Safety net measures for the European fresh produce and dairy sectors will be extended into 2016, the European Commission has announced today (30 July), with the EC currently finalising the last details with a view to formally adopting the relevant legal decisions in the coming weeks as a matter of formality.
In a statement, the EC noted that it was aware of the challenges faced by European producers and said that it would support them. For the fruit and vegetables sector, the measures may enter into force as of next week.
The intention to prolong some of the existing measures was first announced by commissioner Phil Hogan, responsible for agriculture and rural development, during the most recent Council of Agriculture Ministers on 13 July.
'The significant actions taken to date by the European Union have demonstrated the solidarity of the EU with farmers most affected by the Russian ban,' said Hogan. 'These actions also played an important part in mitigating the effects of the ban. Now, almost a year later, with the ban prolonged, we need to continue to provide a safety net in order to give security to producers who continue to face difficulties in relation to the ban.'
For fruit and vegetables, the Commission proposes to extend until 30 June 2016 the measures that ended on 30 June 2015, covering the main groups of fruit and vegetables (including peaches and nectarines) affected by the Russia ban. These measures consist of withdrawals of produce for free distribution of fruit and vegetables to charitable organisations and withdrawals of products for other purposes (such as animal feed, composting, distillation), as well as the so-called 'non-harvesting' and 'green harvesting' measures.
Quantities will be allocated to the Member States that have exported significant quantities to Russia over the past three years. Besides this, an additional quantity not exceeding 3,000 tonnes may be withdrawn from the market in all Member States in order to further stabilise the market.
The legal drafts for the extension of these tools have already been discussed by the Commission with a group of experts appointed by Member States for the extension of the exceptional support measures.The publication and entry into force of this measure is expected by the end of next week.
Under the exceptional support measures implemented up to 30 June 2015, around 770,000 tonnes were withdrawn from the markets with a support of around €155m.
