Europe Agri articles from October 2008

Europe Agri archives from October 2008

COMMISSIONER BORG WANTS A DEBATE WITHOUT TABOOS.
October 10, 2008... The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) must be revised by 2012: this is a legal obligation and a very complex operation, which requires an in-depth discussion and involves the consultation of all stakeholders. The process will be a long one,...

PARIS KICKS OFF CFP REVISION.
October 10, 2008... Under the 2002 basic regulation, the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) must be reviewed by 31 December 2012. The real stakes of this exercise, notes the French EU Presidency, are the complete revamping of this policy, which cannot be done by waving...

WWF: MOST EUROPEAN FISHERIES NOT MANAGED SUSTAINABLY.
October 10, 2008... Five years on from the 2002 reform, the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) has not yet attained its main objective, namely to ensure the sustainable management of European fish stocks. This is the verdict issued by the World Wide Fund for Nature...

FEED : ANIMAL FEED LABELLING RULES TO BE SIMPLIFIED.
October 10, 2008... The European Parliament's Agriculture Committee approved, on 6 October, a proposal for relaxing the authorisation and labelling rules for animal feed presented by the European Commission in March. Since farmers must be allowed to access...

GMOS : BIOTECH UPTAKE SLOWING IN EUROPE.
October 10, 2008... After several years of constant increases in agricultural surface areas planted with genetically modified seed (GMOs), 2008 saw a decrease. According to figures released by Europabio, which represents the interests of biotechnology firms, some...

ANIMAL HEALTH : CALL FOR VACCINATION PROGRAMME AGAINST BLUETONGUE.
October 10, 2008... During the Agriculture Council, on 29 September in Brussels, nineteen EU member states called for a harmonised approach to eradicate the bluetongue epizootic, based on large-scale and long-term vaccination programmes. This step was supported by...

CATHERINE ASHTON CONFIRMED ASTRADE COMMISSIONER.(Brief article)
October 10, 2008... Following the unexpected departure of Peter Mandelson to join the reshuffled government of his long-standing enemy, Gordon Brown, Catherine Ashton has been confirmed as the new European commissioner for trade by the Council of Ministers, but...

FISHERIES : COMMISSION APPROVES IRELAND'S OPERATIONAL PROGRAMME.
October 10, 2008... The European Commission approved, on 25 September, the operational programme for Ireland, thus giving the green light to the allocation of Community funds to its fisheries sector for the period 2007-2013. The total eligible public...

BIOFUELS : COMMISSION'S BIOFUELS ADVOCATES DEFEATED, CLAIMS EP RAPPORTEUR.
October 10, 2008... Speaking at a seminar on biofuels, organised together with the Brazilian mission to the European Commission, the European Parliament's rapporteur for renewable energies, Claude Turmes (Greens, Luxembourg), claimed that staunch advocates of...

COUNCIL APPROVES INDIAN OCEAN FISHERIES AGREEMENT.(Brief article)
October 10, 2008... On 29 September, the Council approved the Indian Ocean fisheries agreement on behalf of the European Community. The agreement, signed in 2006, establishes a new regional fisheries management organisation in charge of guaranteeing the...

FISHERIES COUNCIL : COUNCIL WANTS "PROPORTIONATE" MEASURES ON COD.
October 10, 2008... "Disproportionate" appears to have been the buzzword of EU fisheries ministers, during their meeting of 29 September in Brussels, dedicated to the draft revision of the reconstitution plan for cod. This initial orientation debate was, from the...

DEVELOPMENT : DIVISIONS REMAIN OVER FOOD AID FINANCING.
October 10, 2008... As the financial crisis crashes down on the global economy, Europe is more divided than ever on financing its promise of giving 1 billion to farmers in poor countries in response to food shortages. The member states failed to conceal their...

AGRICULTURAL POLICY : DUTCH SPELL OUT THEIR VISION OF CAP IN 2020.
October 10, 2008... The Netherlands has formulated its "forecast" for the Union's agriculture policy in 2020. In a very detailed draft, The Hague calls for a "new remuneration system" for farms. Contrary to London, the Dutch believe that agriculture is not a...

FOOD SAFETY : EU TO BAN CHINESE FOOD PRODUCTS FOR CHILDREN.
October 10, 2008... The European Commission proposed to EU member states, on 25 September, totally banning Chinese food products destined for children and babies. This decision follows the opinion of the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA), which did not dispel the...

AGRICULTURAL POLICY : FARMERS' ORGANISATIONS DEFEND THEIR POST-2013 VISION.
October 10, 2008... The European agricultural organisations (Copa and Cogeca), meeting in Brussels on 30 September for their annual congress, outlined their strategic vision for agricultural policy in Europe after 2013. In a long declaration, they express their...

FISHERIES COUNCIL RELEASES MAURITANIA FUNDS.(Brief article)
October 10, 2008... The fisheries ministers of the EU member states, meeting in Brussels on 29 September, gave the European Commission the go-ahead to release the funds payable to Mauritania under the new Fisheries Protocol (2008-2012), concluded as part of the...

FISHERIES POLICY : FISHING OPPORTUNITIES PROPOSED FOR BLACK SEA FOR 2009.
October 10, 2008... Stability and precaution are the principles underlining the proposals for fishing opportunities for the Black Sea (turbot and sprat), adopted by the European Commission, on 1 October, for 2009. These proposals, it specifies, are founded on the...

GM SOYBEAN TO BE AUTHORISED.
October 10, 2008... The European Commission will send the Council a proposal to authorise a genetically modified (GM) soybean after member states failed to endorse it, on 30 September, during a meeting of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health....

FISHERIES : HUNGARY'S OPERATIONAL PROGRAMME 2007-2013 GETS GREEN LIGHT.
October 10, 2008... The European Commission approved, on 24 September, the operational programme for Hungary, thereby giving its green light to the allocation of Community funds to this country's fisheries sector for the 2007-2013 period. The total eligible...

MEASURES AGAINST CHINESE MILK.
October 10, 2008... The European Commission decided, late in the day on 26 September, to put in place safeguard measures against the importing into the EU of Chinese products which could contain milk contaminated with melamine. These measures had previously been...

AGRICULTURE/HEALTH : MEMBER STATES BACK SCHOOL FRUIT SCHEME.
October 10, 2008... The EU's agriculture ministers responded favourably to the European Commission's proposal designed to allow co-financing of a scheme to distribute free fruit and vegetables in schools from the beginning of the next school year. The educational...

FISHERIES POLICY : MEMBER STATES WANT TO PRESERVE CFP'S FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES.
October 10, 2008... The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) must be reformed, but with respect to the fundamental principles which the 27 member states say they are particularly attached to: keeping a common fisheries policy, equal access to Community waters and the TAC...

MOUNTAIN FARMING : MEPS CALL FOR SPECIAL MOUNTAIN FARMING STRATEGY.
October 10, 2008... In an own-initiative report by Michl Ebner (EPP-ED, Italy), adopted by members of the European Parliament on 23 September, the EP calls on the European Commission to devise an integrated strategy for the sustainable development and use of...

FRUIT : MEPS SAY 500 MN EURO NEEDED FOR SCHOOL FRUIT SCHEME.
October 10, 2008... The European Parliament is putting pressure on member states to obtain greater funding from the EU Agricultural Fund for the school fruit scheme, which aims to provide free fruit and vegetables to school children in order to encourage healthy...

FOOD CRISIS : MEPS SUPPORT AGRICULTURE CREDITS FOR POOR COUNTRIES.
October 10, 2008... The European Parliament's Development Committee adopted, on 7 October, a report reaffirming its support for the use of unused credits from the EU's agricultural budget to react to the food crisis in developing countries. "At a time when...

FISHERIES COUNCIL : MINISTERS HIGHLIGHT ECOSYSTEM APPROACH TO MARINE MANAGEMENT.
October 10, 2008... The implementation of an ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) figures among the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) as they were reformulated in 2002(1), reiterate EU fisheries ministers in the conclusions adopted on 29...

FISHERIES COUNCIL : MINISTERS REINFORCE MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL.
October 10, 2008... Two regulations formally adopted by fisheries ministers on 29 September reinforce the management and control of fishing activities. The first updates the authorisation system for Community fishing ships operating outside of Community waters and...

HEALTH : PARLIAMENT TAKES UP FIGHT AGAINST OBESITY.
October 10, 2008... Recalling that already 22 million children are overweight in the EU, that a further 1.3 million are projected to join their ranks by 2010, and that obesity already accounts for at least 6% of the Union's health spending, the European Parliament...

FISHERIES POLICY : TACS AND QUOTAS CUT FOR DEEP WATER SPECIES.
October 10, 2008... Drastic reductions of up to 50% for 2009 and 100% for 2010 in deep sea fishing opportunities, adopted on 1 October, confirm the European Commission's determination to continue the effort under way since 2006 to bring catch levels for the most...

CLIMATE CHANGE : ADDING FORESTRY CREDITS TO ETS WOULD BE "UNREALISTIC".
October 24, 2008... The European Commission, which proposes, in its draft for a revised Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), reserving part of the income from the sale of quotas for measures in favour of climate preservation and the fight against deforestation,...

ANIMAL HEALTH : AGE LIMIT FOR BSE SCREENING TO BE LIFTED FROM 24 TO 48 MONTHS.
October 24, 2008... EU member states have approved the Commission's proposal to relax the surveillance system for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in the EU15, thus confirming the significant progress achieved in the fight against BSE. Currently,...

AGRICULTURAL DESIGNATIONS.(Brief article)
October 24, 2008... The European Commission added, on 17 October, three agricultural and food product names to the list of protected designations of origin (PDO) and protected geographical indications (PGI). The three are the Czech beer eske pivo' (PGI), the...

AVIAN INFLUENZA DIRECTIVE IN ITALY.
October 24, 2008... The European Commission decided, on 16 October, to refer Italy to the European Court of Justice for the non-transposition of Community measures for the control of avian influenza. Directive 2005/94/EC sets measures to prevent and control avian...

ENVIRONMENT COUNCIL : BAN ON SEAL PRODUCTS: MINISTERS FLAY CRUEL HUNTING PRACTICES.
October 24, 2008... Agreement was reached to say no' to the cruel hunting methods and to ban, as the European Commission proposes, the trade in products derived from seals "killed in an inhuman way" on the territory of the European Community. EU member states...

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS : COMMISSION LAUNCHES CONSULTATION ON PRODUCT QUALITY.
October 24, 2008... The EU's Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel launched a consultation, on 15 October, on agricultural product quality. The operation is based on a Green Paper that emphasises the concepts of animal welfare and consumer protection given...

FORESTS : COMMISSION'S PROPOSALS INSUFFICIENT, SAY ENVIRONMENTALISTS.
October 24, 2008... "Disappointing and insufficient": such are the remarks of the main environmental protection organisations following the adoption, on 17 October, by the European Commission of proposals on fighting illegal timber trade and deforestation. All are...

ILLEGAL WOOD TRADE : COMMISSION WANTS WOOD SECTOR TO BEAR ITS RESPONSIBILITIES.
October 24, 2008... By obliging operators in the wood sector to apply the principle of diligence' and to prove that they control the whole sector, from felling to marketing within the EU, the European Commission gives another turn of the screw in the fight...

FISHERIES POLICY : DEROGATIONS PROLONGED FOR OUTERMOST REGIONS.
October 24, 2008... The European Parliament's Fisheries Committee approved, on 7 October (consultation procedure), on the basis of a report by Pedro Guerreiro (EUL-NGL, Portugal), the proposal for a regulation to prolong to 31 December 2009 the deadline for the...

EUROPEAN NETWORK FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT.
October 24, 2008... The European Commission launched on 17 October the European Network for Rural Development. The Network will bring together policy-makers, administrators, academics and other key actors in the area of rural development from across the European...

MILK : EU SCHOOL MILK CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED IN CYPRUS.
October 24, 2008... An EU-wide campaign to promote the relaunched School Milk Programme was launched on 17 October. Under the slogan "Milk - Drink it up", the information campaign aims to raise awareness of the benefits of milk consumption and the availability of...

CEREALS : EU SET TO REINTRODUCE IMPORT CUSTOMS DUTIES ON CEREALS.
October 24, 2008... Experts from the EU's management committee approved, on 16 October, the European Commission's proposal to reintroduce tariff barriers for cereals at the EU borders. This decision is made "in reaction to the price drop", explains the EU's...

FOOD AID IN THE HORN OF AFRICA.
October 24, 2008... The European Commission announced an emergency 15 million euro package to combat the food crisis in the Horn of Africa on World Food day on 16 October. This new package will include the distribution of food aid, nutritional support, therapeutic...

BIOTECHNOLOGIES : GMO DEBATE STILL GRIDLOCKED.
October 24, 2008... Despite the numerous discussion groups launched in recent months on the subject of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), EU member states remain deeply divided. EU environment ministers will be debating the issue during their meeting of 20 and...

FISHERIES POLICY : GREEN LIGHT FOR POLAND'S OPERATIONAL PROGRAMME.
October 24, 2008... The European Commission approved, on 20 October, the operational programme for Poland and therefore the allocation of Community funds to its fisheries sector for the period 2007-2013. The total eligible public expenditure of the programme...

AGRICULTURAL POLICY : MEPS PROPOSE SOLUTIONS FOR CAP HEALTH CHECK.
October 24, 2008... Modulation (and therefore reduction) of direct aid higher than the European Commission conceives, a 1% increase in milk quotas over just two years, the possibility for member states to help milk producers and livestock farmers more, retaining...

EU/CHINA : NEW MEASURES ON IMPORTS OF CHINESE MILK PRODUCTS.
October 24, 2008... A set of reinforced measures proposed by the European Commission to respond to the import of melamine contaminated milk from China was agreed, on 10 October, by the member states' experts. The proposed measures are currently being scrutinised...

EU/WTO : NEW SETBACK FOR EU IN BEEF HORMONE DISPUTE.
October 24, 2008... The World Trade Organisation (WTO) confirmed once again, on 16 October, the legality of the sanctions applied by the United States and Canada against certain European exports in retaliation for the European Union's prohibition on imports of...

OSI/MARFRIG MERGER.
October 24, 2008... The European Commission authorised, on 13 October, the proposed acquisition of certain OSI Group Companies located in Europe, Brazil and Bermuda by the Brazilian worldwide supplier of meat Marfrig (in Europe, its activity is more limited). The...

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS : PARMA FEARS FOR FUTURE OF ITS DENOMINATIONS OF ORIGIN.
October 24, 2008... In order to be able to defend themselves more vigorously in Europe and worldwide, in particular vis-a-vis counterfeit goods, the producers of Parmesan cheese and Parma ham are calling for the creation of a European agency for geographical...

FORESTRY : ROUNDWOOD PRODUCTION UP BY 20% IN EU.
October 24, 2008... With its 117 million hectares of forests, the EU produced a total of 426 million m3 of wood in 2006, down from 2005 (454 million) but up by 20% compared with 2001. According to data published by Eurostat, on 20 October, on the occasion of...

MILK : SEVEN MEMBER STATES PENALISED FOR EXCEEDING MILK QUOTAS.
October 24, 2008... Seven member states face levies of some 338.7 million for exceeding their milk quota for 2007-2008 (April to March) by 1.2 million tonnes. This figure is 53% higher than in 2006-2007. The total quota for 2007-2008 for deliveries to dairies...