Europe Agri articles from October 2005

Europe Agri archives from October 2005

FOOD SAFETY IMPLEMENTING RULES APPROVED.(European Union's Standing Committee on the Food Chain)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Implementing rules on food safety were approved on September 23 by the EU's Standing Committee on the Food Chain, putting some of the finishing touches to the EU's recast of its food safety rules. Two of the three Commission Regulations put to...

FOOD SAFETY: LAST REMAINING RESTRICTIONS ON UK BEEF EXPORTS COULD BE LIFTED SOON.
October 6, 2005... A total ban on the export of live cattle and all cattle products from the UK was introduced at EU level in March 1996 ten years after the first cases of BSE were reported but as soon as the British Government admitted there was a link with the...

FOOD PRODUCTS: BEEF ON THE BONE TO COME BACK AFTER GETTING MEMBER STATES' BLESSING.(sale of beef with backbone of animals banned to control mad cow disease)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Sales of beef containing the backbone of animals over 12 months were banned in 2000 in most EU countries following the mad cow crisis of the nineties. This is because the vertebral column - like other so-called "Specified Risk Material" (SRM)...

COUNCIL SET TO ENDORSE NEW LEGISLATION ON PHTHALATES IN TOYS.(Council of the European Union)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... An EU Directive banning phthalates - chemicals used to soften plastic - from toys and childcare items is expected to be adopted by the Council of Ministers in October, after the European Commission said on September 16 that it "integrally...

BIOTECHNOLOGY/HEALTH: BIOTECH LOBBY ISSUES MANIFESTO FOR MORE INNOVATIVE AND DYNAMIC APPROACH.(EuropaBio)
October 6, 2005... The EuropaBio "manifesto" identifies seven key elements for ensuring that medical innovation responds to needs over the coming years: - Access to medicines: the EU should adopt measures to maintain patient access to beneficial innovative...

GENETIC ENGINEERING: CROPLIFE LAUNCHES GUIDANCE DOCUMENT FOR GM FIELD TRIALS.(genetically modified crops)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... The issue of field trials and ensuring that GM grains do not mix with conventional ones is at the heart of the frequently ferocious debate on GMOs which has consumed the EU in recent months. Back in April, the biotech industry's credibility...

BIOMASS: WOOD ENERGY HAS THE WIND IN ITS SAILS.(consumption increases)
October 6, 2005... Primary wood energy production (taken overall to include wood waste, black liqueurs and solid waste from crop harvests) in the European Union increased significantly in 2004. 55.4 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) were churned out, i.e. 3...

GENETIC ENGINEERING: COURT RULES AGAINST UPPER AUSTRIA'S GM BAN.(European Court of First Instance, genetically-modified organisms)
October 6, 2005... The Genetechnology Prohibition Law, which was passed by Upper Austria's provincial parliament in January 2003, took what is known as a "precautionary stance": it argued that cultivation of genetically-modified organisms should be banned as long...

MILK: DAIRY FARMERS FINED EURO 364 MILLION FOR EXCEEDING MILK QUOTAS.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... The EU started restricting cow's milk sales through quotas back in the mid-1980s, when the infamous "butter mountains" piled up as a result of heavy dairy over-production. Every member state receives two "reference quantities", one for...

POLAND, LATVIA AND LITHUANIA ALLOWED TO PAY HALF OF FARM PAYMENT EARLY.(European Commission's decision)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Poland, Latvia and Lithuania will be allowed to pay some of their public support to their farmers early this year to make up for heavy losses due to recent droughts and storms, following a Decision adopted on September 29 by a Commission...

EU/COMOROS: EP APPROVES NEW FISH PACT BUT SAYS FISHERMEN "EXCLUDED" FROM TALKS.
October 6, 2005... Boat owners' contribution 40% higher. While broadly welcoming the new agreement, the Parliament's report says the European fishing industry should have been entitled to take part in the negotiation - this "shortfall" is particularly...

EU WELCOMES REFORMS PLANNED BY NORTH-WEST ATLANTIC FISHERIES ORGANISATION.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... The European Commission on September 28 welcomed the outcome of the annual meeting of the North-west Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO), held at the end of September in Tallinn, Estonia. Among other things, the organisation - which has been...

RURAL DEVELOPMENT: AUDITORS SAY EU'S CHECKS ON AGRI-ENVIRONMENT SPENDING ARE INADEQUATE.
October 6, 2005... Stinging criticism. The Court of Auditors found that the Commission: - only partially ensured verifiability before approving rural development plans; - has not sufficiently verified the correct functioning of agri-environment (AE)...

COURT CONDEMNS BELGIUM FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH NITRATES DIRECTIVE.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Condemning the Kingdom of Belgium on September 22 for failing to meet its obligations under the Directive on protection of water against pollution by nitrates from agricultural sources, the EU Court of Justice pointed an accusing finger at...

SUGAR: ACPS DENOUNCE "DISPROPORTIONATE AND DISCRIMINATORY" EU REFORM PLANS.(African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States)
October 6, 2005... Aid package "utterly inadequate". The Kisumu Declaration rejects the Commission's proposed package of aid to the ACP sugar-producing countries - amounting to euro 40 million in the first year - as "utterly inadequate". According to the...

EUROPEAN CHIEF VETS AND MEDICS DISCUSS JOINT ACTION ON BIRD FLU.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... EU countries must make more efforts to improve cooperation on monitoring the highly-contagious poultry disease avian influenza, Europe's Chief Veterinary Officers (CVOs) and Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) told a September 22 meeting in Brussels...

COMMISSION CONFIRMS EXTENSION OF ANCHOVY FISHING BAN IN BAY OF BISCAY.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... The European Commission on September 22 rubber-stamped emergency measures to extend the ban on anchovy fishing in the Bay of Biscay until the end of December. The decision to roll over the current three-month ban was announced by the Commission...

REGIONAL POLICY: MEPS INSIST ON EXTRA FUNDING FOR FAR-FLUNG REGIONS.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... The resolution also calls on the Commission to adopt measures enhancing the competitiveness of agricultural produce from the EU's outermost regions to enable them to compete with similar products from countries that have signed Association...

EU/US: MEPS AND EU FARM LOBBIES OPPOSE TRANSATLANTIC WINE PACT.
October 6, 2005... The agreement is expected to simplify export procedures for American wine-makers hoping to increase their share of a trade currently worth around euro 2.7 billion annually. It proposes to exempt US exports from new certification requirements:...

BANANAS: EU REQUESTS SECOND WTO ARBITRATION IN DISPUTE WITH LATIN AMERICANS.
October 6, 2005... "Despite our efforts, we were not able to come to an agreement with our partners", EU Farm Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel admitted. "Nor did they present an alternative proposal of their own. Time is now running out for the introduction of...

EU/WTO: PARIS TALKS FAIL TO BREAK THROUGH WITH DEAL.
October 6, 2005... The meeting in Paris comes as part of efforts to save WTO's Doha Round plans by 2006. Messrs Mandelson and Portman were joined by India's Trade Minister Kamal Nath and Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim for the talks at the Brazilian...

DEVELOPMENT: UN REPORT DENOUNCES ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS.
October 6, 2005... "It is impossible to become competitive when the opening-up of markets is the starting point", said Mr Kousari. Citing the example of East Asian countries, often highlighted as an example by those advocating liberalisation, he pointed out that...

MANDELSON'S WTO APPROACH BRANDED 'TOTAL FAILURE' BY FARMERS.
October 6, 2005... The European farming lobbies COPA and COGECA have branded EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson's negotiating tactics "a total failure" for giving away too many concessions in the current World Trade Organisation talks, and getting too little...

EU CLEARS TRANSGOURMET'S ACQUISITION OF THREE FRENCH FOOD BUSINESSES.
October 6, 2005... Swiss catering firm transGourmet was given the green light by the Commission on September 29 to buy three French food businesses - Prodirest, Discol and Goninet. TransGourmet, which is jointly controlled by Germany's Rewe Group and Swiss group...

MLGPE AND BA CAPITAL MANAGEMENT CLEARED TO BUY ITALIAN VENDING MACHINE MAKER.(ML Global Private Equity)(BACP Europe Fund)(N&W Global Vending)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Clearance has been granted by the European Commission for ML Global Private Equity (MLGPE) and BACP Europe Fund V to acquire joint control of N&W Global Vending of Italy. MLGPE is a private equity investment company owned by Merrill Lynch & Co....

FOOD INDUSTRY: COMMISSION CLEARS ACQUISITION OF NORDSEE BY NOMURA AND KFRI.
October 6, 2005... The European Commission has given the go ahead to the acquisition of Nordsee of Germany by Nomura International of the UK and Kamps Food Retail Investments (KRFI) of Luxembourg. KFRI is a vehicle company established for this transaction by a...

CALENDAR OF EVENTS.
October 6, 2005... October 12-14 Adana, Turkey - ITAFE 05: International Congress On Information Technologies in Agriculture, Food & Environment. The event is designed to provide opportunities for academicians, specialists and firms from agriculture, food...

FOOD LAW: THIRD PACKAGE OF FOOD SAFETY IMPLEMENTING RULES APPROVED.(hygiene package)(Brief article)
October 20, 2005... The last of three sets of implementing measures for food safety was approved on October 6 by the EU's Standing Committee on the Food Chain, putting the finishing touches to the EU's recast of its food safety rules. The three Regulations list a...

NEW ITALIAN OLIVE OIL AND BASIL VARIETIES ADDED TO LIST OF PROTECTED FOOD NAMES.(kalamata olives to Whitstable oysters)(Brief article)
October 20, 2005... Italian olive oil and basil from Genoa were added to the EU's list of Protected Designations of Origin on October 4. Tuscia oil and basilico genovese will join the list of approximately 700 EU protected products, which range from kalamata...

GENETIC ENGINEERING: EU COURT RULES AGAINST UPPER AUSTRIA'S GM BAN.(Genetically modified plants)
October 20, 2005... The Genetechnology Prohibition Law, which was passed by Upper Austria's provincial parliament in January 2003, took what is known as a "precautionary stance": it argued that cultivation of genetically-modified organisms should be banned as long...

EP SAYS EU SHOULD COVER LARGER PART OF COSTS OF VETERINARY CRISES.(European Parliament)(European union)(foot-and-mouth disease)(Brief article)
October 20, 2005... The EU should pay for a greater part of market support measures in the case of animal disease outbreaks such as foot-and-mouth disease, the European Parliament said in a report it adopted in plenary on October 13. The report by Niels Busk...

COMMISSION PROPOSES TO ALLOW IMPORT OF PIONEER-1507 GM-MAIZE.(European Food Safety Agency)(Brief article)
October 20, 2005... The European Commission on October 5 tabled a proposal to allow the import of genetically-modified (GM) maize 1507, produced by American companies Pioneer Hi-Bred International and Dow AgroSciences subsidiary Mycogen Seeds. In March, the...

FRENCH RESEARCHERS DEVELOP CHEAP BIOFUELS.(French National Institute of Applied Sciences)(Brief article)
October 20, 2005... A team from the French National Institute of Applied Sciences (INSA) in Toulouse is working towards developing economical biofuels. Researchers have already succeeded in obtaining sustained productivity levels from bioethanol between 20 and 30...

ANIMAL HEALTH: BIRD FLU HITS EU AS SUSPECTED CASES FOUND ON GREEK ISLAND.
October 20, 2005... Greek case. Greece's Agriculture Ministry confirmed on October 18 that the H5 strain of avian flu has been discovered on the small island of Inousses. Although there have been sporadic cases of bird flu in Europe in the past, including...

SUGAR: EP AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE CLASHES WITH COMMISSION OVER REFORM.
October 20, 2005... Mr Fruteau accused the Commission's proposal of being "completely deregulatory", and said the fundamental role of the Common Agricultural Policy is not to promote deregulation but to defend European farmers. The MEP has drafted three separate...

BLAIR AND CHIRAC VOW TO WORK TOGETHER FOR EUROPE.(Tony Blair, Jacques Chirac)(Brief article)
October 20, 2005... UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac have pledged to overcome their differences for the benefit of the citizens of Europe. Following a meeting of the two men in Paris to prepare an informal summit of EU leaders in...

EU PROBES PESTICIDE IMPORT RULES IN UK, ITALY, POLAND AND HUNGARY.(Brief article)
October 20, 2005... The European Commission has launched an investigation into British, Italian, Polish and Hungarian rules for importing pesticides in order to check whether they are making it difficult for other countries to sell plant protection products on...

EU ALLOWS EURO 280 MILLION OF BAD WEATHER AID FOR GREEK FARMERS.(Greek farmers for extreme weather in the country )(Brief article)
October 20, 2005... Greek state aid worth euro 280 million was authorised by the European Commission on October 17 to compensate Greek farmers for extreme weather in the country in February 2004. According to the Commission, the bad weather "caused such losses...

WINE: EU SETS ASIDE EURO 450 MILLION FOR VINEYARD RECONVERSION.(Brief article)
October 20, 2005... The EU is still making more wine than it can drink. A budget of euro 450 million was earmarked by the European Commission on October 13 to help the EU's wine-producing member states reconvert their vineyards amid difficult market conditions for...

COMMODITIES: EP COMMITTEE WAVES THROUGH REPORTS ON WINE, SEEDS AND HOPS.(Brief article)
October 20, 2005... The European Parliament's Agriculture Committee on October 11 adopted three reports drafted by its Chairman Joseph Daul (France, EPP-ED) on the EU's common market organisations for wine, seeds and hops. The reports, which were adopted without...

MEPS REJECT DRAFT DIRECTIVE ON HUMANE TRAPPING STANDARDS.(Members of the European Parliament)
October 20, 2005... Members of the European Parliament's Committee on the Environment have rejected a draft Directive on humane trapping standards, describing it "very unsatisfactory" and "difficult to improve by means of amendments". The proposal, which is...

HUNGARY AUTHORISED TO PUT SURPLUS WINE INTO CRISIS DISTILLERY.(Brief article)
October 20, 2005... The European Commission's wine management committee on October 11 agreed to a Hungarian request to open crisis distillation for 50 million litres of wine that has not found a normal market outlet. Under the EU-funded scheme, surplus wine stocks...

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT GIVES GO-AHEAD TO BALTIC DRIFTNET BAN.
October 20, 2005... A ban on driftnets in the Baltic Sea got the European Parliament's green light on October 13 when its plenary adopted a report by Zdzislaw Chmielewski (EPP-ED). The Polish MEP's report on the conservation of fish in the Baltic Sea includes 15...

COMMISSION ACTS TO SAVE YOUNG OCTOPUS IN WEST AFRICAN WATERS.(Brief article)
October 20, 2005... Many young octopus in West African waters could be spared if a proposal put forward by the European Commission on October 12 gets the approval of the EU's Fisheries Ministers. The Commission wants to increase to 500 grammes the minimum weight...

EEL FISHERIES: SEASONAL BAN ON EEL FISHING PROPOSED PENDING NATIONAL RECOVERY PLANS.(Brief article)
October 20, 2005... The Commission says national programmes "are crucial to restoring the stock" Recent levels of young eel joining the stock have been recorded at 1% of their historic level. But the EU executive is at pains to stress that the fishing ban until...

FISHERIES: NEW EXPERT REPORT CALLS FOR "COMPLETE OVERHAUL" OF DEEP-SEA FISHERIES.(International Council for Exploration of the Sea)(Brief article)
October 20, 2005... The ICES report will call for zero catch of depleted deep-sea sharks and large reductions of fishing quotas for other deep sea species such as the orange roughly and the roundnose grenadier. The report will also recommend a zero catch for cod,...

AGRICULTURE: COMMISSION PROPOSES TO SIMPLIFY CAP.(Common Agricultural Policy)(Brief article)
October 20, 2005... The news should come as a relief for the EU's farmers, who have become increasingly disgruntled at the Byzantine set of administrative rules governing agriculture in Europe. According to EU Farm Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel, "the creation...

EU/WTO: STILL NO BREAKTHROUGH IN DOHA TALKS.(World Trade Organization)
October 20, 2005... The 148-member WTO needs to agree a blueprint for the final stage of its Doha Round in Hong Kong in December, but negotiations are struggling with a host of issues, of which agriculture is the most pressing. Failure could kill the round, which...

FARMERS FIGHT OFF PRESSURE FROM MEPS FOR FAIR TRADE.(Member of Parliaments)
October 20, 2005... European farming representatives have fought back against pressure from MEPs and World Trade Organisation members to slash subsidies and end market protection. At a European Parliament hearing in Brussels on October 11, the President of the...

EU/WTO: EU AND US MAKE FARMING PLEDGES AT ZURICH TALKS.
October 20, 2005... Tit for tat. US Trade Representative Rob Portman had earlier urged the EU and Japan to reduce by 80% their internal aid to farmers, after his government's proposal to cut its agricultural subsidies by 60%. Mr Mandelson responded to the...

MANDELSON'S WTO APPROACH BRANDED 'TOTAL FAILURE' BY FARMERS.(Peter Mandelson, World Trade Organization)(Brief article)
October 20, 2005... The European farming lobbies COPA and COGECA have branded EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson's negotiating tactics "a total failure" for giving away too many concessions in the current World Trade Organisation talks, and getting too little...

BULGARIA URGED TO MAKE FOOD SAFETY HEADWAY AHEAD OF ACCESSION.(Brief article)
October 20, 2005... Bulgaria can meet its target of joining the European Union in January 2007 but should make further efforts in the food safety realm, according to EU Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Markos Kyprianou. Speaking on October 11 during a...

EU/FAO: UN AGENCY CHIEF SAYS FOOD AID "DISTORTS MARKETS".
October 20, 2005... Money, not food. The FAO head was highly critical of food aid programmes, which have long been criticised for actually harming the poor nations they set out to help because they basically just involve dumping vast amounts of agricultural...

EU/ACP: ACPS WELCOME EP'S DEMANDS FOR LONGER TRANSITION FOR SUGAR REFORM.(African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States)
October 20, 2005... The ACP countries, which depend heavily on the EU market for their sugar exports, have strongly rejected the EU's sugar reform plans, attacking them as "disproportionate and discriminatory" on September 26. ACP producers claim they stand to...

EU/AFRICA: INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT TOP PRIORITY FOR NEW STRATEGY.
October 20, 2005... Following the EU's pledge to double development aid by 2010 and to allocate half of this increase to Africa, the continent should benefit from greater assistance over the coming decade. Public development aid from the member states and the next...

EU/NEPAL-BHUTAN: EU SENDS EURO 6 MILLION RELIEF AID FOR REFUGEES.(Brief article)
October 20, 2005... The European Commission released an additional euro 6 million in humanitarian aid for the victims of the conflict in Nepal and for Bhutanese refugees in the country on October 5. A euro 4 million decision has been adopted by the Commission's...

EU/WTO: MINISTERS REJECT FRENCH CALLS TO CHECK MANDELSON.(Peter Mandelson)
October 20, 2005... Peter Mandelson was blunt about the potential impact of the proposal floated by French foreign minister Philippe Douste-Blazy to force the Commission to submit its proposals to vetting by a team of technical experts for economic and social...

EU/AFRICA: NEW STRATEGY FOR AFRICA DEPENDS ON EU BUDGET DEAL.
October 20, 2005... Brain drain. Oumar Konare did not mince his words with respect to those in Europe who speak of a oselectiveo immigration to confront the influx of migrants from the African continent. He spoke of the risk of a new form of otraffickingo,...

COMMODITIES: ADM SZAMOTULY AND CEFETRA FREE TO ACQUIRE BTZ GRAIN TERMINAL.(Archer Daniels Midland Co. and Cefetra)(Brief article)
October 20, 2005... ADM Szamotuly and Cefetra have received clearance from the European Commission to acquire BTZ of Poland. BTZ is a cargo terminal service provider for grains and animal feed in the Polish port of Gdynia, and this transaction is part of a wider...

CALENDAR OF EVENTS.
October 20, 2005... October 24-25 Luxembourg - EU Farm and Fish Council 24-25 Leeds, UK - EU Development Ministerial Conference November 2-4 Amsterdam, Netherlands - "World Ethanol 2005". Ethanol industry conference bringing together producers,...