOS : 'TECHNICAL SOLUTION' TO FACILITATE GMO-CONTAMINATED IMPORTS.
July 11, 2008... The European Commission services have determined the method that they wish to use to make it easier to import into the Union food and feed contaminated by unauthorised GMOs. In an eight-page document on different "policy options", they propose...

AGRICULTURAL SPENDING IN GREECE.(Brief article)
July 28, 2008... The European Commission has launched the procedure aimed at reducing by 10% the payments to Greece for area-based agricultural and rural development aid measures, due to ongoing shortcomings in its national control system. The shortcomings...

AID TO VILLASOR ILLEGAL.(Brief article)
July 28, 2008... The European Commission decided, on 16 July, that the 3.5 million in aid that Sardinia planned to grant to Villasor sugar refinery is not compatible with rules on state aid in agriculture. The aid was meant to compensate for the refinery's...

CAP: CALL FOR TENDER FOR OUTERMOST REGIONS.(Common Agricultural Policy)(Brief article)
July 28, 2008... The European Commission launched, on 16 July, a call for tender for an ex-post evaluation of the effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and relevance of the measures carried out for the outermost regions (POSEI) and the smaller Aegean islands...

AGRICULTURE/DEVELOPMENT : COMMISSION PROPOSES MASSIVE AID TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.
July 28, 2008... The European Commission has proposed to take 1 billion out of the unused appropriations of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and give it in aid to farmers in developing countries. Supported at the EU summit in June, the proposal now appears...

COMMISSION REJECTS AID FOR SUGAR REFINERY.(Brief article)
July 28, 2008... Sardinia's plans to aid Villasor sugar refinery have been stopped short by the European Commission. The aid had been meant to compensate Villasor for the losses it incurred during a drought in 2001-2002. State aid rules only allow for...

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS : COMMISSION RETHINKS SIGNS OF QUALITY.
July 28, 2008... The European Commission's services have completed work on a green paper on agricultural products. This document, of less than 20 pages, should be adopted on 15 October. It will serve as a starting point for launching a broad public consultation...

DAIRY PRODUCTS : COMMISSION TO SIMPLIFY SCHOOL MILK SCHEME.
July 28, 2008... After having presented its school fruit scheme' at the beginning of the week, the European Commission is to bring several modifications to the programme for the distribution of milk in schools, intended to combat obesity. This programme was...

CONDITIONAL APPROVAL FOR LESAFFRE BUY OF GBI UK.(GB Ingredients Ltd acquired BFP Wholesale Ltd )(Brief article)
July 28, 2008... The European Commission approved, on 11 July, the acquisition of GB Ingredients Ltd and BFP Wholesale Ltd (GBI UK) engaged in the yeast business and owned by Gilde B.V, by the French yeast manufacturer Compagnie des Levures Lesaffre. The...

EU/MAURITANIA : COUNCIL ENDORSES NEW FISHERIES PROTOCOL.(European Union)(Brief article)
July 28, 2008... European fishermen and Mauritanian officials breathed a sigh of relief, on 15 July, after the Fisheries Council approved, by qualified majority (with Spain voting against), a new protocol concluded in March under the Fisheries Partnership...

DAIRY SECTOR MERGER UNDER SCRUTINY.
July 28, 2008... The planned merger between Campina and Friesland Foods, both Dutch companies active in a range of dairy product markets, raises serious competition concerns given that the two companies compete on the same dairy product markets and that it is...

DANISCO BUY OF ABITEC AUTHORISED.
July 28, 2008... The European Commission cleared, on 16 July, the acquisition of Abitec (UK) by Danisco (Denmark). Danisco is a global producer of food ingredients, in particular of emulsifiers, with production facilities worldwide. Abitec produces emulsifiers...

DDCE-DUPONT-DANISCO JV CLEARED.
July 28, 2008... The European Commission granted clearance, on 14 July, to the acquisition of joint control of DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC (DDCE-US), a newly created company constituting a joint venture, by E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (US) and...

ANIMAL HEALTH : EFSA BACKS REDUCTION IN NUMBER OF BSE TESTS.
July 28, 2008... Only one case of mad cow disease a year would go undetected in the EU15 if the age for mandatory testing were raised from 30 months today to 36 or 48 months, states the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in an opinion issued on 17 July. Its...

BIOFUELS : EU BIOFUELS TARGET UNDER PRESSURE.
July 28, 2008... For the heads of state and government of the world's eight richest nations (G8 - Germany, Canada, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, Russia and Italy), meeting in Japan on 8 July, and for members of the European Parliament,...

PLANT HEALTH : EXPERTS IN FAVOUR OF A NEW STRATEGY.
July 28, 2008... Problems have been arising with the assessment of phytosanitary risks, cracks appearing in import control procedures and there has been a poor distribution of tasks between EU member states, the European Commission and the European Food Safety...

AGRICULTURE COUNCIL : FISCHER BOEL PRESENTS SCHOOL FRUIT SCHEME.
July 28, 2008... Mariann Fischer Boel presented to the EU's agriculture ministers, on 15 July in Brussels, the programme for the free distribution of fruit and vegetables in schools, with a budget of 90 million, which she proposes to launch with the start of...

FISHERIES AGENCY MOVES TO VIGO.
July 28, 2008... The Community Fisheries Control Agency's final seat was inaugurated, on 19 July, in Vigo (Spain). Considered as the cornerstone of the EU's efforts to ensure sustainable fishing in the areas that it controls, the agency is charged with the task...

FISHERIES : FISHERIES CONTROL AGENCY TO GET STRONGER REMIT.
July 28, 2008... The European Commission will present proposals in October 2008 to strengthen fisheries control and surveillance measures and procedures, a key section of which will strengthen the remit of the Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA),...

FOOD SAFETY : FISH TOPS LIST OF DANGEROUS FOODS.
July 28, 2008... Most of the foods alerted as dangerous by EU member states in 2007 came from the fisheries sector, such as fish contaminated with mercury or dioxins in canned fish liver, states the European Commission's annual report on the Rapid Alert System...

FRUIT & VEGETABLE : FRUIT AND VEGETABLE MARKETING STANDARDS TO BE MADE SIMPLER.
July 28, 2008... By the end of this year, specific marketing standards for fruit and vegetables in the EU - relating to size, shape and appearance - will be repealed for products intended for processing. The proposal was presented by the European Commission as...

FOODSTUFFS : LEGISLATION ON DIETARY FOODS REQUIRES CLARIFICATION.
July 28, 2008... Faced with the haphazard interpretation by member states of the EU legislation on putting dietary foods on the market, the European Commission believes that the situation needs to be clarified. It is in particular a question of clarifying the...

FISHERIES COUNCIL : MEMBER STATES ADOPT AID PLAN FOR FISHERMEN.
July 28, 2008... A breath of fresh air for European fishermen with the adoption by EU fisheries ministers, on 15 July, of an emergency aid plan of a total value of 2 billion. French Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Michel Barnier, the incumbent Council...

AGRICULTURE COUNCIL : MEMBER STATES UP IN ARMS AGAINST MODULATION OF AGRICULTURE AID.
July 28, 2008... EU agriculture ministers held their third debate, on 15 July, on proposals put forward by the European Commission as part of the Common Agricultural Policy health check'. The 27 EU member states said that a proposal relating to the transfer of...

FISHERIES COUNCIL : MINISTERS ADOPT REVISION OF FISHING POSSIBILITIES FOR 2008.(Brief article)
July 28, 2008... At the opening of their session, EU fisheries ministers, gathered in Brussels on 15 July, adopted without debate a regulation revising fishing possibilities for certain stocks for 2008. This regulation transposes into EU law the provisions...

EU/RUSSIA : MOSCOW EXTENDS EU MEAT IMPORT BAN.
July 28, 2008... "We want to create conditions allowing our country to realise its competitive potential, to make itself a good place on the international market and to protect our population against the negative consequences and excessive dependence on...

NEW PDOS AND PGIS.
July 28, 2008... The European Commission added, on 16 July, eight designations for food and agricultural products to the list of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). The new additions are Portuguese products Arroz...

NEW PDOS AND PGIS.
July 28, 2008... On 11 July, the European Commission added four agricultural and food products to the list of protected designations of origin (PDO) and protected geographical indications (PGI). The four are: the Slovak cheese Slovenska parenica' (PGI), the...

BIOFUELS : OECD REPORT BLASTS BIOFUELS AS "COSTLY AND INEFFECTIVE".
July 28, 2008... The influential Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has published a critical report on biofuel support policies, according to awhich government support in OECD countries, including 19 of the 27 EU member states, has had...

FISHERIES AID : PARIS TOLD TO REVISE KEY ELEMENT OF AID PLAN.
July 28, 2008... The European Commission cannot accept one of the key elements of the French government's plan to aid fishermen, presented in January 2008, which offers financial support to help offset the surge in diesel fuel prices. In an interview with the...

PERNOD RICARD BUY OF V&S AUTHORISED.(V&S Vin & Sprit)(Brief article)
July 28, 2008... The European Commission cleared, on 17 July, the acquisition of the Swedish state-owned company V&S Vin & Sprit (V&S) by Pernod Ricard of France, active in the production and distribution of alcoholic beverages on a worldwide basis. The...

ENVIRONMENT : UNION MOVES TO BAN SEAL PRODUCTS.(Brief article)
July 28, 2008... The European Commission adopted, on 23 July, a proposal for a regulation banning the trade of products derived from seals (skin, fat and meat) within, into and from the European Union to ensure that such products derived from seals killed and...

FISHERIES POLICY : URGENT AID PACKAGE SATISFIES SECTOR.
July 28, 2008... Europeche, the EU association of national organisations of fisheries enterprises, welcomes with relief the Fisheries Council's adoption, on 15 July, of a package of urgent measures to help the sector cope with the crisis resulting from surging...

BIOTECHNOLOGY : VASSILIOU FAVOURS AUTHORISING GMO IMPORTS.
July 28, 2008... The European Health Commissioner, Androulla Vassiliou, on 15 July appealed unsuccessfully to EU agricultural ministers to give the green light to the importing of A2704-12 soy, a genetically modified organism (GMO) whose cultivation is due to...