Europe Agri articles from October 2006

Europe Agri archives from October 2006

EU/MALAYSIA : NEGOTIATIONS ON PARTNERSHIP FOR SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT.
October 13, 2006... Commissioners Louis Michel (Development and Humanitarian Aid) and Stavros Dimas (Environment), representing the European Commission, and the Malaysian government represented by Datuk Peter Chin, the Minister of Plantation Industries and...

ADVICE FOR FISH CONNOISSEURS.
October 13, 2006... A handy pocket-size list advising which fish to pick or avoid on restaurant menus was published by the World Wildlife Fund on 27 September, in order to help consumers make ethical choices. The guide divides up different fish stocks into three...

AGENDA.(Calendar)
October 13, 2006... COUNCIL OF MINISTERS Agriculture and Fisheries Council a a24-25 October Luxembourg Draft agenda on agriculture points: - Commission communication on the reform of the CMO for wine General discussion - Proposal...

AGRICULTURAL TRADE WITH TURKEY.
October 13, 2006... The EU Council of Ministers approved without debate a draft EU position on the amendment of Protocols 1 and 2 to the 1998 EU-Turkey Association Council on the trade regime for agricultural products. The decision will be adopted by the EU-Turkey...

FISHERIES : BULGARIA AND ROMANIA TO ACCOUNT FOR BULK OF EU FUNDING.
October 13, 2006... The fisheries sector in Romania and Bulgaria will receive 270 million in support from the EU between 2007 and 2013, according to figures decided by the European Commission. Out of the two future member states, it is Romania that will receive...

EU/BULGARIA/ROMANIA : CAP SPENDING UNDER SURVEILLANCE.(European Union. Common Agricultural Policy)(control agricultural expenditure)(Brief article)
October 13, 2006... In the margins of the follow-up report on the state of Bulgaria and Romania's preparedness for accession to the European Union on 26 September, the European Commission is expected to adopt a regulation intended to establish a mechanism to...

COMMISSION CRITICAL OF A ALCOHOL LOBBY.(European Union. European Commission)(Brief article)
October 13, 2006... The European Commission is getting ready to publish its strategy to combat alcohol abuse. On 6 October, it condemned the 'exaggerated' lobbying tactics used by certain producers both at the Commission and the Parliament. The EU executive has...

FISHERIES POLICY : COMMISSION HAS FOOD FOR THOUGHT IN REPORT ON COMMON MARKET.
October 13, 2006... Financial intervention by the EU to prop up sales of fishery and aquaculture products has decreased since reform of the common market, according to a report released by the European Commission on 29 September. The overall level of...

FISHERIES POLICY : COMMISSION PROPOSES MAJOR CUTS TO PROTECT DEEP SEA SPECIES.
October 13, 2006... Annual reductions in Total Allowable Catches (TACs) and quotas of 33% should be introduced to protect endangered stocks of deep sea species, said the European Commission in proposals released on 28 September. Back in June, the...

GMO : COMMISSION WANTS AUSTRIA TO REPEAL BAN ON GM MAIZE.
October 13, 2006... The European Commission relaunched proceedings on 9 October against the safeguard clauses invoked by Austria in banning the entry into the country of two transgenic maize varieties: MON810 and T25. These two varieties have been granted...

EU/NORWAY : COMMON APPROACH AGREED TO FIGHT ILLEGAL FISHING.
October 13, 2006... The EU and Norway are to pursue improved cooperation in the fight against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing following the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the issue on 4 October. The memorandum contains specific...

CARTELS : COURT UPHOLDS FINES AGAINST CITRIC ACID CARTEL PARTICIPANTS.
October 13, 2006... The European Commission welcomed two judgements handed down on Wednesday 27 September by the Court of Justice in Luxembourg in the cases involving the citric acid cartel (T-43/02 and T-59/02). In function of the seriousness of the offence, the...

DAIRY : DAIRY ASSOCIATION VOICES CONCERNS ON WTO AND CAP REFORM.
October 13, 2006... At its General Assembly, held in Copenhagen on 21 September, the European Dairy Association (EDA)aexpressed concerns about the suspension of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations and the Common Agricultural Policy reform developments....

MILK : DEBATE ON THE FUTURE OF MILK QUOTAS.
October 13, 2006... In the context of the Common Agricultural Policy's health check' in 2008, considerable attention will be focused on the future of milk quotas, Poul Skytte Christoffersen, Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel's chef de cabinet, told...

INFORMAL AGRICULTURAL COUNCIL : DISORDERLY DEBATE ON THE FUTURE CAP.(Common Agricultural Policy)(European Union Agriculture Council)
October 13, 2006... Will it always be necessary in the future to give signs' to farmers so that they can prepare for the amendments which are to be made to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) after 2013 for economic reasons (as recommended by Agriculture...

BIOTECHNOLOGY : EP PROPOSES STEPPING UP CONTROLS ON IMPORTS OF ORGANIC PRODUCTS.
October 13, 2006... The European Parliament adopted at first reading on 28 September the report by Friedrich-Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf (Greens, DE) on the production of organic agricultural products. The text, which is consultative in nature, states that the...

WINE : EU ACCEPTS USE OF SHAVINGS IN MANUFACTURE OF WINE.
October 13, 2006... The use of oak shavings in the manufacture of wine, a long-decried symbol of winemaking practices in the New World, is to be authorised in the EU. In order to become effective, this decision, secured at the end of 2005, needed to be validated...

EU/BULGARIA/ROMANIA : EU PREPARES FOR POST-ENLARGEMENT PORK EMBARGO.
October 13, 2006... A European Commission proposal to approve Romania's eradication plan and emergency vaccination programme for classical swine fever was endorsed by the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health on 4 October. The Bulgarian...

ENVIRONMENT : EUROPEAN EELS THREATENED BY CHEMICAL POLLUTION.
October 13, 2006... Dangerous substances used in non-stick and water-repellent coatings on a multitude of consumer goods are contaminating European eels. According to the report entitled Slipping Away: The Presence of Perfluorinated Chemicals in Eels (anguilla...

GMO : EUROPEAN STANCE ON GMOS CONDEMNED BY THE WTO.
October 13, 2006... The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has officially published its report on the moratorium imposed by the EU on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) between October 1998 and May 2004. The moratorium, imposed following a complaint from the US,...

FOOD SAFETY : EU TAKES ACTION AGAINST UK DAIRY.
October 13, 2006... The Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health has agreed that all member states will ban curd cheese produced by Bowland Dairy Products Ltd, based in Lancashire, UK, from their markets, and will trace and destroy any curd cheese...

EU/UN : EU TO BRING TARGETED SOLUTIONS TO THE UNITED NATIONS.(European Union. European Commission and United Nations resolving high seas bottom trawling)
October 13, 2006... The European Commission has not followed the lead of Australia and other countries in backing a complete ban on high seas bottom trawling, in proposals on the subject released on 29 September. The Commission's stance on the issue forms part...

AGRICULTURE BUDGET : EU TO RECOVER 317M EURO OF "UNDULY SPENT" FUNDS.(Brief article)
October 13, 2006... The European Commission announced on 5 October that it plans to recover a total of 317.3 million of EU farm money unduly spent by five member states and in particular Italy. The money will be recovered because of inadequate recovery procedures...

CAP REFORM : FISCHER BOEL RECOMMENDS ABOLISHING QUOTAS AND UNIFORM MARKETS.(EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel)
October 13, 2006... EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel opened a two-day seminar in Brussels on 3 October on simplification of the Common Agricultural Policy by firing a broadside at two important existing CAP mechanisms: quotas and common market...

CAP REFORM : HIGHLY POLITICAL SIMPLIFICATION OF CAP IN PROSPECT.(Common Agricultural Policy)
October 13, 2006... 'Simplification is not about scrapping the CAP or weakening controls on how taxpayers' money is spent,' EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel told a conference on the theme in Brussels on 3 October. Likewise, the Common Agricultural...

INTERVENTION FOR MAIZE.
October 13, 2006... The Cereals Management Committee voted on 28 September on a European Commission proposal to change the rules for the eligibility of maize for intervention. Since EU enlargement, the maize market has become unbalanced and intervention stocks are...

EU/US/WTO : MANDELSON ON CAPITOL HILL TO TAKE SOUNDINGS ON DOHA.
October 13, 2006... EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson met with senior US lawmakers and government officials on 27-28 September to see how the Doha Round of the world trade talks might be moved forward following the collapse of negotiations in July. The visit...

EU/US/WTO : NEW FARM BILL MAY HOLD KEY TO UNLOCKING DOHA.
October 13, 2006... When the Doha Round of world trade talks collapsed in acrimony last July, a cloud of pessimism descended as all sides beat a hasty retreat from the negotiating table. Though that cloud has not quite lifted yet, the immediate aftershocks have...

NEW LOOK FOR ANIMAL WELFARE FEDERATION.
October 13, 2006... Eurogroup, the EU animal protection lobby, changes to a new look to foster animal protection across Europe. On 6 October, the EU federation of animal welfare organisations in Brussels presented its new name and its new look. The organisation,...

MILK QUOTAS : NINE MEMBER STATES FACE LEVIES OF 377 MILLION EURO.
October 13, 2006... Nine member states face paying levies totalling 377 million for exceeding their milk production quotas in the quota year 2005-2006, slightly more than last year's total levy amounting to 355 million. More than 90% of the levy (0.3091/100 kg) is...

NORTHWEST ATLANTIC QUOTAS.(Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization)(Brief article)
October 13, 2006... Total allowable catches and quotas for 2007 have been adopted by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) during its annual meeting held on 18-22 September. Among the outcomes are that a ban will remain in place on the fishing of...

MALT : RED LIGHT FOR AID TO DUTCH MALT PRODUCER.(Holland Malt BV )(Brief article)
October 13, 2006... The European Commission has decided to reject an investment aid of 7,425,000 committed by the Dutch authorities to Holland Malt BV for the establishment of a production plant for malt in Eemshaven, province of Groningen, on the grounds that it...

FISHERIES : THREAT OF ILLEGAL SHARK FINNING LEADS TO CAUTION FROM MEPS.
October 13, 2006... Fears of accidentally encouraging an increase in shark finning have led MEPs to assert that the existing EU restrictions should not be tampered with, in a vote held on 28 September. A report tabled Rosa Miguelez Ramos (PES, ES), assessing...

TUNA FISHING AGREEMENTS.
October 13, 2006... Ministers have officially adopted two new Fisheries Partnership Agreements (FPA) with the Comoros and the Seychelles Islands. EU fisheries agreements are implemented through protocols containing the technical details of what has been agreed....

GMOS : US HAS 15 DAYS TO STEP UP CONTROLS ON CONTAMINATED RICE.(European Union. European Commission asks USA to make proper standards for exported rice)
October 13, 2006... The European Commission decided on 4 October to open negotiations with the United States with a view to improving the reliability of tests across the Atlantic certifying that shipments of rice destined for Europe are LL601-free'. A few weeks...

EU/BRAZIL : WARNINGS ON FOOD SAFETY MEASURES FOR EXPORTS.
October 13, 2006... In various sectors, food products imported into the EU from Brazil have been shown not to be fully compliant with Community hygiene and consumer protection rules. On each occasion, the EU has introduced safeguard measures and will continue to...

BETTER LEGISLATION : WOOD DIRECTIVE GETS THE CHOP.(European Union. European Commission marks new rule on wood industry export)(Brief article)
October 13, 2006... Exit the 1968 directive on the quality and size of wood. The European Commission, on 29 September, decided to repeal this regulation and to leave the definition of wood criteria to standards bodies. This is another step to deliver on the...

AGENDA.(European Union. European Parliament)(Conference notes)
October 27, 2006... COUNCIL OF MINISTERS Agriculture and Fisheries Council a a24-25 October Luxembourg Draft agenda on agriculture points: - Commission communication on the reform of the CMO for wine General discussion - Proposal...

ANIMAL HEALTH : 193 MILLION EURO TO COMBAT ANIMAL DISEASES IN 2007.(European Union. European Commission)
October 27, 2006... The European Commission has decided to release a credit of 193.3 million to help eradicate and monitor animal diseases in the Union in 2007. Priority will be given to preventing diseases having an impact on public health, in particular...

RESEARCH/HEALTH : 28.3M EURO FOR NEW RESEARCH INTO AVIAN AND PANDEMIC INFLUENZA.
October 27, 2006... The European Commission has announced funding worth 28.3 million for seventeen new research projects into avian and pandemic influenza. The money, which was announced on 17 October, will be divided between six projects focusing on human health...

VINEYARD : 450 MILLION EURO FOR VINEYARD RESTRUCTURING AND CONVERSION.
October 27, 2006... The European Commission has recently set the financial allocation for the restructuring and conversion of 56,498 hectares of vineyards in the EU for actions in the 2006-2007 marketing year at 450 million. And, in a similar fashion to the...

HEALTH : ACTION PLAN WILL ATTACK ALCOHOLISM AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE.
October 27, 2006... Its angle of attack - young people's consumption of alcohol - speaks volumes about the action plan to combat alcohol abuse in the EU that was proposed by Markos Kyprianou for the period 2007 to 2012. The communication setting out the plan was...

GMO : AFTER VIENNA, THE COMMISSION TURNS ITS FIRE ON WARSAW.
October 27, 2006... The European Commission is not minded to allow individual countries or regions to declare themselves GM-free. This is the line it is expected to confirm in launching infringement proceedings against Poland on 12 October for failing to comply...

ENVIRONMENT : AGREEMENT ON GROUNDWATER UNDER CONCILIATION PROCEDURE.
October 27, 2006... The EU member states will be obliged to ensure groundwater quality equivalent to that of drinking water no later than in 2015, under an agreement reached by the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission on 17 October as part...

HEALTH : ALCOHOL STRATEGY BOILS DOWN TO AN EXCHANGE OF GOOD PRATICES.
October 27, 2006... The EU strategy on alcohol, which the European Commission adopted on 24 October in Strasbourg, is but a pale shadow of the proud ambitions outlined by Commissioner Markos Kyprianou just a few days earlier (see page 4). Firstly, the new version...

AMENDMENTS TO FISHERIES POLICY.
October 27, 2006... Preparations for the new European Fisheries Fund (EFF) are continuing in the European Commission, leading it to adopt two proposals for technical amendments to the 2002 Basic Regulation of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) on 13 October. The...

BLUEFIN TUNA WARNING.(International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas have asked to protect bluefin tuna)(Brief article)
October 27, 2006... Scientists working at the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) have once again called for stronger measures to protect stocks of bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. The recommendations of ICCAT,...

WINE : COMMISSION CLARIFIES REFORM PROPOSALS.
October 27, 2006... Doubtless so as not to rock the boat in the run-up to presidential elections in France, the European Commission has agreed to postpone the presentation of its detailed legislative proposals on the reform of the Common Market Organisation (CMO)...

FISHERIES : COMMISSION TAKES COURT ACTION AGAINST THE NETHERLANDS.
October 27, 2006... The European Commission feels that Dutch rules restricting the seeding of mussels and oysters coming from other member states into Dutch coastal waters violate the principle of free movement of goods in the internal market. The Dutch...

TAXATION/ALCOHOL : COMMISSION TAKING CAUTIOUS LINE ON INCREASE IN DUTIES.
October 27, 2006... With the European Commission presenting on 24 October a new strategy on combating alcohol abuse in the EU (see pages 1 and 4), a strategy that has already got sector lobbies buzzing, the issue of alcohol duties has naturally returned to centre...

CEREALS : COMMISSION TO RESTRICT INTERVENTIONS ON THE MAIZE MARKET.
October 27, 2006... The European Commission adopted a regulation on 18 October which aims to significantly tighten the eligibility rules on the basis of which public purchases of maize are authorised. The proposal, transmitted to the EU's Grain Management...

EU/US : COMMISSION TO STEP UP CONTROLS ON AMERICAN RICE.(European Union. European Commission ask USA to have some standards on export of rice)
October 27, 2006... Negotiations between the EU and the United States with a view to ending the presence on the Community market of rice contaminated by banned genetically modified organisms (GMOs) ended in failure on 18 October. The European Commission will...

COUNTER-TESTING US GM RICE.(European Union passes new rule on qulaity of export rice)(Brief article)
October 27, 2006... The EU's Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health approved the draft European Commission decision on 23 October requiring systematic counter-testing of US long grain rice in the absence of an agreement with Washington on a joint...

CRISIS DISTILLATION IN SPAIN.(Brief article)
October 27, 2006... The European Commission adopted a regulation on 12 October authorising crisis distillation of wine in Spain. A maximum of 185,000 hectolitres of certain quality wines may be offered for distillation at a price of 3 per % vol and per hl. The raw...

CAP : EUROPEAN FARMERS OPPOSED TO "COMPLETE DEREGULATION".
October 27, 2006... The Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations (COPA) and the General Confederation of Agricultural Cooperatives in the EU (COGECA) feel that the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) needs to be simplified without "further weakening or a...

FISHERIES/GUINEA-BISSAU.
October 27, 2006... The EU Council of ministers adopted on 10 October a regulation approving the conclusion of an agreement with Guinea-Bissau with a view to extending for one year the protocol establishing fishing opportunities and the financial contribution...

CHICKEN : HEATED EXCHANGES ON DENSITY AT CHICKEN FARMS.
October 27, 2006... The Finnish Presidency of the EU has not adopted the prudent and progressive approach recommended by Austria during the first half of 2006 in implementing the directive currently being negotiated on minimum protection rules for table chickens....

IBFF-PHL MERGER CLEARED.
October 27, 2006... The Commission has granted clearance to the acquisition of sole control of the European frozen food business of the Unilever Group (IBFF) of the UK by Liberator Bidco Ltd (Liberator) of the UK, part of Permira Holdings (PHL). IBFF produces and...

PLANT PROTECTION PRODUCTS : INFRINGEMENT PROCEDURE AGAINST GERMANY CLOSED.(free movement of goods)(Brief article)
October 27, 2006... The German authorities having amended legislation to ensure that importers can clear their stocks of parallel imported plant protection products after the voluntary retraction or revocation of the authorisation of the reference product, the...

KYPRIANOU CLAIMS TO BE "SATISFIED".(Markos Kyprianou of Spain. Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs)(Brief article)
October 27, 2006... The strategy against alcohol abuse in the EU has not been "watered down". All the elements related to the damaging effects and illnesses caused by alcohol abuse are listed in the communication adopted by the European Commission in Strasbourg on...

ALCOOL : MEMBER STATES FIND COMMON GROUND ON VODKA.
October 27, 2006... Protracted discussions led by Finland on the definition, presentation and labelling of spirits should culminate at the Agriculture Council on 24 and 25 October in a general EU approach on the thorny issue of vodka. In an effort to facilitate...

FISHERIES COUNCIL : MEMBER STATES LINE UP BEHIND COMMISSION'S PRINCIPLES.
October 27, 2006... Member states have come out in general support of the principles the Commission intends to use for setting Total Allowable Catches and quotas in 2007, during discussions at Fisheries Council on 24 October. There was widespread backing for...

ANIMAL WELFARE : MEPS BACK 2006-2010 ACTION PLAN.
October 27, 2006... The European Parliament has voted by an overwhelming majority (565 votes to 15 with 29 abstentions) to adopt the own-initiative report by Elisabeth Jeggle (EPP, Germany), on animal welfare. The report calls on the Commission in Brussels to take...

FRUITS : NON-PRODUCERS CRITICISE EU BANANA REFORM PROPOSALS.(Brief article)
October 27, 2006... Although generally well-received by banana producing member states, the draft reform package on supporting banana producing EU countries has provoked a certain amount of doubt in non-producing countries, particularly with regard to the impact...

ENERGY : PARLIAMENT KEEN TO ENCOURAGE USE OF BIOMASS.(Brief article)
October 27, 2006... The European Parliament's Industry Committee voted unanimously in early October to adopt the report on the biomass strategy. The report is much less enthusiastic regarding biofuels than was the strategy proposed by the European Commission....

PATRICK WALL/EFSA.(appointment of Patrick Wall at European Union. European Food Safety Authority)(Brief article)
October 27, 2006... Following the renewal of the European Food Safety Authority's (EFSA) Management Board in mid-2006, the Board elected in September Patrick Wall (photo) as its Chair and Diana Banati and Deirdre Hutton as Vice-Chairs. Patrick Wall is Associate...

FISHERIES : SCIENTIFIC ADVICE WILL INDICATE MIXED RESULTS FOR RECOVERY PLANS.
October 27, 2006... Scientists are to reiterate their calls for a complete ban on fishing of many of the EU's cod stocks, according to an outline of forthcoming advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The findings on cod...

STATE AID - BLOCK EXEMPTIONS.
October 27, 2006... The European Commission is considering introducing exemptions from notification requirements for further categories of state aid, namely state aid in the areas of natural catastrophes and the farming sector. A working paper drafted by the...

ENVIRONMENT COUNCIL : STRATEGY ON THE SUSTAINABLE USE OF RESOURCES ENDORSED.(Brief article)
October 27, 2006... Emphasising that a long-term vision must combine sustainable use of natural resources with economic development and sustainable production and consumption, EU environment ministers adopted conclusions without a debate on 23 October endorsing...

TRADE AGREEMENT WITH URUGUAY.
October 27, 2006... The EU Council adopted without debate on 23 October a decision approving the conclusion of an agreement with Uruguay on trade concessions in order to take account of the accession of the EU's ten new member states, as well as a regulation on...

FOOD SAFETY : UK ACCUSED OF FAILING TO ADDRESS DAIRY FOOD SAFETY VIOLATIONS.
October 27, 2006... The European Commission has accused the UK government of not being sufficiently active in addressing unlawful and unhygienic practices at a UK dairy establishment. Products from the Bowland Dairy have been banned from sale since 6 October and...