Europe Agri articles from March 2009

Europe Agri archives from March 2009

SEAL PRODUCTS : CANADA AND GREENLAND PROTEST EP VOTE ON IMPORT BAN.
March 13, 2009... Canada and Greenland have expressed disappointment at the vote by the European Parliament's Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection to ban imports of seal products. Canada repeated a threat to take legal action against the European...

CAP REFORM.(La reforme de la PAC au-dela de 2013 - Une vision a plus long terme)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 13, 2009... The French think tank Notre Europe has published a study that reviews 'with no taboos' the long-term objectives of the Common Agricultural Policy, over and above the European Commission's proposals under the health check'. The authors...

FOODSTUFFS : CEREAL AND CHEESE: EU TO RESTRICT NUTRITIONAL CLAIMS.
March 13, 2009... The European Commission is expected to come forward soon with a final version of the nutritional profiles that will serve as a framework for the health claims used widely by the food industry. The impact study that will accompany the text...

FOOD : COMMISSION COMPROMISES ON NUTRITIONAL PROFILES TO SEAL AGREEMENT.(Brief article)
March 13, 2009... By making concessions on agricultural products (fruit and vegetables, meat and milk) and traditional products, particularly for Germany (salt levels in bread) and France (cheese), and allowing them to vaunt their nutritional merits to consumers...

EU/US : COMMISSION SET TO IMPOSE ANTI-DUMPING DUTY ON BIODIESEL.
March 13, 2009... A decision to impose anti-dumping duties on US biodiesel exports to the EU is expected to be taken by the European Commission. An announcement would be made on 12 March, a Commission spokesman told Europolitics, on 25 February. While he would...

DECISION ON GM MAIZE POSTPONED.
March 13, 2009... The EU Regulatory Committee of Directive 2001/18/EC on the deliberate release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into the environment voted, on 25 February, on two European Commission proposals that were transmitted on 21 January and...

DOHA ROUND: EU STILL HOPEFUL.(Brief article)
March 13, 2009... European officials believe a series of events over the next few weeks could be crucial to deciding the fate of the Doha Round of world trade talks, as EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton prepares to visit Washington for first talks with the...

EBIO CO-FOUNDS GLOBAL ALLIANCE.
March 13, 2009... The European biofuels industry association eBIO has jointly founded the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) together with its Canadian and US counterparts. The GRFA, representing companies producing over 60% of global biofuels from 29...

FISHERIES POLICY : ECJ CONDEMNS FRANCE OVER THONAILLE' NETS.
March 13, 2009... The use of drift nets is indeed prohibited, confirmed the EU Court of Justice with its ruling of 5 March (Case C-556/07). The court dismissed the proceedings brought by France for annulment of Council Regulation 809/2007, which bans the use of...

SEAL PRODUCTS : EP COMMITTEE VOTES TO TIGHTEN PROPOSED BAN.
March 13, 2009... The EU could be on course for a legal battle with Canada and Greenland after a key European Parliament committee has overwhelmingly backed a sweeping ban on imports of seal products. The EP's Committee on Internal Market and Consumer...

EU STANCE ON COMMERCIAL WHALING.
March 13, 2009... The EU is to plead in favour of maintaining the moratorium imposed in 1986 by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) on commercial whaling, as provided by the negotiation mandate issued to the European Commission, on 2 March, by the...

ENVIRONMENT COUNCIL : GMOS: CHECK AND MATE.(genetically modified organisms)
March 13, 2009... The suspense surrounding the possible dismissal of the three safety clauses banning the cultivation of genetically modified maize, Zea mays L. line MON 810, in Austria and Hungary and Zea mays L line T25 in Austria only lasted a few minutes, on...

BIOTECHNOLOGY : GMOS: COHN-BENDIT THREATENS BARROSO WITH MOTION OF NO CONFIDENCE.
March 13, 2009... The pro-GMO stance taken by the president of the European Commission is irritating Green MEP Daniel Cohn-Bendit to the highest degree. In a letter co-signed by his colleague, Monica Frassoni, he threatens Jose Manuel Barroso with a motion of no...

NOVEL FOODS : MEMBER STATES PROPOSE LIMITING CONTROL OF CLONING.
March 13, 2009... EU member states are expected to propose to MEPs the inclusion of clones and their direct descendants only in the future regulation on the placing on the market of novel foods, with a view to reaching an agreement at first reading, before the...

ANIMAL WELFARE : MINISTERS CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL DECLARATION.
March 13, 2009... EU agriculture ministers should adopt, without debate, during their next monthly meeting in Brussels, on 23 March, conclusions calling for an international declaration on animal welfare to be worked out. Such a commitment would, they hope, help...

ANIMAL FEED : NEW DEROGATION TO ZERO TOLERANCE' APPROACH.
March 13, 2009... The European Commission decided, on 26 February, to extend to all feed materials of plant origin (for example rabbit or mice bones) the existing derogation to the zero tolerance' principle in case of the detection of bone fragments due to an...

OILSEEDS : NEW LABELLING RULES FOR OLIVE OIL.
March 13, 2009... The European Commission definitively adopted, on 6 March, a regulation making it compulsory to label the origin of virgin and extra virgin olive oil. This measure, which aims to prevent consumers from being misled, will enter into force on 1...

PUBLIC HEALTH : NEW RULES APPLY TO ANIMAL PRODUCTS FROM NON-EU COUNTRIES.
March 13, 2009... New rules will be applied as of 1 May concerning the introduction of animal products into the EU by travellers. Some of these products, which may be in luggage or sent by post, can in fact be carriers of animal diseases that threaten European...

BIOTECHNOLOGY : NO DEBATE ON GMOS AT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT.(genetically modified organisms)(Brief article)
March 13, 2009... Socialist and Green MEPs did not manage to secure the holding of a debate on GMOs during the European Parliament's plenary session from 9 to 12 March. The offensive launched by Green MEPs Daniel Cohen Bendit and Monica Frassoni against the...

FOODSTUFFS : PARLIAMENT PROPOSES EUROPEAN QUALITY AGENCY.
March 13, 2009... In an own-initiative report fostering the greater promotion of the quality of foodstuffs produced in the EU, adopted on 10 March by the European Parliament, Maria Petre (EPP-ED, Romania) recommends the creation of a European quality agency'....

SUGAR : RESTRUCTURING PLAN "A SUCCESS".(Brief article)
March 13, 2009... "I am pleased to say that the sugar reform has been a success," said Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel, adding that she was highly satisfied with the results of the 2006-2009 restructuring programme for the industry, which has...

ENVIRONMENT : SOIL PROTECTION HELPS MITIGATE CLIMATE CHANGE, SAYS REPORT.
March 13, 2009... European soils are a gigantic carbon reservoir, containing around 75 billion tonnes. Managing them poorly could have serious consequences in terms of climate change impact, notes the European Commission in a report published on 5 March. The new...

BLUEFIN TUNA : TRANSPOSITION OF REVISED ICCAT RECOVERY PLAN "CRUCIAL".
March 13, 2009... Further cuts in quotas and the length of fishing seasons, as well as reductions in both fishing and fish farming capacity are the key elements of the revised multiannual recovery plan for Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna adopted...

CARLA MONTESI/EC.(Brief article)
March 27, 2009... Carla Montesi has been appointed director for the Mediterranean and the Black Sea in the Fisheries and Maritime Affairs DG of the European Commission. The role had been filled by John Mallett on an acting basis. Montesi was previously head of...

CERTIFICATION SCHEMES FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.
March 27, 2009... The European Commission launched, on 17 March, a call for tender for a project Inventory of certification schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs marketed in the EU member states'. The aim of this project is to put in place an...

CHALLENGE OF THE ECONOMIC CRISIS.
March 27, 2009... The EU agriculture ministers discussed on 23 March in Brussels the consequences of the economic and financial crisis. "Only a short time ago, record cereals prices in 2006-2007 pushed farmers' earnings to record levels. Recently, a new...

CEREALS : COMMISSION EXPECTS CEREALS MARKET TO STABILISE.
March 27, 2009... The European Commission estimates that the EU cereals harvest will amount to 293.4 million tonnes (mt) in 2010, a decline of 19.4 mt compared with last year. With consumption set to be moderate and exports to decline, the Commission expects...

COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY : COMMISSION PLANS TO GREEN' DG AGRI AND SIMPLIFY CAP.
March 27, 2009... Too much paperwork and too distant: the most flagrant flaws of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) are in the European Commission's sights. It promises to correct them in a communication on simplification of the CAP, presented on 18 March....

FISHERIES POLICY : COMMUNITY CONTROL AGENCY ISSUES POSITIVE ANNUAL REPORT.
March 27, 2009... Despite limited resources, the Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA) has provided a positive assessment of its 2008 activities. In its first annual report(1), adopted by the Administrative Board, on 19 March, the agency specifies that it...

EP APPROVES BLUEFIN TUNA RECOVERY PLAN.(European Parliament)(Brief article)
March 27, 2009... The European Parliament approved, on 12 March, a draft regulation presented by the European Commission on the revised multiannual plan for bluefin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. The regulation transposes into EU law the...

FISHERIES POLICY : EU ADOPTS NEGOTIATING POSITION FOR TUNA TALKS.
March 27, 2009... On 23 March, the Council of the European Union adopted, without debate, a decision on the position to be taken in the framework of the 13th meeting of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), to be held from 30 March to 3 April. On this...

MEDITERRANEAN FISHERIES : EU AIMS TO MAKE GFCM FULLY OPERATIONAL.
March 27, 2009... The European Commission has the ambition of giving the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) a major boost and making it fully operational. It plans to present a set of proposals along these lines at the GFCM's annual...

AGRICULTURAL FUNDS : EU TO RECOVER 126.7 MN EURO IN CAP EXPENDITURE.(european union)(Brief article)
March 27, 2009... A number of member states will have to pay back into the EU budget a total of 126.7 million corresponding to irregular expenditure under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). A decision to that effect was adopted by the European Commission, on...

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS : EU TO REVISE QUALITY POLICY SYSTEM.
March 27, 2009... The European Commission will present, on 27 May, a communication setting strategic guidelines for agricultural product quality policy, with a view to coming forward with legislative proposals in 2010. It confirmed its intention, on 13 March,...

FISCHER BOEL DECORATED IN FRANCE.
March 27, 2009... Mariann Fischer Boel, the EU commissioner for agriculture and rural development, was named Commander of the Order of Agricultural Merit, on 17 March in Paris, by French Agriculture Minister Michel Barnier. The National Order of Agricultural...

AGRICULTURE COUNCIL : FISCHER BOEL STICKS WITH DAIRY POLICY.
March 27, 2009... Faced with the collapse of milk prices, several member states, in particular France and Germany, called for changes to the European milk policy during the EU's Agriculture Council, on 23 March in Brussels. But the European Commission, while...

EU/RUSSIA : GREEN LIGHT FOR COOPERATION AGREEMENT ON BALTIC SEA FISHERIES.
March 27, 2009... The EU's Council of Ministers adopted, on 23 March, a regulation formalising the agreement reached between the European Community and the Russian Federation on cooperation in the fisheries sector and the conservation of marine living resources...

AGRICULTURE COUNCIL : MEMBER STATES STRESS IMPORTANCE OF ANIMAL WELFARE.
March 27, 2009... It is important to achieve worldwide recognition of the need for animal welfare as an issue of common interest, underline the conclusions adopted by the Agriculture Council of 23 March concerning a Universal declaration on animal welfare'. The...

ANIMAL WELFARE : MEPS BACK RELIGIOUS RIGHTS DURING ANIMAL SLAUGHTER.
March 27, 2009... MEPs did not avoid the thorny debate on ritual slaughter, practiced by Jews and Muslims, during their discussions on animal welfare rules at the time of slaughter. By approving, on 17 March, a consultation report by Janusz Wojciechowski (UEN,...

FISHERIES POLICY : NEW RECOVERY PLAN FOR NORTHERN HAKE.
March 27, 2009... With its adoption, on 17 March, of a draft regulation establishing a new long-term plan to improve the state of the northern hake stock in EU waters(1), the European Commission hopes to bring this stock up to its maximum sustainable yield...

WINE : ONLY NON-BLENDED ROSE WINE QUALIFIES AS TRADITIONAL'.
March 27, 2009... The European Commission agreed, on 24 March, to give viticulturists who produce rose wine traditionally, ie not simply by blending red and white wines together, the possibility to use the term traditional' on their labels. It refused, on the...

RECOVERY PLAN FOR GREENLAND HALIBUT.(Brief article)
March 27, 2009... The European Commission proposed, on 19 March, a regulation transposing into Community law the amendments made in 2007 to the recovery plan for Greenland halibut adopted by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO). The amendments...

AGRICULTURAL POLICY : REPORT EXAMINES MID-TERM PROSPECTS FOR EU AGRI MARKETS.
March 27, 2009... Aareport, published on 17 March by the European Commission, provides an outlook for agricultural commodities in the EU over the 2008-2015 period, based on information available at the end of January 2009. As such, the medium-term prospects...

EU/US : SIGNS OF APPEASEMENT IN HORMONE-TREATED BEEF ROW.
March 27, 2009... In contacts launched in late February with the US administration, the European Commission has convinced Washington to postpone for a month the introduction of taxes on additional European products in retaliation for the embargo on...

AGRICULTURE COUNCIL : SUGAR PRODUCERS MUST CONTRIBUTE RIGHT TO THE END.
March 27, 2009... During the EU Agriculture Council, held on 23 March in Brussels, the European Commission rejected a request by Germany - supported by several other member states - aimed at the suspension this year of the second phase of the sugar industry's...

PHYTOSANITARY PRODUCTS : TWO-THIRDS OF OLDEST PESTICIDES PULLED OFF MARKET.
March 27, 2009... The European Commission completed, on 12 March, its work of reviewing the active substances placed on the market before 1993 and used to manufacture phytosanitary products (pesticides). Of the 1,000 molecules reviewed, only 250 passed the...