Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-03-11-Speech-2-240"
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"en.20080311.30.2-240"2
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"Mr President, I think that, after the discussion here today, we can all agree that dairy production is still a very important part of our common agricultural policy. It seems to me that today you could pick and choose between different opinions, covering the whole range from zero up to more than we have suggested in our proposal. I think it has also shown the diversity that can be seen in different Member States, and that is perhaps a reason, in response to Mr Parish’s remarks, for not being bold enough. But at the end of the day we need to find a compromise between the various opinions.
I would just like to make a few comments on some of the issues that have been raised. On this increase in quota, it is voluntary for Member States either to distribute it to the producers or to keep it in the national reserve. My clear preference will be to distribute it. Member States can give special preference to young farmers and those who are suffering as a result of the prices that they have to pay for the quotas.
I think that, if we want to introduce an increase as from 1 April, we need to do so with a fixed percentage in all Member States. If we now start to discuss special figures or increased percentages for different Member States, there will be a battle that will go on for months. So let us agree that what we are discussing now is a 2% across-the-board increase. I actually do not think that we are so fundamentally divided in our opinions on where to go. I think we can define our goal, but there may be some differences of opinion between the Commission and Parliament on how to get there.
I think we can all agree that we should not put the sector at risk. This is exactly why I have proposed this soft landing. A ‘soft landing’ actually means that we increase the quotas over the years and maintain a situation where, at the end of the quota system, in 2015, we do not see a very steep drop in prices overnight, which would be the result if we did nothing. I therefore think we have chosen a proper and acceptable approach. I do not underestimate that there may be regions in Europe – mountainous regions, vulnerable regions – where a total abolition of the quota system could put the continuation of milk production at risk. Therefore, we will be prepared to look, during the health check, at solutions to help those regions. I think the most proper tool is Article 69, a possibility for Member States to top-slice the direct payment to the farmers and use it for specific areas.
I do not consider the idea of setting up a milk fund for restructuring to be a solution. Where do we get the money from? How much money do we get? How do we distribute the money between the different Member States? I think there are so many unanswered questions concerning this fund, and we have limited money. We would have to take it from our own budget, and then other producers within the agricultural sector would have to pay for this restructuring fund. So I do not think it would work.
In my opinion, the main reason for increasing milk production is the fact that we have emerging markets in Asia. Why should we not take our share of those growing markets? We know how difficult it is when others already have a foot in the door and we come afterwards and try to get our share. We should be there from the very beginning with our high quality products. Those dairy producers – dairies, industries that are doing well – are those that are producing high-quality products; here, in particular, it is cheese. We have an extraordinary brand in Europe on high-quality cheeses, so why do we not use it and take our share? As the Minister said, we will look again at this issue in the health check. I am sure that will be as animated a debate as we have had today, because I think dairy production will never be boring."@en1
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