Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-09-04-Speech-2-376"
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"en.20070904.29.2-376"2
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"Mr President, this late in the day, when only our dogged spokesmen on agriculture and the agriculture Commissioner are still with us – for which my thanks, Commissioner – milk may not be the most obvious refreshment we are thirsty for, especially after the previous debate. But we must not forget that we are talking here about one of the giants of European agricultural production. Every Member State of the EU is a dairy producer and dairy accounts for no less than 14% of Europe's agricultural output. Notwithstanding its relatively modest share of the farm budget, it must be said. The dairy sector also offers us quality products and a choice of regional specialities. General De Gaulle made a connection between this great diversity of products and his country's governability. 'How can you govern a country which has 246 kinds of cheese?' he asked rhetorically. What this French observation might mean for a European Union of 27 Member States and no doubt thousands of kinds of cheese, well, we won't go into that this evening.
We must not forget the contribution which dairy farmers make to our countryside. A sector to be proud of, then, but one which has not had an easy time of it in recent years. It is tempting, in the light of those difficult years and present-day market developments, to dwell on questions which go beyond the scope of this debate. I shall be the exception to the rule and will not do that, though most Members have given in to the temptation. I will merely echo Struan Stevenson, who quite properly asks how much of the price rise actually feeds through to the farmers.
Back then to the subject of our debate: Mrs Jeggle's most excellent reports. I specifically want to address the call to widen the school milk scheme. The link between fat percentage and support has rightly been scrapped, so to me it makes sense, in widening the scheme, to think above all about innovative and healthy products, especially in view of Europe's growing obesity problem. The Commissioner has already said that she is having talks on this with the Member States, but maybe she can tell us when we can expect concrete proposals on the subject and consequently when this package is actually likely to be expanded.
Lastly, I agree with the rapporteur that it is too soon to do away with existing safety nets altogether, even if they are not currently used, but that this too is a matter for the Health Check. 'To be continued', is the message, then."@en1
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