WRITTEN QUESTION E-0072/01

by Elisabeth Jeggle (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(22 January 2001)

Subject: Possible EU measures to support agriculture during the BSE crisis

The BSE crisis is the cause of the sharp fall in demand for beef products of all kinds. This has further exacerbated the critical situation of farmers' incomes and some farms are in danger of going under. The same applies to slaughterhouses.

Can the Commission answer the following:

1. In response to EU requirements, Germany is to test for BSE in all female animals over 30 months old which are covered by the EU purchase-for-destruction scheme. Does the Commission see any possibility of taking meat that tests negative into intervention?

2. It would not seem possible to comply with the requests of the Federal Institute of Agriculture and Food to take bulls into intervention. Does the Commission see any possibility of placing greater emphasis on whether the meat is fit for consumption as a criterion for being taken into intervention? Can intervention be opened for bulls over 24 months, at least temporarily?

3. Does the Commission see any possibility of raising the slaughter premium for calves of between 1 and 7 months weighing less than 159.6 kg from the current DM 65:- to the level paid for adult cattle (DM 129:-)?

4. Is it possible to pay bull-fatteners a premium equal to the special premium for male cattle for unoccupied fattening places (extensification) in order to relieve pressure on the market?

5. What is the Commission doing to shed light on the emergence and transmission of BSE? Is it participating in the development of tests on live animals? Is there a timetable?

6. The end of animal-and-bone meal has led to a rise in demand for vegetable protein. Can exceptional arrangements be made for 2001 whereby farmers may grow protein crops on their own set-aside land for their own use on a scale equivalent to the farm's average annual animal production?

7. Owing to the suspension of slaughtering, it is possible that the density coefficient of 2.0 LU/ha cannot be met. How will that be taken into account in terms of the volume of animal premiums and the extensification premiums under the agricultural programmes?

Supplementary answergiven by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(11 October 2001)

1. Commission Regulation (EC) No 2777/2000 of 18 December 2000 adopting exceptional support measures for the beef market(1) provides that all animals (female as well as male) above 30 months of age must test negative for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) before their meat can enter the human food chain. Only Category C (steers) may be more than 30 months and at the same time eligible for intervention purchase, obviously only if they test negative.

It should nevertheless be noted that Regulation (EC) No 690/2001 of 3 April 2001 on special market support measures in the beef sector(2) provides for a special purchase scheme for animals over 30 months that are not eligible for normal intervention purchases. Again, only meat from animals that have tested negative may be accepted under the scheme.

2. Only beef which is declared fit for human consumption in accordance with the Community veterinary and animal-health legislation may be accepted for the purpose of intervention purchase.

The Commission has no intention of opening intervention for older bulls as the market is considered to be supported more effectively through the buying-in of younger animals, given the absolute limit on intervention set by the Council.

3. The slaughter premium for calves is fixed in basic Council Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in beef and veal(3) and can only be altered in that context. The premium was established as an integral part of the compensation for the price reductions agreed under Agenda 2000, and since prices in the veal sector have long been substantially above the level intended under Agenda 2000 it would be difficult to justify any increase in the premium.

4. It is also the Council's competence to amend the basic rules on premiums for male animals. It recently agreed to certain adjustments in order to achieve better market balance in the Community in the medium term, but the proposal from the Honourable Member was not among the agreed amendments.

5. An extensive BSE monitoring programme is in place to provide a clearer picture of the incidence of BSE in the Community. Under that programme all adult cattle slaughtered for human consumption must be tested for BSE and in addition all adult cattle dying on farms must be tested over a one-year period. The programme was made possible by the development of rapid BSE tests, which the Commission has evaluated. A second evaluation is currently being completed.

The Commission is also supporting a number of research projects under the Fifth Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development. As indicated in the Communication on research activities in Europe related to transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) adopted by the Commission on 12 June 2001(4), a specific call for research proposals was issued on 31 May 2001. The development of in vivo tests for pre-clinical diagnosis is one of the four priority areas identified in the call.

6. In March 2001 the Commission sent the Council and Parliament its analysis of the impact of the animal-meal ban on demand for vegetable proteins. The Commission's view is that, given the quantities available, no supply problems will arise for plant protein in 2001 on either the Community or the world markets. It also concluded that authorising the cultivation of set-aside land to produce plant protein would weaken compulsory set-aside as an instrument for controlling production and would be likely to complicate the Community's position in future discussions on agriculture in the World Trade Organisation.

7. Commission Regulation (EC) No 192/2001 of 30 January 2001 amending Regulation (EC) No 2342/1999 laying down detailed rules for premium schemes in the beef and veal sector(5) provides for derogating measures that are intended to solve the short-term problem of increased density created by the backlog of animals for slaughter or export.

(1) OJ L 321, 19.12.2000.

(2) OJ L 95, 5.4.2001.

(3) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999.

(4) COM(2001) 323 final.

(5) OJ L 29, 31.1.2001.