Extra shot in the arm for agriculture rejected

A deal has been reached on the EU’s 2017 budget, but calls from some members of the European Parliament for an additional e100 million to be included for agriculture have been rejected.

MEPs had made the case for additional support for farmers, to compensate for low prices.

This followed two special aid packages, mostly directed at dairy farmers.

However the bigger of these, the e500m initial package, came from superlevy fines in the final year of milk quotas.

In rejecting the case for extra farm aid, officials said they would monitor markets and look at the decision again if the financial position of farmers worsens.

The total 2017 EU budget will be e158 billion. The budget for the CAP will be e57bn, covering direct payments and rural development. With trade deals in the air, a report from the European Commission says there are significant economic benefits from protecting ‘sensitive’ food products in negotiations.

The report underlines the potential to grow global markets for European food, but says that trade deals cannot be pursued without taking account of the impact for some products if trade barriers in place in Europe for a long time are reduced or eliminated.

The commission has accepted that in negotiating new deals it will heed the advice of the report on the economic threat they could pose to key agricultural products. With trade deals long term by nature, the issue for farmers here is whether that advice will be heeded by the UK Government after Brexit. While there has been a big welcome from the farming lobby for the report on unfair trade practices (UTPs) from the agricultural markets task force, member states are predictably divided over legislation to ban these practices.

The farm lobby organisation, COPA, was enthusiastic about the prospect of new rules to protect farmers from an unfair food supply chain.

However while there was a broad welcome for the report from farm ministers, there was significant opposition to legislation.

Most member states said they wanted more time to consider the findings.

A voluntary approach rather than legislation was supported by Germany, UK, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands.

The plans were also opposed by the lobby organisation representing retailers.

It claimed low prices for farmers were not the result of UTPs.

This will be a long, slow battle, and the outcome may be irrelevant to the UK because of Brexit. Pressure is growing in Europe for tougher action over antibiotics in livestock production.

This coincided with a week when the medical and veterinary professions both had campaigns about the dangers from resistance.

At an EU level Denmark and Sweden are jointly pressing for the compulsory monitoring by member states of the use of antibiotics on farms, so that meaningful targets can be set for reductions.

These countries want a ban on the preventative use of antibiotics, citing a report showing a surge in the use of antimicrobials.

The problem the EU faces is that over-use varies.

richard wrighT