Fines for stockpiling agricultural products

Nine of the ten countries that joined the EU in 2004 will be fined a total of €41 million for stockpiling agricultural products, the European Commission is to announce today (4 April).

Poland faces the heaviest fine, of €12.5m, for exceeding EU agriculture quotas in the meat, milk, fruit, rice and wine sectors during the four years before accession to the EU. The Czech Republic is close behind with a €12.3m fine. Only Hungary out of the new member states will not be fined for letting surplus stocks build up before joining the Union.

Agricultural stocks in the five sectors were monitored in 2001-04. A final decision on the fines has taken until now to emerge because of the difficulty of deciding how to count stocks. In the end, similar products have been grouped together. This system means that member states could build up a surplus in butter, for instance, if their cheese stocks were low.

Five countries were fined last year for building up surplus sugar stocks before joining the EU.

"I am of course aware of concerns in the affected countries," said Mariann Fischer Boel, the farm commissioner. "We have therefore done everything possible to ensure a fair outcome."

A Commission statement added that the fines were lower than originally expected.

New member states were allowed to exceed ‘normal carry-over stock’ levels by up to 10% from one year to the next without facing a fine. They have until May 2010 to pay the money, which will be split into four annual instalments.

Nine of the ten countries that joined the EU in 2004 will be fined a total of €41 million for stockpiling agricultural products, the European Commission is to announce today (4 April).