Cowpad Leading to Change
- January 25th, 2007
- Posted by EUEditor
While the EU worked on restructuring its fruit and vegetable industry, there’s been a reminder that dairying is also being involved in the change process.
The European Agriculture Commissioner, Mariann Fischer Boel, author and promoter of new directions for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), has reminded the European Dairy Association, meeting at Brussels, 23.1.07, of the coming date of financial reckoning, 2013.
“The Commission is at work on a number of projects”, she said.
“Two are of course the ‘CAP Health Check’ and the general review of the European Union Budget …
“The Health Check will involve taking a close look at our various Common Market Organisations – and within them, at our traditional market tools.
“With regard to the dairy regime, we could reasonably ask questions about interventioin, aid for private storage, and our various internal disposal measures.
“Answers to these questions should take into account the likelihood that we should rely less and less on export refunds, whatever happens in the Doha Round.
“Within the Budget Review, the very existence oif traditional market management tools after 2013 could be open to question.”
Ms Fischer Boel said she favoured ending EU production quotas but it remained uncertain what would happen, and she would actually consider expanding quotas during any lead-up to a cut-off, to put producers in a strong position for later.
“A quota expansion would make sense.
” If we are planning to untie farmers’ feet … should we not first loosen the rope a a little, to help them get used to the idea of full mobility?” she said.