Europe Agri articles from October 2007

Europe Agri archives from October 2007

ROUND TABLE ON ANIMAL CLONING.(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... The European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE), which acts as an advisor to the European Commission, is preparing an opinion on the ethical aspects of animal cloning for food supply. Their public consultation remains open...

EU/CROATIA : ZAGREB'S ACCESSION TALKS IN JEOPARDY OVER FISHERY ZONE DISPUTE.
October 12, 2007... The European Commission sees the need for a last-ditch high-level meeting between Croatia, Italy and Slovenia to solve the urgent problem of Croatia's self-proclaimed Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone (ZERP) in the disputed Gulf of Piran...

EU/ACP : ACP EXPORTERS DENOUNCE SCRAPPING OF SUGAR PROTOCOL.
October 12, 2007... Sugar exporting countries from the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group will no longer have privileged access to the EU market as of 1 October 2009. On 28 September in Brussels, during the Competitiveness Council, the 27 ministers put an...

AGRICULTURE COUNCIL : AGREEMENT REACHED ON RELAUNCH OF SUGAR RESTRUCTURING SCHEME.
October 12, 2007... EU agriculture ministers reached, on 26 September in Brussels, a political agreement by qualified majority on a series of measures aiming to relaunch the four-year restructuring scheme of the sugar industry which has, until now, not given the...

ANIMAL FEED JV APPROVED.
October 12, 2007... The European Commission authorised, on 25 September, the acquisition byaDutch-based Nutreco,aone of the world's leading manufacturers of animal feed premixes, of parts of the animal feed premix business of the German company BASF...

ANIMAL HEALTH : BLUETONGUE: RULES ON ANIMAL MOVEMENTS TO BE EASED.
October 12, 2007... The European Commission is going to clarify the conditions applying to movements of animals within and outside of zones contaminated by bluetongue. The measure is eagerly awaited by European traders and will substantially improve stock export...

ANIMAL HEALTH : BLUETONGUE THREAT PROMPTS CALLS FOR VACCINATION PROGRAMME.
October 12, 2007... The measures to combat bluetongue disease (also called catarrhal fever) will be heavily revised given the spread of the disease in recent months, European Commissioner for Health Markos Kyprianou told the Agriculture Council on 26 September in...

DAIRY PRODUCTS : BROAD CONSENSUS ON NEED TO INCREASE QUOTAS.
October 12, 2007... The European Commissioner for Agriculture, Mariann Fischer Boel, is determined to present to EU member states, before the start of the next marketing year, in April 2008, a proposal on a definitive increase of milk quotas. If she still had...

AGRICULTURAL POLICY : CAP HEALTH CHECK' DETAILS ARE EMERGING.
October 12, 2007... The European Commission has a very precise idea of how it plans to carry out the health check' of the Common Agricultural Policy, which is of critical importance to the future of the sector. The communication of just over 20 pages slated for...

ANIMAL HEALTH : CFI SUSPENDS REGULATION EASING TSE MEASURES.
October 12, 2007... The EU Court of First Instance has temporarily suspended the regulation adopted by the European Commission in June 2007 easing the animal health measures applicable to ovine and caprine flocks in which a case of transmissible spongiform...

CHANGES WITHIN FISCHER BOEL'S CABINET.(Rosario Bento Pais, Julien Mousnier, Jakob Wegener Friis)(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... Several changes have taken place within the cabinet of the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Mariann Fischer Boel. Rosario Bento Pais (Portugal) has been replaced by Julien Mousnier (France), who will take over the key areas of biological...

CHANGES WITHIN KYPRIANOU'S CABINET.(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... The European Commissioner for Health, Markos Kyprianou, is to reshuffle his cabinet following the departure of his Head of Cabinet, Margaritis Schinas, to the European Parliament. He will be replaced by his deputy, Philippe Brunet. The...

COTTON : COMMISSION TO PROPOSE "MINOR MODIFICATIONS" TO COTTON CMO.(common market organisation)
October 12, 2007... The European Commission should approve, on 6 November this year, a draft reform for the common market organisation (CMO) for cotton. The European Commissioner for Agriculture, Mariann Fischer Boel, will stick to "minor modifications" of the...

COUNCIL CLEARS FRUIT AND VEG CMO.
October 12, 2007... The EU Agriculture Council adopted without debate, on 26 September, a regulation reforming the fruit and vegetable sector, on which it had reached agreement on 12 June (see Europolitics 3326). The new common market organisation (CMO) is...

EU/CROATIA : DROBNJAK: ZAGREB READY FOR HIGH-LEVEL MEETING ON ECO-ZONE.(Conference news)
October 12, 2007... Croatia is willing to take part in a special high-level meeting with Slovenia and Italy, as proposed recently by the European Commission, to solve the urgent problem of Croatia's self-proclaimed Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone (ZERP)...

EU ACTION OVER TUNA CATCHES.(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... On 26 September, the European Commission launched infringement proceedings against seven member statesa- Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain - whose fleets have been engaging in tuna fishing in the eastern Atlantic and the...

FISHERIES POLICY : EUROPECHE AND COGECA VOICE CONCERNS.
October 12, 2007... With the European Commission's proposals for fishing possibilities for 2008 due out on 28 November, professional organisations from the sector, represented by Europeche and COGECA, are making known their concerns over the operating terms of the...

AGRICULTURAL AIDS : EU TO RECOVER 145.2 MILLION EURO OF UNDULY SPENT CAP EXPENDITURE.
October 12, 2007... The European Commission will ask several member states to repay more than 145 million relating to incorrect expenditure (due to inadequate control procedures or non-compliance with EU rules) under the Common Agricultural Policy. This decision,...

EU/NAFO : EU WELCOMES AGREEMENT ON STRENGTHENED NAFO CONVENTION.
October 12, 2007... With great satisfaction, the European Union welcomed the agreement reached in Lisbon at the end of the annual meeting of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) on a text, which strengthens the structures and processes governing...

CEREALS : FISCHER BOELaPROPOSES TO SUSPEND IMPORT DUTIES.
October 12, 2007... Further to the positive opinion expressed by the European Parliament on 26 September, the EU agriculture ministers, meeting on the same day in Brussels, approved the European Commission's proposal to set at 0% the compulsory set-aside rate for...

WINE : FISCHER BOEL READY FOR CONCESSIONS ON WINE REFORM.
October 12, 2007... The EU's agriculture ministers debated, on 26 September in Brussels, the reform of the common market organisation (CMO) for wine, basing the discussions on the liberalisation of planting rights from 2014 and the elimination of the use of sugar...

FISHERIES: WARSAW TO GO TO ECJ.
October 12, 2007... The Polish government announced on 3 October that it plans to take before the EU Court of Justice its challenge to the European Commission's decision of 9 July placing Baltic cod fisheries off limits for the country. Warsaw believes that the...

FISHERIES : FISHING BAN OFF IRELAND TO PROTECT CORAL.
October 12, 2007... The European Commission proposed, on 5 October, at the request of the Irish government, an immediate ban on all fishing in the four Atlantic areas off Ireland, identified by scientists as harbouring large reefs of cold water coral. The areas...

GMOS : INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT TO FACILITATE TRADE IN TRANSGENICS.
October 12, 2007... The Codex Alimentarius member states(1) concluded in late September an agreement to facilitate trade in agricultural and agri-food products containing traces of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The agreement, negotiated in Japan, is...

MINISTERS DISCUSS AGRICULTURAL AID.(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... The EU Agriculture Council took note, on 26 September, of the proposal presented by the European Commission on 31 August to improve and simplify cross-compliance for Common Agricultural Policy direct aid, the principle being to pay farmers for...

RUM TAXES IN THE FRENCH DOMS.
October 12, 2007... The European Parliament adopted, on 25 September, a report by Gerardo Galeote (EPP-ED, Spain) which contains a proposal for a Council decision authorising France to apply a reduced rate of excise duty on traditional' rum produced in its...

STILL NO CONSENSUS ON GMOS.
October 12, 2007... The EU's agriculture ministers failed yet again, on 26 September, to rally a majority either for or against market release authorisation for three varieties of genetically modified maize: DAS-59122-7 (Herculex), 1507XNK603 and NK603XMON810....

THE "HIDDEN REALITY" BEHIND LIVE ANIMAL TRANSPORT.
October 12, 2007... According to animal welfare organisations, the EU is not doing enough to protect the health and welfare of animals in transport. Although the newly launched Animal Health Strategy 2007-2013 makes the commitment to protect the health of animals...

UK MEAT EXPORT BAN EASED.
October 12, 2007... EU veterinary experts, meeting in the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health, agreed on 3 October to ease an embargo on British meat exports from 12 October. This proposal will only be adopted if there are no further outbreaks...

ANIMAL HEALTH : VETS LEND SUPPORT TO ANIMAL HEALTH STRATEGY.(Brief article)
October 12, 2007... European Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou has found an ally to defend his draft European Animal Health Strategy presented on 19 September. European vets consider the text to be "innovative and ambitious". The European Union of...

FISHERIES POLICY : WARSAW MAY FACE LEGAL ACTION OVER COD FISHING.
October 12, 2007... If Poland fails to meet its obligations to enforce Community law, the European Commission will use all available means, including infringement procedures or even referral to the EU Court of Justice, to lay down the law. That was the clear...

WINE : WINE CMO TALKS PICK UP SPEED.
October 12, 2007... Agricultural experts from the EU's 27 member states are intensifying their work on the reform of the common market organisation (CMO) for wine. Their goal is to reach a political agreement before the end of the Portuguese EU Presidency in...

WWF: EUROPEAN FISHERIES ARE BADLY MANAGED.
October 12, 2007... As the European Commission prepares its proposals for TACs (total allowable catches) and quotas for 2008, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has slammed the management of European fisheries. The organisation claims that the Common Fisheries...

ANTI-TRUST OFFICIALS RAID FREIGHT FIRMS.
October 26, 2007... European Commission officials conducted on 10 October surprise inspections at unnamed companies in the freight forwarding business on concerns they may have run an illegal cartel. The Commission says it has reason to believe that the companies...

PURCHASE OF INGERSOLL RAND BY DOOSAN CLEARED.
October 26, 2007... The European Commission approved, on 22 October, the purchase of Bobcat, Ingersoll Rand Utility Equipment and Ingersoll Rand Attachments (together Bobcat'), three business units of the Ingersoll Rand Company of the US, by the South Korean...

AGRICULTURAL AID IN ROMANIA.(Brief article)
October 26, 2007... The Agriculture Council on 22 October authorised Romania to grant a one-off state aid of 400 million to its farmers to compensate for inadequate harvests and prepare the spring sowing. In July, Romania submitted this request to the Council,...

AID FOR FRENCH OSIRIS PROGRAMME.
October 26, 2007... The European Commission approved, on 11 October, under EU State Aid rules, financial aid of approximately 31 million granted by France to the OSIRIS research and development programme (development of biotechnology products to improve the yield...

BONGRAIN-SODIAAL JV APPROVED.
October 26, 2007... The European Commission approved, on 19 October, the creation of a joint venture between the French companies Bongrain and Sodiaal, which will produce and market Camembert, Coulommiers and Brie cheeses. Bongrain and Sodiaal both produce soft...

FARM AID : BUCHAREST FACES 25% CUT IN FARM PAYMENTS.
October 26, 2007... The European Commission finally decided on 10 October to give Romania some reprieve before it inflicts a 25% cut in farm payments. This delay should allow Bucharest to reverse certain serious shortcomings in its administration and financial...

FARM AID : COMMISSION LAUNCHES DEBATE ON FIXED RATE' AID.
October 26, 2007... The European commissioner for agriculture has announced, during a conference organised recently in Brussels by the NGO BirdLife International, her intention to "look closely" at the different models for Single Area Payment Schemes currently in...

BIOTECHNOLOGY : COMMISSION TRIES TO FORCE VIENNA'S HAND AGAIN ON GE MAIZE.
October 26, 2007... The European Commission decided on 9 October to relaunch the procedure to force Austria to market T25 and MON 810 genetically engineered maize. For the moment, it is dropping the idea of requiring Vienna to authorise sowing of this seed. ...

PORK MARKET : COMMISSION UNBLOCKS PRIVATE STORAGE AID.
October 26, 2007... In light of the serious crisis affecting Europe's pork market, the European Commission had to decide, on 18 October, to unblock private storage aid for a limited period of two to five months. Nevertheless, for the time being, it did not have to...

FARM AID : COMMUNITY AID FOR ENERGY CROPS SLASHED BY 30%.
October 26, 2007... The much-awaited decision by the European Commission to reduce by 30% the special aid of 45/ha for the cultivation of energy crops (biofuels and electric and thermal energy produced from biomass), because the maximum guaranteed area (MGA) has...

SUGAR : COUNCIL ADOPTS REFORM OF SUGAR COMMON MARKET ORGANISATION.
October 26, 2007... On 9 October, the EU Council adopted, without debate, the regulations amending a temporary scheme for the restructuring of the EU's sugar industry and certain provisions of the common market organisation (CMO) in the sector, in accordance with...

FISHERIES POLICY : EU MARKET SOON TO BE CLOSED TO ILLEGAL FISHING PRODUCTS.
October 26, 2007... Products from illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing will soon be banned from unloading at Community ports: this is the goal of a proposed regulation, which the European Commission adopted on 17 October. It clearly affirms its...

FISHERIES POLICY : EU WANTS TO STRENGTHEN MONITORING OF DEEPWATER FISHING.
October 26, 2007... All ships flying the Community flag which practice deepwater fishing on the high seas will now have to obtain specific fishing licences, except if they are operating in areas already covered by the Regional Fisheries Management Organisations...

ANIMAL HEALTH : GLOBAL SPREAD OF ANIMAL DISEASES HAS FAO WORRIED.
October 26, 2007... The recent outbreak of the bluetongue disease (also called catarrhal fever) in the United Kingdom and Denmark is a new sign that animal diseases are gaining ground worldwide and that states will need to invest more in detecting and fighting...

BIOFUELS : INDUSTRY FIGHTS BACK AHEAD OF COMMISSION PROPOSALS.
October 26, 2007... NGOs, industry and MEPs are sharpening their weapons ahead of concrete European Commission proposals, before the end of the year, on how to reach a binding biofuels target for road transport of 10% by 2020. The target, set by EU leaders at...

EU/RUSSIA : MANDELSON SLAMS MOSCOW FOR VIOLATING 2004 AGREEMENT.
October 26, 2007... EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson has called on Russia to show political will to resolve the last outstanding bilateral issues with the EU ahead of next week's summit, paving the way to Moscow's long-awaited accession to the World Trade...

AGRICULTURE COUNCIL : MEMBER STATES ARE FAR APART ON CMO WINE REFORM.
October 26, 2007... The debate by EU agriculture ministers, on 22 October in Luxembourg, on the reform of the wine sector confirmed the existence of large discrepancies between member states and the European Commission, which intends to speed up negotiations at...

ANIMAL HEALTH : MEMBER STATES CAUTIOUS OVER 2007-2013 STRATEGY.(Brief article)
October 26, 2007... European Commissioner for Health Markos Kyprianou presented, on 22 October in Luxembourg, to agriculture ministers of the EU27, his draft Community strategy for animal health (2007-2013). Faced with criticisms formulated by several member...

MEMBER STATES DIVIDED, THE COMMISSION DECIDES.(Brief article)
October 26, 2007... On 10 October, the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health returned, as usual on this matter, no definitive opinion either for or against European Commission proposals to authorise three genetically modified maize varieties and a...

ENVIRONMENT : MEPS ENDORSE DRAFT DIRECTIVE ON SOIL PROTECTION.
October 26, 2007... The European Parliament's Environment Committee approved the draft directive on soil protection by adopting, on 9 October, a report presented by Cristina Gutierrez-Cortines (EPP-ED, Spain), while insisting on the application of the subsidiarity...

CONSUMERS : MEPS GO ON THE OFFENSIVE AGAINST HYPERMARKETS.
October 26, 2007... "Hypermarkets abuse their purchasing power to oblige suppliers to cut their prices to intolerable levels and to force them to accept unfair conditions," accuse a number of members of the European Parliament, who are demanding an inquiry into...

ENVIRONMENT : MEPS WANT FASTER IMPLEMENTATION OF MARINE ENVIRONMENT STRATEGY.
October 26, 2007... By adopting, by a large majority on 9 October, a report by Marie-Noelle Lienemann (PES, France) on a proposal for a framework directive on the protection of the marine environment, the European Parliament's Environment Committee maintained the...

AGRICULTURE COUNCIL : MINISTERS REACH COMPROMISE ON CAP TRANSPARENCY.(Brief article)
October 26, 2007... The EU's agricultural ministers, meeting in Luxembourg on 22 October, reached a compromise agreement on the amendments to the 2005 regulation on the financing of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) so that member states will be required to...

NEW AGRICULTURAL DENOMINATIONS.
October 26, 2007... The European Commission added, on 15 October, four denominations of agricultural and food products to the list of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indications (PGI). They concern Staffordshire Cheese' (PDO,...

NO FURTHER SUGAR WITHDRAWAL.(Brief article)
October 26, 2007... Based on an updated market forecast for the sugar marketing year 2007-2008, the European Commission decided on 10 October to maintain unchanged the level of preventive withdrawal of two million tonnes of sugar decided in March 2007. This...

DAIRY PRODUCTS : ORGANISATIONS IDENTIFY PRIORITIES FOR FUTURE DAIRY SECTOR.
October 26, 2007... The central objective in the reform of the dairy regime must consist in achieving stability, balance and foreseeability with regard to both markets and producers, indicate the EU's agricultural and cooperative organisations (COPA and COGECA)....

FISHERIES POLICY : PARLIAMENT BACKS REGULATION ON DATA COLLECTION WITHOUT CONDITIONS.
October 26, 2007... The proposal for a regulation on the collection and management of data needed to conduct the Common Fisheries Policy brings "necessary and logical" changes to the current system, believes the European Parliament. By adopting, on 11 October, a...

PROCEEDINGS DROPPED AGAINST FRANCE.
October 26, 2007... The European Commission closed, on 17 October, infringement proceedings against France over restrictions on collecting and marketing cereals. A reasoned opinion sent by the Commission in December 2006 forced France to amend its legislation and...

PHARMACEUTICALS : SCHERING-PLOUGH BUY OF ORGANON APPROVED, SUBJECT TO CONDITIONS.
October 26, 2007... The proposed acquisition of Organon BS of the Netherlands, a subsidiary of Akzo Nobel, active worldwide in human and animal health, by the global pharmaceutical company Schering-Plough Corporation of the US is likely to give rise to competition...

DAIRY PRODUCTS : SEVEN MEMBER STATES PENALISED FOR EXCEEDING MILK DELIVERY QUOTAS.
October 26, 2007... Seven member states exceeded their delivery quotas for milk in 2006-2007, resulting in a deliveries levy of 221 million. Almost 80% of the total is due to excess production in Italy, which exceeded its quota by 6%. "Quotas are increasingly an...

EU/RUSSIA : WARSAW CALLS FOR TOUGH APPROACH TO RUSSIA AT MAFRA SUMMIT.
October 26, 2007... Poland, which has been affected by the Russian ban on its meat and plant products for almost two years, is urging the Portuguese EU Presidency to adopt a firm position towards Russia at the upcoming EU-Russia summit on 26 October in Mafra...

EU/US/DOHA ROUND : WASHINGTON IN TWO MINDS ON FARM SUBSIDIES.
October 26, 2007... The EU and the US seem to have found common ground recently in the Doha Round of world trade talks on the thorny subject of agriculture. But whether the cuts in farm subsidies the US administration looks willing to concede at World Trade...

WINE MARKET : WINE REFORM DEBATE GETS UNDERWAY.
October 26, 2007... A report on reform of the wine sector backing the ideas defended by the three main wine-producing countries of the EU was presented on 10 October by Giuseppe Castiglione (EPP-ED, Italy) to the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee. It...

EU/CROATIA : ZAGREB SAYS ECO-ZONE DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE EU VESSELS.
October 26, 2007... Croatian Foreign Minister Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic has said that the special Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone (ZERP) in the Adriatic Sea proclaimed by her country's parliament and scheduled to be activated on 1 January 2008 did not...