Wednesday 27 May 2009

Germany, France, and Austria demand interventions in the milk market

In a joint note, Germany, France, and Austria have demanded interventions into the milk market due to low milk prices.

The request was directed to the 2944th AGRICULTURE and FISHERIES Council meeting on Monday, and there was supported by Lithuania, Slovakia, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Poland, Hungary, Belgium, Greece, Italy, Portugual, Ireland, Spain, Latvia and Romania.

They all demanded higher aid for cheese, for skimmed milk powder and for ...school milk consumption.

This looks very much like a populist reaction to the latest milk farmer protests, and I deplore that the member states react on such short sighted pressure, especially in the field of agricultural policy that already gets way to much funds.

According to the Council summary, only the Commission, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom raised doubts and asked for a more "cautious approach".

Welcome back, European Agricultural Union!

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