As German farmers strike, milk quota debate heats up
28 May 2008
On the day that German dairy farmers staged a strike over falling milk prices, TUV MEP; Jim Allister, told the Agriculture Committee in Brussels that the CAP Health Check proposal to phase in higher quotas was "flawed".
Speaking in a debate on the Health Check proposals, Mr Allister questioned if the Commission's plans were sufficiently robust to meet the key needs of European agriculture.
Mr Allister suggested the litmus test to be applied was whether the proposals adequately served two founding principles of the CAP - a fair return for producers and a secure food supply for EU consumers. The Ulster MEP thinks the proposals fail to pass these tests.
He urged the Commission to accept that a real safety net must be available, particularly in the intensive sector. He then challenged the appropriateness of increasing milk quota at a time of falling milk prices. Such, he said, can only aggravate the downward pressure on farmgate prices. Northern Ireland stands to face the competition of considerable milk production output from the Republic of Ireland, once quotas are abolished. This has long concerned Mr Allister, in circumstances where our dependence on the volatile powder market is disproportionate.
Continuing to analyse the Health check proposals Mr Allister said, "Just as the market won't care for the landscape, making environmental-linked support essential, especially in LFAs, so the market alone won't keep farmers farming in the EU and feeding Europe. Pragmatism, not dogma must shape the future."
ENDS
