Europe Agri articles from June 2006

Europe Agri archives from June 2006

CLASSICAL SWINE FEVER IN GERMANY.
June 2, 2006... A draft Commission Decision to review certain measures in place due to classical swine fever outbreaks in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia over the past few months was backed by the EU's Standing Committee on the Food Chain and...

OILSEEDS : COMMISSION OPPOSED TO CUT IN OLIVE OIL IMPORT TARIFFS.
June 2, 2006... The European Commission is not inclined to respond favourably to Sweden's demand for a greater opening of the EU's borders to olive oil imports in a bid to dampen high prices on the European market. Supplies to the European olive oil market...

FRUIT AND VEGETABLES : COMMISSION PREPARING REFORM OFa MARKET.
June 2, 2006... The European Commission is expected to present a proposal this autumn reforming the common market organisation (CMO) for fresh and processed fruit and vegetables. In this context, it launched an internet consultation1 on 18 May to provide...

ENVIRONMENT : COMMISSION PRESENTS NEW PLAN TO PRESERVE BIODIVERSITY.
June 2, 2006... As part of its policy framework for halting biodiversity loss by 2010, formally presented on 22 May, the European Commission has come up with an EU action plan proposing concrete measures and outlining the responsibilities of EU institutions...

AGRI-FOODS : COURT CONFIRMS GUILTY VERDICT ON ADM IN LYSINE CARTEL.
June 2, 2006... The European Court of Justice confirmed on 18 May the verdict of guilty for American agri-foods giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), which had been fined 47.3 million in 2000 for its involvement in an amino acid cartel. The Commission welcomed...

WINE : DIFFICULT NEGOTIATIONS IN PROSPECT ON WINE.
June 2, 2006... Negotiations on reform of the EU's wine regime promise to be "very difficult", perhaps "even harder" than the reform of the sugar regime, given the "great cultural sensitivity" of the subject among the member states, Agriculture Commissioner...

WESTERN SAHARA : EU/MOROCCO FISHING PACT APPROVED, DESPITE HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNS.
June 2, 2006... The controversial Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the EU and Morocco was endorsed by the Council in a Regulation on 22 May, marking the final stage of its passage through the EU institutions. 1 June 2006 is scheduled as the start...

ANIMAL & PUBLIC HEALTH : EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT SEALS REVIEW OF EU LEGISLATION ON TSES.
June 2, 2006... The European Parliament in Strasbourg voted by a large majority on 17 May to endorse the review of EU legislation on combating transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). The vote in plenary confirms the agreement reached on 10 May...

FISHING INDUSTRY : EUROPECHE SHARES ITS CONCERNS WITH JOE BORG.
June 2, 2006... The European Fisheries Fund (EFF), the harmonisation of future measures in respect of non-EU Mediterranean countries, and the EU's future maritime policy will all respond to the main concerns of the European fishing industry. This was the...

HERBICIDES : EU TO BAN METHABENZTHIAZURON.
June 2, 2006... On the basis of a recommendation from the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health, the European Commission decided on 25 April not to add methabenzthiazuron, a urea-family herbicide, to the list of authorised active substances...

FARM MINISTERS AIM TO PREPARE POST 2013.
June 2, 2006... EU Agriculture Ministers are banking on training to prepare the farming sector for realities post 2013, Austria's Agriculture and Environment Minister Josef Proll indicated following a working session with his European counterparts on training,...

ORGANIC FOOD : MEMBER STATES DIVIDED OVER LABELLING OF ORGANIC FOOD.
June 2, 2006... EU Agriculture Ministers remain divided on the evolution of rules governing the marketing and labelling of organic food products. In the course of a policy debate during their Council meeting on 22 May, Ministers agreed to pursue discussions at...

AGRICULTURE : MINISTERS WANT GUIDELINES ON CO-EXISTENCE OF GM AND CONVENTIONAL CROPS.
June 2, 2006... EU Agriculture Ministers are to �insist� that the European Commission, despite its reluctance to do so, compile a set of EU guidelines for implementing practical co-existence measures between genetically-modified and conventional...

NEW BIRD FLU CASE IN DENMARK.
June 2, 2006... The Danish authorities confirmed an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza on 18 May on a backyard poultry farm on the island of Funen and have notified the European Commission accordingly. Samples are being sent to the Community...

POULTRY : NO AID FOR POULTRY INDUSTRY FOR SEVERAL WEEKS.
June 2, 2006... The funding of market support measures in the poultry sector was discussed on 17 May by national and Commission experts sitting on the EU Eggs and Poultry Management Committee. However, in the absence of formal requests from individual member...

NATURAL DISASTERS : PARLIAMENT WANTS A GENUINE EUROPEAN BATTLE PLAN.
June 2, 2006... The European Parliament's response to the apparently growing number of natural disasters ever year (e.g. floods, drought, fires) is to call for a genuine European strategy to combat natural disasters. By adopting the report by Gerardo Galeote...

EU/RUSSIA : POLAND SEEKS EU SUPPORT IN STAND-OFF WITH RUSSIA.
June 2, 2006... Bogged down in a dispute with Moscow over animal, public and plant health issues since November, Poland sought support from its EU partners at the Farm Council on 22 May to find a settlement to the crisis and ensure the rapid lifting of the...

POULTRY : POULTRY MARKET GETTING BACK TO NORMAL.
June 2, 2006... The poultry market has recovered its poise in spite of recent announcements of confirmed cases of the H5N1 avian influenza virus at several European farms. After falling by between 30 and 60% in certain member states, consumption figures and...

EU/WTO : PRESSURE MOUNTING ON WASHINGTON.
June 2, 2006... With just a few weeks to go to hammer out the bases for an agreement on the Doha Round, the EU and G20 countries are applying increasing pressure on the United States to make concessions on agricultural subsidies in order to permit a...

ENVIRONMENT : PROPOSAL FOR A COHERENT SOIL PROTECTION POLICY.
June 2, 2006... Taking account of soil degradation, identifying the causes, ensuring its restoration and drawing up a genuine prevention policy are the principal objective of the thematic strategy on soil protection which the European Commission is due to...

ROMANIAN BIRD FLU BAN WIDENED.
June 2, 2006... An EU ban on imports of live poultry, poultry meat and poultry products from some parts of Romania will be widened. A Commission proposal to this effect was endorsed on 16 May by the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health. The...

CONSULTATION : SOME CHRISTMAS CHEER FOR EU FISHERIES MINISTERS?
June 2, 2006... Mid-December is a time that has become synonymous, at least in the minds of Fisheries Ministers, with an annual punishing, late-night bargaining in Council to set the Total Allowable Catches, and quotas for the following year. A partial...

FARM COUNCIL : THE FUTURE OF THE WTO NEGOTIATIONS IS NOT IN THE EU'S HANDS.
June 2, 2006... In the WTO Doha Round of trade talks, 'the EU has already made concessions while other partners have not. It is difficult for the US to move at the moment, but they must do so. It is not incumbent on Europe to take the process forward'. That,...

FISHERIES : TRANSPARENCY THE BYWORD FOR SCIENTIFIC EXPERTS.
June 2, 2006... As a pilot exercise, the forthcoming meeting of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) on mixed fisheries and fishing effort regimes in recovery and management plans, on 5-9 June 2006, will be open to members of...

FISH COUNCIL : WATERY BUT HOPEFULLY SHALLOW GRAVE FOR LATEST ATTEMPT ON FISHERIES FUND.(Josef Proll)
June 2, 2006... Questions regarding the purpose and ethics of subsidies loomed large on Monday night, as EU Ministers failed for the second time to reach agreement on the European Fisheries Fund to govern future financial support to the fishing industry. ...

POULTRY : 13 MEMBER STATES LOOK TO THE EU FOR POULTRY INDUSTRY AID.
June 16, 2006... By the end of May, thirteen member states had filed requests to benefit from the support regime for the poultry sector agreed by EU Agriculture Ministers on 25 April in Luxembourg. France and Italy have requested EU funding of 40 and 51.1...

BENELUX FOOD SECTOR MERGER.
June 16, 2006... The European Commission announced on 31 May that it has cleared plans by Luxembourg-based equity investors CVC to take over Bocchi of the Netherlands and De Weide Blik of Belgium, both active in the import, production and wholesale of fruit and...

HEALTH : BIRD FLU CONTAMINATION THROUGH BATHING HIGHLY UNLIKELY.
June 16, 2006... The risk of catching the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus from bathing in Europe's lakes, rivers and seas this summer is virtually nil, according to a report published on 9 June by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and...

ALCOHOL : COMMISSION ORDERS SLOVAK SPIRITS PRODUCER TO REPAY STATE AID.
June 16, 2006... The European Commission decided on 8 June that a write-off of tax debt of SKK416.5 million ( 11 million) to Frucona Ko ice, a.s., formerly one of the major producers of spirits in Slovakia, constituted illegal state aid. In order to redress the...

FLAX AND HEMP : CONSENSUS ON ROLLING OVER FLAX AND HEMP AID.(Brief article)
June 16, 2006... Processing aid for flax andahemp grown for fibre is to be maintained for the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 marketing years. General consensus was reached on the European Commission's 16 May proposal at the meeting of experts from member states held...

FOOD LAW : COUNCIL UPDATES LEGISLATION ON ADDITIVES.
June 16, 2006... The EU member states adopted a Directive on 2 June amending legislation on additives other than colourings and sweeteners used in food and the Directive on sweeteners. (1) The Council accepted a series of amendments negotiated with Members of...

FAST FOOD : CVC GETS GREEN LIGHT TO ACQUIRE TELE PIZZA.
June 16, 2006... The European Commission announced on 6 June that it has cleared the proposed acquisition of sole control of Tele Pizza, a Spanish company active in the fast food sector, by Jersey-based investment fund management specialist CVC Capital Partners...

ALCOHOL : EU LOOKS AT CONSUMPTION AMONG EUROPEANS.
June 16, 2006... Europeans are the world's leading consumers of alcohol and their drinking habits are becoming more and more similar from one country to the next. Europeans consume on average 15 litres of alcohol per year. In the EU-15, 40 million individuals...

EUROPABIO APPOINTMENTS.
June 16, 2006... At its Annual General Assembly on 30 May, the European Association of Bioindustries (EuropaBio) elected Philippe Archinard, CEO of Transgene, as chair of its Emerging Enterprise Council, to replace Philippe Pouletty, from France Biotech....

GERMAN SWINE FEVER RESTRICTIONS RELAXED.
June 16, 2006... Measures to stop the spread of classical swine fever in the German Land of North Rhine-Westphalia are to be adjusted following advice from the EU's Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health. Animal welfare concerns mean that...

AGRI-FOODS INDUSTRY : GREEN LIGHT FOR LACTOSE JOINT VENTURE.
June 16, 2006... The European Commission announced on 2 June that it has cleared plans by dairy groups Campina of the Netherlands and Fonterra of New Zealand to set up a pharmaceutical-grade lactose joint venture. Campina is an international cooperative...

COMMODITIES : HIGH AND VOLATILE FOOD PRICES IN THE MONTHS TO COME.
June 16, 2006... Recent months have seen commodity markets as a whole becoming more volatile with a steady upward trend in prices, according to the June edition of FAO's Food Outlook report published on 8 June. "Amid political uncertainties and surging...

TIMBER INDUSTRY : INDUSTRY CONDEMNS ILLEGAL LOGGING AND TRADE IN TIMBER.
June 16, 2006... The International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA) has announced the signing of a historic agreement by the worldwide timber industry on the sustainable development of forests. A leadership statement on sustainability was signed...

ENERGY COUNCIL : MEMBER STATES KEEN TO ENCOURAGE USE OF BIOMASS.
June 16, 2006... The Energy Council on 8 June adopted conclusions on the action plan on biomass presented by the European Commission on 9 December 2005. The aim is to promote sustainable use of biomass under economically viable conditions in three areas:...

NEW BIRD FLU CASE IN HUNGARY.
June 16, 2006... The Hungarian authorities informed the European Commission on 9 June of a confirmed outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5 strain of avian influenza in a domestic flock of geese in Bacs-Kiskun, in the South of the country.aTests have still to be...

NEW FLU FINANCING FACILITY.
June 16, 2006... The European Commission and the World Bank agreed on 7 June at the International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza meeting in Vienna to a new avian flu trust fund arrangement, called the Avian and Human Influenza (AHI) Facility. The...

FISHERIES FUND : NEXT STEPS FOR THE EUROPEAN FISHERIES FUND.
June 16, 2006... After the failure of the Council of Ministers to reach agreement second time around on the proposal for a new European Fisheries Fund, the initiative has again passed to the Presidency and the European Commission. Discussions on 22 May...

BIOINDUSTRIES : ONE OF EUROPE'S MOST INNOVATIVE SECTORS IN SEARCH OF FUNDING.(Industry overview)
June 16, 2006... Europe's biotechnology project is in danger of foundering from the relative dearth of that most vital resource for innovation: money. More and more pioneering biotech firms are folding or moving over to the United States simply because they...

ROMANIAN BIRD FLU BAN.
June 16, 2006... The EU has widened an import ban on Romanian poultry and poultry products to cover the whole of the country in view of the rapid spread of the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus since the re-occurrence of bird flu there in mid-May. A European...

FISHERIES : SHARED PROBLEMS FOR FISHERMEN IN NEW HOLISTIC' APPROACH.
June 16, 2006... Speaking to MEPs on 7 June following the launch of his Green Paper on a future EU Maritime Policy, Commissioner for Fisheries Joe Borg was keen to stress his strong belief that 'fisheries can benefit from stronger integration with other...

ENVIRONMENT : STAVROS DIMAS CALLS FOR DECENT SUPPORT FOR BIOFUELS.
June 16, 2006... There is a lot of talk at the moment of the great potential for using biofuels as a means of reducing the EU's dependence on imported and increasingly expensive fossil fuels, as well as to meet climate change and agricultural policy objectives....

FISHERIES : SUSTAINABILITY THE WORD IN NEW FISHERIES PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS.
June 16, 2006... Reducing the quantity of fish being caught by EU boats operating off Greenland forms a key element of the New Fisheries Partnership Agreement initialled on 9 June between representatives from the world's largest island and the European...

TINA SOMMER / EUROPEAN SMALL BUSINESS ALLIANCE.
June 16, 2006... Following Brian A. Prime's retirement, Tina Sommer has been elected President of the European Small Business Alliance (ESBA). She had been Honorary Secretary for two years and a Member of the Board since 2002. Ms Sommer is a Director and...

EU/MERCOSUR : TRADE NEGOTIATIONS STILL DEADLOCKED.
June 16, 2006... The deadlock in Doha Round negotiations and the absence of any real progress at the EU-Latin America summit in Vienna on 12 May mean that commercial negotiations between the EU and Mercosur find themselves in limbo. The gulf separating the two...

WINE : TURNING WINE INTO BIOFUELS AS EU OPTS AGAIN FOR DISTILLATION.
June 16, 2006... France and Italy will be able, from the end of June, to use crisis distillation in order to mop up surpluses of wine that have accumulated owing to a fall in prices and rising stocks. The Wine Management Committee voted on 7 June in favour of...

EU/WTO : WHY THE DOHA ROUND IS AT A STANDSTILL.(World Trade Organization)(European Union)
June 16, 2006... As the end-of-July deadline to reach an agreement in the Doha Round approaches without any signs of progress, World Trade Organisation Director-General Pascal Lamy presented his take on the reasons for the blockage when speaking at the Economic...

AVIAN FLU : WILD BIRD SURVEILLANCE REMAINS A PRIORITY.
June 16, 2006... There is a marked decline in the number of cases of avian flu among wild birds in Europe. "Extensive surveillance for avian influenza in wild birds and poultry has been one of the key tools used by the EU to fend off the virus over the past...

FISHERIES FUND : FORMAL APPROVAL FOR EUROPEAN FISHERIES FUND.
June 30, 2006... The proposal for a European Fisheries Fund (EFF) was formally approved by the Council of Ministers on 19 June, following successful negotiations between member states a(see page 12). In line with the 2002 Common Fisheries Policy reform, it...

ENLARGEMENT : 2007 THE TARGET FOR BULGARIA AND ROMANIA'S AGRICULTURE MINISTERS.
June 30, 2006... Romania and Bulgaria's Agriculture Ministers, Gheorghe Flutur and Tahir Kabil, are confident of their respective countries' ability,abefore the end of the year, to overcome problems that might lead the European Commission to defer the date of...

FLOOD : AGREEMENT ON DRAFT DIRECTIVE ON FLOOD PREVENTION.
June 30, 2006... EU Environment Ministers took a major step forward on 27 June in Luxembourg towards establishing a coordinated mechanism at EU-level on flood prevention and management. Joined by their opposite numbers from Romania and Bulgaria - two more...

FISHERIES : AGREEMENT REACHED ON EUROPEAN FISHERIES FUND.
June 30, 2006... The European Fisheries Fund has made a rapid recovery from political limbo, as representatives of the EU member states secured political agreement on the long-stalled proposal on 13 June. During discussions in the Committee of Member...

EU/ISRAEL : AGRICULTURE AND FISHING TRADE NEGOTIATIONS COMING SOON.
June 30, 2006... Despite continued tensions over the question of the conflict in the Middle East, EU-Israeli cooperation is heading in the right direction. The sixth bilateral Association Council, held in Luxembourg on 13 June, noted the progress being made in...

AVIAN FLU : AVIAN FLU UNDER CONTROL, AID TO POULTRY FARMING ON ITS WAY.
June 30, 2006... EU Ministers of Agriculture are expected to be updated on the latest situation in relation to avian flu in Europe during the Farm Council on 19 June. The latest developments of the disease feature on the agenda at a time when a new case of the...

FISHERIES REGULATION : BETTER REGULATION FOR COMMON FISHERIES POLICY.
June 30, 2006... The European Parliament is currently developing its response to the European Commission's action plan for simplifying and improving the Common Fisheries Policy, with the Fisheries Committee adopting its report on 21 June. The action plan,...

ENERGY : BIOFUELS GAINING MOMENTUM IN THE EU.
June 30, 2006... Spiralling oil prices are clearly acting in favour of biofuels as an alternative motor fuel. No less than 3.9 million tonnes of biofuels were produced in the European Union in 2005 - a leap of 65.8% on the previous year. EurObserv'ER presents...

RESEARCH : BIOFUELS TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM LAUNCHED.
June 30, 2006... The biofuels industry - in the broad sense - and the European Commission officially launched a new technology platform on biofuels on 8 June in Brussels. The aim is to advance technology on efficient and cost-effective production of fuels of...

NORTH SEA : COMMERCIAL FISHING OF NORTH SEA SANDEELS RE-OPENED.
June 30, 2006... An estimated 324,000 million sandeels joined the North Sea stock last year, leading the European Commission to adopt a Regulation on 19 June setting a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for 2006 of 300,000 tonnes. The data on the stock increase...

FARM COUNCIL : COMMISSION ACCUSED OF BACKPEDALLING ON AID TO POULTRY INDUSTRY.
June 30, 2006... EU Agriculture Ministers were given a sneak preview of the support programme for the beleaguered poultry industry which the European Commission unveiled on 21 June when the subject was brought up during the Farm Council in Luxembourg on 19...

FOREST : COMMISSION ADOPTS AN EU FOREST ACTION PLAN.
June 30, 2006... The European Commission has underlined its commitment to sustainable forest management, the aim of the 1998 EU Forestry Strategy, by adopting, on 15 June, an 18-point EU Forest action plan. The plan, designed to cover a period of five years...

WINE : COMMISSION CALLS FOR RADICAL REFORM OF WINE SECTOR REGIME.
June 30, 2006... Determined to ensure the European wine industry is in a position to successfully address the numerous challenges it faces, the European Commission has proposed a profound overhaul of the common market organisation governing the sector as early...

FISHERIES POLICY : COMMISSIONER BORG SETS OUT 2007 AGENDA.
June 30, 2006... MEPs in the European Parliament's Fisheries Committee were given the chance to question Commissioner Joe Borg on 21 June, as he gave a breakdown of his priorities for 2007. One of these, he plans, will be the implementation of new common...

FOOD SAFETY : COMMISSION REVIEWS PRIORITIES IN LIGHT OF HEALTH BUDGET CUTS.
June 30, 2006... European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection Markos Kyprianou outlined his priorities on public health and food safety for 2007 to the European Parliament's Committee on the Environment and Public Health on 20 June. The food...

CONTROVERSIAL APPOINTMENTS.
June 30, 2006... The European Consumers' Organisation BEUC has criticised the appointment of seven new members "with a strong interest in the food chain" to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Management Board. BEUC points out that Article 25 of the EFSA...

WINE : CRISIS DISTILLATION IN SPAIN AND GREECE POINTS UP NEED FOR REFORM.
June 30, 2006... The EU's Wine Management Committee voted on 23 June on proposals from the European Commission to open crisis distillation of wine in Spain and Greece in an effort to rebalance the wine market. The volumes concerned in this latest operation to...

EU/MADAGASCAR : DEAL REACHED ON ANOTHER FISHERIES PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT.
June 30, 2006... The EU's policy of transforming all existing fishing pacts with third countries into Fisheries Partnership Agreements continues apace, with the conclusion of a new FPA with Madagascar on 26 June. European fishermen will be permitted to...

EGG MARKETING STANDARDS UPDATED.
June 30, 2006... EU Agriculture Ministers adopted a Regulation on 19 June laying down new conditions for marketing (within the EU) eggs produced in the EU or imported from third countries. The new legislation, which replaces Regulation 1907/90/EEC,...

TUNA CONVENTION : EU RATIFIES CONVENTION TO PROTECT EASTERN PACIFIC TUNA.(Brief article)
June 30, 2006... The EU's ratification of the Antigua Convention on the strengthening of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) earlier this month was welcomed by European Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg on 19 June, who stated his hope that the new...

POULTRY : EURO 100 TO 130 MILLION AID FOR THE POULTRY SECTOR.
June 30, 2006... Aid to help the poultry industry get through the avian influenza-induced crisis, half of which will be drawn from the EU budget, will not exceed 130 million. It will focus on "upstream" measures, i.e. those which aim to temporarily reduce...

EUROPEAN FOOD SAFETY AUTHORITY.
June 30, 2006... The Council has appointed seven new members to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Management Board, to replace seven others whose term of office ends on 30 June 2006. The appointed members are: Peter Gaemelke (President of the Danish...

PHARMACOVIGILANCE : EU TIGHTENS UP HEALTH WARNINGS FOR VET DRUG TILMICOSIN.
June 30, 2006... Two farmers in America have died from accidentally self-injecting the veterinary drug Tilmicosin while treating their cows. These incidents have prompted the European Commission to tighten up the rules for its use in the EU. Tilmicosin is sold...

ANTI-DUMPING : EU TO BE INVESTIGATED OVER NORWEGIAN SALMON PRICES.
June 30, 2006... The World Trade Organisation is to investigate anti-dumping measures slapped on imports of Norwegian salmon by the European Union, following a decision by its Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) on 22 June. A panel will now be set up to...

EU/OECD : EU TO GAIN FROM FURTHER CUT IN AGRICULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL AID.
June 30, 2006... On the eve of the Doha Round Ministerial Meeting scheduled for 29 June-2 July in Geneva which will focus on the controversial issues of reducing farm subsidies and cutting tariffs on industrial products, the Organisation for Economic...

FISH PRODUCTS : EU-WIDE SCHEME FOR ECO-LABELLING NEEDS HARD THINKING, SAY MEPS.
June 30, 2006... The European Parliament's contribution to the debate initiated by the Commission on eco-labelling schemes for fish products got underway on 21 June, with the Fisheries Committee adopting its opinion through an own-initiative report by Carmen...

WINE : EU WINE REFORM PLAN COMES UNDER FIRE FROM GROWERS.
June 30, 2006... Proposals to reform the wine sector regime tabled by the European Commission on 22 June (see article page 1) were welcomed somewhat coolly by wine growers and some of the producer member states. Even the French Agriculture Minister, who prior...

BALTIC SEA : EXPERTS CALL FOR FREEZE ON COD FISHING IN THE EASTERN BALTIC.
June 30, 2006... Stocks of cod in the Eastern part of the Baltic Sea have reached such low levels that a zero catch policy should be introduced by the EU for 2007, advise marine scientists at the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea in a report...

FRENCH ON THE ATTACK OVER ANIMAL WELFARE.
June 30, 2006... French Agriculture Minister Dominique Bussereau arrived at the Farm Council in Luxembourg on 19 June with a new offensive up his sleeve against any decision that might strengthen farm-bred animal welfare standards. Mr Bussereau has made no...

STATE AID : HIGHER CEILING PLANNED FOR DE MINIMIS AID.
June 30, 2006... The limit on small sums of state subsidy available to the fisheries sector under the de minimisa rule stands to increase from 2007, according to the provisions of a draft Regulation put forward by the Commission on 22 June. Under these...

FISHERIES : MEPS AGREE WITH BETTER REGULATION ON DATA-REPORTING.
June 30, 2006... Measures intended to reduce the workload of national authorities collecting and reporting fisheries data were endorsed by the European Parliament in Strasbourg last week, when it voted in favour of a draft Regulation on the subject. Under...

EU/WTO : MOMENT OF TRUTH FOR THE DOHA ROUND.
June 30, 2006... The day after the EU-United States summit, which resurrected hopes of a breakthrough on the Doha Round, all eyes are now turning to the crucial Ministerial Meeting at the end of the month in Geneva. Consultations at the World Trade Organisation...