NEWS

Poor dairy sector forces EU Commissioner to have sleepless nights
By Chris McCullough

NEWLY elected MEPS have taken their seats for the first meeting of the reconvened European Parliament this week to hear of the challenges which lie ahead of them in agriculture.
Outlining the agenda ahead EU Commissioner for Agriculture Mariann Fischer Boel said she had lost a lot of sleep over the state of the dairy industry.
The Commissioner said: "Believe me, I've lost a lot of sleep over the current state of the dairy sector – really I have. I know that when all those farmers brought their tractors to Brussels in the summer, or when they poured milk onto the streets in several cities across Europe, they wanted help from politicians.
"The situation is serious, and it's clear that we need to be compassionate and take action. But compassionate action must be effective action – not only for the short term but also for the long term.
"Once again, some people have held up the milk quota system as the tool which can guarantee the sector's future. But I really can't agree.
"The long-term future of the quota system is clear: it will be abolished in 2015. That is the path that we mapped out in the 2003 reform; and we have begun to actually lay the path through the CAP Health Check.
"Another idea to help is the Parliament's proposal for a dairy fund to support restructuring. I have to say: Although I certainly agree that we need to restructure the dairy sector in some parts of the EU, I still don't believe that this particular proposal is the right way to go about it.


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September 3rd 2009
August 27th 2009