Europe Agri articles from May 2008

Europe Agri archives from May 2008

EU/UN : BIOENERGY AND BIODIVERSITY ON BONN CONFERENCE AGENDA.(Conference news)(Calendar)
May 19, 2008... The question of the production and use of biomass as a source of energy and the potential risks to biological diversity from fast growth in this sector will be one of the main thrusts of the Ninth Conference of Parties to the United Nations...

FOODSTUFFS : ADDITIVES, ENZYMES AND FLAVOURINGS: EP WANTS MORE GUARANTEES.
May 19, 2008... The European Parliament's Committee on Health adopted the foodstuffs package', at second reading, on 6 May, by reintroducing amendments to clarify the new procedure for the European authorisation of food additives, enzymes and flavourings and...

ALERT ON UKRAINIAN SUNFLOWER OIL.(Brief article)
May 19, 2008... A total of 40,000 tonnes of sunflower oil from Ukraine shipped to the EU have been purposely contaminated with hydrocarbons, specified, on 28 April, the European Commission, which was awaiting further information from Kiev. "Mineral oil was...

BIODIVERSITY : BETTER PROTECTION FOR CONSERVATION VARIETIES OF AGRICULTURAL SEEDS.
May 19, 2008... On 17 April, European experts adopted a directive specifying new provisions to protect hereditary varieties and varieties which have been naturally adapted to local and regional conditions threatened by genetic erosion. This text concerns...

2009 BUDGET : BUDGET FOR GROWTH STILL GOES BEFORE AGRICULTURE IN 2009.
May 19, 2008... For the second consecutive year, the Barroso Commission proposes granting the largest part of the Union's 2009 budget to growth and employment (45%), just above agricultural expenditure (43%). The new political priorities in line with the...

EU/US : COMMISSION BENDS TO US PRESSURE ON CHLORINATED CHICKEN.
May 19, 2008... The European Commission agreed, on 13 May, at the Transatlantic Economic Council, to work out a solution to the dispute between the EU and the United States over the use of certain chemical substances to disinfect chicken. In spite of the...

FISHERIES POLICY : COMMISSION PROPOSES MULTIANNUAL PLAN FOR HERRING.
May 19, 2008... The European Commission, continuing its drive to switch from annual management to multiannual management of threatened fish stocks, presented, on 6 May, a proposal for a regulation for the management of herring fisheries to the West of...

PESTICIDE : COMMISSION REBUTS CRITICISM BY INDUSTRY.
May 19, 2008... In a note addressed to the EU27, the European Commission firmly defends its proposal for a regulation relating to the marketing of phytopharmaceutical products. While the Slovenian Presidency of the EU was hoping to obtain a compromise during a...

BIOTECHNOLOGY : COMMISSION STRIVES TO HOLD THE LINE ON GMOS.(genetically modified organisms)
May 19, 2008... Forced by an increasingly contradictory debate, particularly at member state level, between pro and anti-GMO states, the European Commission took stock of this subject which it admits is complex. During a debate in their meeting, on 7 May, the...

COMPLAINT AGAINST US BIODIESEL.
May 19, 2008... An American mix called B99', containing 99% biodiesel, can benefit from subsidies of around 200 per tonne in the USA. Once this mix is exported to the EU, it is then eligible for EU subsidies. This is what urged the European biodiesel...

DOHA ROUND : CRUCIAL WTO MINISTERIAL MEETING DELAYED.
May 19, 2008... The calendar of the World Trade Organisation's Doha Round international trade negotiations is slipping again as a key ministerial meeting scheduled for May with the view of unlocking the talks has now been postponed. The crucial negotiating...

BIOFUELS : DEEP DIVISIONS REMAIN IN COUNCIL ON SUSTAINABILITY.
May 19, 2008... The Council's ad hoc working party on sustainability criteria for biofuels was unable to iron out major differences at its 5 May meeting, just before the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) takes up the issue, on 7 May. The...

COTTON : EP REQUESTS ADAPTATION OF COTTON REGIME.
May 19, 2008... The aid schemes for the cultivation of cotton introduced in 2004 should be adapted to allow for greater flexibility in member states and maintain this cultivation, which is especially important for countries like Greece and Spain. This is the...

EU-JAPAN SUMMIT : EU AND TOKYO CALL FOR URGENT RESPONSE TO FOOD CRISIS.
May 19, 2008... EU and Japanese leaders expressed their "strong concern" at the rising food prices and called for urgent global action to alleviate the plight of the people in the developing world, on 23 April in Tokyo. During their annual summit, the EU and...

BIOCIDES : EU CONSIDERING BANNING CREOSOTE.(Brief article)
May 19, 2008... The European Commission has launched an online public consultation(1) to collect evidence about the potential consequences of a possible phase-out of creosote, a widely used wood preservative. This product is part of a list of substances that...

EU LOOKS TO BOOST FOOD PRODUCTION.
May 19, 2008... In response to the dramatic increase in world food prices, the European Commission wants to boost the Union's agricultural production. This is the first priority of the College, which held an orientation debate on this burning issue, on 7 May,...

BIOFUELS : EU POLICY DRAWS FURTHER CRITICISM.
May 19, 2008... The EU's biofuels policy suffered a series of further setbacks, on 22 April, following a debate in the European Parliament, a new report on biofuels sustainability schemes and a possible turn-around in UK support for the Union's 10% target....

ANIMAL HEALTH : EU QUIETLY TURNS PAGE ON MAD COW DISEASE.
May 19, 2008... The progressive reintroduction of bone meal and the relaxation of the rules on the removal rules for hazardous materials signal the European Union's intention to progressively rescind the measures introduced in 2000 and 2001 to contain the...

FOOD : FRANCE AND BRITAIN DISAGREE ON FOOD CRISIS.
May 19, 2008... At the meeting of EU finance ministers, on 14 May in Brussels, France and Britain expressed diverging views over the conclusions to be drawn for the Common Agricultural Policy from the food crisis and agricultural price hikes. French Economy...

FISHERIES AND MARITIME POLICY : JOE BORG PRESENTS PRIORITIES FOR 2009 TO MEPS.
May 19, 2008... A revamping of the common organisation of fisheries and aquaculture markets, the creation of a European maritime observatory and data network and stricter monitoring of fisheries are among the priorities of the annual policy strategy for 2009...

BIOTECHNOLOGY : MEPS CALL INTO QUESTION EU'S ZERO TOLERANCE STANCE ON GMOS.(genetically modified organisms )
May 19, 2008... The European Parliament proved once again to be divided over the future of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), with certain MEPs denouncing the negative impact on Community stock farms of the European Commission's policy of zero tolerance of...

SPANISH RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES APPROVED.
May 19, 2008... The Rural Development Committee approved, on 23 April, the rural development programmes presented by four Spanish regions for the 2007-2013 financing period. These programmes aim to maintain infrastructures, create new sources of revenue for...

THE FOOD PRODUCTION CHALLENGE.
May 19, 2008... The EU and major international donors need to rethink their strategy if they want to address the global food crisis. The UN's Special Advisor, Jeffrey Sachs, "urged" the EU to provide direct support to poor African farmers in order to boost...

TOBACCO FRAUD UNCOVERED.
May 19, 2008... A fraud scheme concerning a request for payment of EU agricultural subsidies for more than 900,000 tonnes of fictional raw tobacco was discovered by the Italian police with the support of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). The Italian...

DOHA ROUND : WTO TRADE TALKS AT CRITICAL JUNCTURE.
May 19, 2008... The weeks ahead will be decisive for the future of the Doha Round of World Trade Organisation negotiations. After a standstill of almost two years, multilateral trade talks have recently gained new momentum in Geneva where key WTO members are...

BRAZILIAN BEEF BREEDERS PLANNING FULL-FLEDGED RETURN TO EU MARKETS.
May 29, 2008... The victory of Irish farmers, who, since the start of the year, have obtained from the European Commission the partial closure of the EU's borders to Brazilian beef for sanitary reasons, risks being short-lived. Equipped with spectacular assets...

CAP AND FOOD PRICES.
May 29, 2008... The proposals presented on 20 May under the Common Agricultural Policy health check' will help modernise, simplify and streamline the CAP while removing the final obstacles keeping farmers from meeting growing demand for food. One of the...

COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY : CAP HEALTH CHECK SPARKS MIXED REACTIONS.
May 29, 2008... The health check' sets out "a path between the dangers of ineffective management too close to the sector and irresponsible liberalism without rules," said Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel, on 20 May, as she presented her...

PHYTOPHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS : COMMISSION OPPOSES ANY "DILUTION" OF MARKETING RULES.
May 29, 2008... During their Council meeting of 19 May, the EU's agriculture ministers did not reach a political agreement at first reading on the draft regulation concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market, despite several weeks of...

CHICKEN : COMMISSION PERSISTS ON CHLORINATED CHICKEN.
May 29, 2008... Despite the hostility of European agriculture ministers to the reopening of the Union's borders to American chlorinated chicken, the European Commission presented a draft regulation in this direction, on 28 May. In order to meet the...

EU/US/WTO : COMMISSION TO APPEAL WTO RULING ON BANANAS.
May 29, 2008... The EU has reacted vigorously to a fresh World Trade Organisation condemnation of its banana import regime, saying it would appeal against the judgement made in Geneva. The European Commission denounced, on 20 May, the condemnation of the EU's...

FISHERIES POLICY : COMMISSION TO ENFORCE ZERO TOLERANCE ON TUNA FISHING.
May 29, 2008... The member states concerned by bluefin tuna fishing in the Mediterranean and the eastern Atlantic (France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Cyprus, Malta and Greece) were warned by the European Commission, on 19 May, that it will make no compromise on...

MEDICAL RESEARCH : COMMISSION WANTS SCIENTIFIC OPINION ON TESTS ON PRIMATES.
May 29, 2008... The European Commission has asked its Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER) to write an opinion on the use of primates in medical research. For a long time, the EU executive has been pushing back the adoption of a...

FOREST INDUSTRY : CORK PRODUCERS FEEL "NEGLECTED" BY EUROPE.
May 29, 2008... Eighty-six percent of the world's cork production is European. Yet this sector, which for the main producing regions - Portugal, Spain, Greece and Italy - is essential in terms of regional development, employment and biodiversity, considers...

DEVELOPMENT : COUNCIL URGES ACTION AGAINST RISING COMMODITY PRICES.
May 29, 2008... The EU is committed to increase its efforts in order to respond to the challenge of rising commodities prices around the world. The General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) has outlined the need for the EU to step up its current...

CEREALS : CUSTOMS DUTIES TO REMAIN SUSPENDED AFTER 30 JUNE.
May 29, 2008... Owing to the ongoing tension over agricultural commodities, the European Commission will extend beyond 30 June 2008 the suspension of customs duties on imports of cereals. The EU's agriculture ministers decided last December to suspend the...

EMMANUEL DESPLECHIN/UNICA.
May 29, 2008... UNICA, the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association, has appointed Emmanuel Desplechin as its representative to the European Union. UNICA's members account for more than 60% of the sugar and ethanol produced in Brazil. In order to better...

FOOD MARKETS : EU MOBILISES IN FACE OF HIGHER FOOD PRICES.
May 29, 2008... Reactions and initiatives are multiplying across the European Union to try to limit the consequences of rising food prices. At the Agriculture Council, on 20 May in Brussels, most of the Union's agriculture ministers rejected Britain's claims...

AGRICULTURE COUNCIL : FOOD CRISIS HANGS OVER FUTURE OF CAP.
May 29, 2008... "Preparing the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy in 2013". That is the objective of the health check' presented by EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel, on 27 May in Brdo (Slovenia), at the informal meeting of agriculture...

FISHERIES AID : FRENCH AID PLAN PARTIALLY BACKED BY COMMISSION.
May 29, 2008... The European Commission formally recorded, on 20 May, aid measures for the fishing sector proposed by France and gave its consent for the immediate application of more than half of them, funded by national funds or through Community funds...

GERMAN VINEYARD MUST PAY BACK STATE AID.
May 29, 2008... The European Commission decided, on 20 May, that aid amounting to 541,859 granted by the Land Hessen to Hessische Staatsweinguter - the biggest vineyard in Germany, owned by the Land Hessen - in the period before 2002 did not comply with EU...

FISHERIES AID : GROWING CALLS FOR RELAXATION OF DE MINIMIS' RULE.
May 29, 2008... France, confronted by the protest movements of its fishermen, appears to have found some allies in its request for a relaxation of the restrictions imposed by the EU on the payment of public aid to this sector afflicted by the strong rise in...

COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY : HEALTH CHECK PROGRESSES AGAINST BACKDROP OF FOOD CRISIS.
May 29, 2008... With the question of food security dominating debates in Europe and around the world since the start of the year, the European Commission will be presenting, on 20 May in Strasbourg, proposals for adjustments to the Common Agricultural Policy....

ILLEGAL FISHING : MEPS WANT SUFFICIENTLY DISSUASIVE PENALTIES.
May 29, 2008... The European Parliament's Committee on Fisheries is satisfied on the whole with the draft regulation on the prevention and elimination of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) COM(2007)0602, which it sees as meeting most of...

AGRICULTURE COUNCIL : MINISTERS DEFEND CURRENT CAP.
May 29, 2008... A good many European countries rose to the defence of the Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), accused by some, notably Britain, of being partly responsible for higher food prices and the resulting crisis in different parts of the world....

NEW AGRICULTURAL DENOMINATIONS.(Brief article)
May 29, 2008... The European Commission added, on 22 May, two food and agricultural products to the list of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). The products in question are esky kmin' (spice, Czech Republic, PDO)...

EU/US : NEW FARM BILL MORE TRADE-DISTORTING THAN OLD ONE.
May 29, 2008... Trade-distorting subsidies to American farmers are set to increase, following the US Congress' adoption of a five-year Farm Bill last week. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have decided to largely stick with the current countercyclical' payment...

FISHERIES POLICY : OCEANA DENOUNCES ILLEGAL PRACTICES IN MEDITERRANEAN WATERS.
May 29, 2008... Six years after the regulation banning the use of driftnets (EC 1239/98) came into force, almost 500 ships continue to fish with that type of gear in the Mediterranean. For the international organisation for the protection of the oceans,...

TOBACCO : PARLIAMENT WANTS POSTPONEMENT OF DECOUPLING OF TOBACCO AID.
May 29, 2008... The European Parliament urged the European Commission, on 20 May, to reconsider the 2004 reform of the tobacco sector and not to abolish direct aid paid to producers in 2010, as planned. As demanded by the sector, MEPs suggest that coupled...

POSITIVE OPINION ON RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES.
May 29, 2008... On 23 May, the Rural Development Committee (consisting of representatives of the 27 member states) gave a positive opinion to the rural development programmes of the following three Spanish regions: Balearic Islands, Madrid and Canary Islands...

PROBE INTO SPANISH AGRO-FOOD AID.(ElPozo Alimentacion S.A. and J. Garcia Carrion S.A. into investigation)(Brief article)
May 29, 2008... On 20 May, the European Commission launched two investigations into investment aids in favour of two Spanish agro-food companies, El Pozo Alimentacion (15.1 million) and J. Garcia Carrion La Mancha (14.5 million). The Commission expresses its...

EU/WTO : PUSH CONTINUES FOR DOHA DEAL, MEMBER STATES ON ALERT.
May 29, 2008... A large majority of EU member states are worried about the direction taken by the Doha Round and have urged Peter Mandelson to reject a deal if talks were not rebalanced rapidly in Geneva. Ministers from 17 countries expressed their concerns to...

EU/UN/BIOSAFETY : REDRESS FOR GMO DAMAGE TO BE MANDATORY IN 2010.
May 29, 2008... Legally binding rules and procedures for liability and redress for damage caused to the environment from transboundary movements of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are expected to be put in place by 2010. Thus decided the 2,000...

TEXTILE : REPORT SPELLS END FOR COUPLED AID FOR TEXTILE PLANTS.
May 29, 2008... Even though the European Commission regrets the negative environmental impact of the progressive disappearance of the cultivation of linen and hemp, it refuses, in a report adopted on 20 May, to keep textile plants out of the general scheme of...

RESTRICTIONS ON UKRAINIAN SUNFLOWER OIL IMPORTS.
May 29, 2008... The European Commission decided, on 22 May, to fix strict conditions for the import of Ukrainian sunflower oil based on the implementation of a certification system stating that products are not contaminated with mineral oil. Ukrainian...

ROLE OF CHINA IN WORLD AGRICULTURE.
May 29, 2008... The latest MAP (Monitoring Agri-trade Policy) newsletter, published on 22 May by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, focuses on trade which has been one of the key drivers of Chinese economic...

ANIMAL BREEDING : SEVEN PROPOSALS FOR ANIMAL WELFARE LABEL.
May 29, 2008... The European Commission, which is continuing its work to strengthen European animal welfare standards, recently specified the various political options available for the establishment of a Community label. In mid-2009, it will present to EU...

GMOS : UNAUTHORISED GMO THRESHOLDS IN PREPARATION.(genetically modified organisms)
May 29, 2008... Somewhat eluded by the official reports from the European Commission's orientation debate on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) of 7 May, the revision of marketing procedures and the calling into question of the zero tolerance policy with...