Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council. Development of the dairy market situation and the operation of the ‘Milk Package’ provisions

Published in March 2012 (and further integrated in Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 - 'CMO Regulation'), the 'Milk Package' is a set of legislative provisions that has been in force since 3 October 2012 and continues to apply until 30 June 2020.

Article 225(b) of the CMO Regulation provides that the Commission presents two reports to the European Parliament and to the Council, one by 30 June 2014 and the other by 31 December 2018. The reports should cover market developments in the milk and milk products sector and, in particular, the impact of Articles 148 to 151, Article 152(3) and 157(3) (the 'Milk Package provisions'), assessing the effects on milk producers and milk production in disadvantaged regions, in connection with the general objective of maintaining production in such regions. The reports should also cover potential incentives to encourage farmers to enter into joint production agreements, together with any appropriate proposals.

The first of the two reports required by the Regulation was adopted by the Commission on 13 June 2014. At the Extraordinary Agriculture and Fisheries Council held on 7 September 2015, in the light of the difficult market situation, the Commission proposed to bring forward to 2016 the Milk Package report originally planned for 2018. The Slovak Presidency has earmarked the functioning of the supply chain as a priority under its term covering the second half of 2016 and this subject has been examined by the Agricultural Markets Task Force (AMTF).

This report is based on the replies from Member States to a questionnaire and the notifications provided for in the implementing rules. Data from an independent study on producer organisations under the Milk Package provisions commissioned to the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies of the Joint Research Centre also feed into the analysis.

ESO: Background information: European milk package strengthens dairy producers' position in the supply chain http://www.europeansources.info/record/european-milk-package-strengthens-dairy-producers-position-in-the-supply-chain/

EUR-Lex: SWD(2016)367: Evolution of compulsory contracts, producer organisations and the market situation for milk and milk products http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2016:367:FIN

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