20 May Agriculture Council

Date: 29/05/1997

MINISTERS reached political agreement on two proposals on staging posts and route plans for the transport of live animals, building on a June 1995 deal on journey times. The UK abstained as the deal did not completely fulfil its demands, although a declaration was added committing the Commission to re-examine the issue of high-health-status breeding animals, exempting them from the need to be unloaded at staging posts. This went some of the way to meeting concerns expressed by Ireland, Denmark and the UK. Both regulations enter into force on 31 December 1998.

MOST delegations expressed general support for Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler's insistence that the EU should maintain its ban on hormone-treated meat, claiming that the World Trade Organisation had put trade issues before public health. Fischler said it was too early to commit the Union to a formal appeal.

THE Commission circulated a draft of the EU-US veterinary equivalency agreement. Fischler said a review could be possible after 12 months, and if the US had not introduced the necessary domestic legislation by that time, the entire agreement could be revoked. He also warned that the Commission would consider WTO action over the retaliatory measures introduced by the US in response to the Union's import ban on American poultrymeat. Further discussions on alternative poultry decontamination processes will be held by the Scientific Veterinary Committee.

THE only two elements of the Commission's report on the olive oil sector to win unanimous support were the need for greater transparency and improved controls against fraud. Spain asked for another Council debate once the Parliament had given its opinion.

MINISTERS were split over whether baby food should be included within the scope of proposals on pesticide residues. Germany, Austria and France wanted it to be excluded so that national standards could be maintained until specific legislation on baby food had been concluded, while Spain wanted national standards to be replaced by EU norms to facilitate the operation of the internal market.

FRANCE again called for the suspension of the beef early marketing premium, claiming it destabilised the market, while the UK called for a further cut in the calf-processing premium. Most countries agreed with the Commission that it was too early to judge the functioning of the two premiums accurately, and the Commission was asked to produce a follow-up report in the autumn.

GERMANY - supported by Austria, France, Ireland, Spain and the Netherlands - complained about the poor state of the dairy market, cuts in export refunds and the suspension of cheese export licences. The Commission said that it would prepare an analysis of the application of export refunds.

AS A result of rising pig prices and tension on the Spanish market due to swine fever, Madrid requested that the third quarter import quota be opened early. The Commission said that it had no legal basis to do this.