Measures announced by the European Commission last September and in March this year can have a positive impact on addressing the crisis in European agriculture markets, Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan told members of the European Parliament on Tuesday morning.

“Before passing judgement on either the September package or the proposals I made last month, I would urge you to give these measures an opportunity to work,” the commissioner told MEPs at the plenary session of parliament.

He pointed out that only €162m has been spent by 14 member states of the €420m aid package announced by the Commission in September. However, he acknowledged that the opportunity to use this lasted until the end of June.

Intervention

MEPs were told that draft regulations for doubling the intervention ceiling for skimmed milk powder and butter had been adopted by the Commission and that the European Council is expected to approve this in the next few days.

Commission Hogan also highlighted the voluntary supply management of dairy products measures which will allow milk production to be planned by co-ops in member states for six months, doubling and increasing flexibility in state aid and efforts made in opening markets through recent trade missions to Columbia and Mexico and a mission beginning tomorrow to Kazakhstan, China and Japan.

Mercosur

Taking questions from MEPs, concerns with the Mercosur trade negotiations and potential EU offer of 78,000 tonnes of Tariff Rate Quota for beef was raised by numerous speakers to the Commissioner.

He said that it is essential that the agriculture and trade ministers work in tandem during the Mercosur negotiations and send a consistent message from governments. “Mercosur should moderate its expectations to what is manageable and acceptable to the EU both politically and economically, particularly at these difficult times for some of our sectors,” he said.

The Commissioner received criticism from several speakers for not doing more to address over production in the dairy sector and some MEPs questioned if opening new markets would mean putting more product on the already over supplied world market.

Markets

“We are going to continue to open new markets and that will be part of the solution in finding outlets for our agricultural products,” Commissioner Hogan said in his concluding remarks.

MEP for Northern Ireland Dianne Dodds and MEP for the south Seán Kelly both urged the Commissioner to look at immediate measures to help farmers with falling incomes in the short term.

Commissioner Hogan also said that the Commission was continuing to engage with Russia for an agreed solution to the embargo on EU agricultural products. “Even though so far the Russian reaction has not been positive, the dialogue remains open,” he said.