Andrew Arbuckle : 'Immediate measures' set for diary sector

EU AGRICULTURAL Commissioner Dacian Ciolos yesterday announced the European dairy industry would face "immediate measures" which will be brought forward before the end of this year.

Speaking at a dairy conference in Brussels, Ciolos confirmed his idea to present, without waiting for the discussions on the future of the CAP after 2013, a legislative package to improve the functioning of the dairy sector.

"I will take into account the recommendations of the High Level Group on milk in June. We will then have a discussion on the recommendations in the Agriculture Council in July and I hope to be in a position to present a legislative package by the end of the year", he said. "We need immediate, long term measures."

When questioned as to the nature of the measures, he responded. "Nothing is excluded for the moment. However, it will not be budgetary measures but regulatory measures".

During the conference, the commissioner came back on the very tough crisis of the milk sector last year. "Slowly, we put the situation right thanks to the market measures we used like intervention and private storage, and we must not forget the importance of direct payments in supporting farm income," the commissioner underlined, also repeating that quotas are not a solution for the future of the dairy sector after 2015.

Ciolos called for a sustainable orientation toward the market, with tools to fight against extreme prices volatility, but not against natural evolution of markets.

MEP Alyn Smith last night welcomed the news that the commissioner will visit the Highland Show in June.