Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the "Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999 on the common organisation of the market in beef and veal"
Date: 2001-04-25
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: beef, common organisation of markets

10.7.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 193/39

3.7.
In order to face up to the particular risks and quality
requirements of hops growing and marketing, and to send out
a signal to the worldwide brewing industry that EU hops

production offers long-term supply security, the Committee
deems it appropriate that producer aid be extended for five
years.

Brussels, 25 April 2001.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Göke FRERICHS

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Council Regulation
amending Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999 on the common organisation of the market in beef and
veal’

(2001/C 193/10)

On 26 February 2001 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under
Article 37 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

On 27 February 2001 the bureau of the Economic and Social Committee asked the Section for
Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment to prepare the Committee’s work on the subject.

At its 381st plenary session on 25 and 26 April 2001 (meeting of 25 April) the Economic and Social
Committee, in view of the tight deadline, appointed Mr Kienle as rapporteur-general and adopted the
following opinion by 76 votes to two with seven abstentions.

1.

Background

1.1.
The emergence of new cases of bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (BSE) has plunged consumer confidence in
beef and veal and the whole of the cattle-farming sector into a
crisis which threatens the very existence of this sector.

1.2.
The comprehensive precautionary measures which
have been taken — such as the ban on the use of meat-and-
bone-meals, the introduction of BSE tests and the removal of
material posing a specific risk — are prerequisites for re-
establishing consumer confidence. The European Com-
missioner responsible for public health, Mr Byrne, speaking at
the BSE Hearing organised by the Economic and Social
Committee on 9 March 2001, underlined the fact that in his
view there were no conceivable additional measures which
could provide still more effective protection.

1.4.
In many regions — including, in many cases, upland
areas and other areas suffering from natural disadvantages —
cattle farming is extremely important both economically and
as a determining characteristic of the landscape. There is a
widespread fear of
losing their livelihood and mood of
resignation amongst farmers hit by the crisis facing the beef
and veal market.

2. Gist of the Commission’s proposals

2.1.
The proposals which had been presented for amending
Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999 on the common organisation
of the market in beef and veal are an key part of a ‘seven-
point plan’ put forward by the European Commissioner for
Agriculture, Mr Fischler, on 13 February 2001 with a view to
overcoming the crisis affecting the beef and veal sector.

1.3.
Consumption of beef and veal in many EU Member
States has fallen very sharply and major export markets have
been lost. As a result, producer prices have collapsed. The
outbreak and rampant spread of foot and mouth disease has
been a further heavy blow for both the internal market and
external trade.

2.2.
A separate Committee opinion is being drawn up on
the Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation
(EC) No 1251/1999 under which organic farms are in the
future to be given the possibility to grow particular kinds of
fodder legumes on set-aside ground.

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EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

10.7.2001

2.3.
Neither the ESC nor the European Parliament has,
however, been consulted on the Commission’s proposal to
adopt a further special purchase scheme for cattle aged over
30 months in all Member States with a view to easing the
pressure on the market in the short term. The decision on this
scheme was taken by the European Commission’s Management
Committee for Beef and Veal.

The Commission proposals under review address the

2.4.
following issues:

— the promotion of extensive production through the

lowering of the stocking density;

— the promotion of extensification by setting a mandatory
ceiling of 90 animals eligible for payment of a premium
per producer;

— introduction of individual premium rights for producers

in respect of male bovine animals;

— amendments to the provisions governing the suckler cow

premium;

— non-application of the ceiling in respect of the quantities

to be bought in.

3. General comments

The ESC agrees with the Commission on the urgent
3.1.
need for emergency measures to tackle the upheavals on the
beef and veal market brought about by the BSE crisis. The ESC
supports appropriate measures designed to bring an end to
market disruptions in the short term and to restore the markets
to balance in the medium term. National aid schemes must
not trigger new distortions in competition or even trends
towards a ‘renationalsation’ of
the Common Agricultural
Policy.

3.2.
Even though the ESC has not been directly consulted
on an additional special purchase scheme, as proposed by the
Commissioner for Agriculture in his seven-point plan, the
Committee nonetheless welcomes this proposal as it may
make a decisive contribution towards the essential need to
ease the pressure on the market. Given many people’s ethical
qualms about destroying food, the Committee feels it is right
that Member States be given scope — at their own expense —
to make BSE-tested and labelled meat from healthy cattle aged
over 30 months available for humanitarian deliveries, or to
keep it in store.

3.3.
The ESC points out that the agricultural reforms which
have been carried out have already resulted in moves towards
a more market-oriented approach and established incentives
for greater extensification in the beef and veal sector. Attention
is also drawn to the fact that last year, up to the outbreak of
the current BSE crisis, a balanced market, without intervention
and providing adequate returns for producers, had been
achieved. The Agenda 2000 decisions on the common organis-
ation of the market in beef and veal should therefore, as a
matter of principle, not now be brought
into question,
especially as Agenda 2000 was due to cover a period of six

years and has only been in force for one year. Mid-term
reviews are also planned for 2002 and 2003 which will also
address the decisions on the organisation of the market in beef
and veal. The ESC is concerned that a mix of short, medium
and long-term measures could hamper rapid resolution of the
present crisis. This point was also demonstrated by the initial
discussions on the Commission’s proposals held by the Special
Committee on Agriculture and the Agriculture Council which
were marked by sharp disagreement.

3.4.
In the ESC’s view the BSE crisis poses a threat to the
existence of both small and large enterprises irrespective of the
farming method employed. Steps should therefore be taken to
in further loss
ensure that
of income for particular farms and regions and that the
Community’s efforts are not undermined by increased exports
which may be subject to lower health standards and checks.

the proposals do not result

3.5.
The ESC is critical of the fact that the proposals contain
no incentives to reduce the supply of beef and veal by lowering
carcass weights. This could be achieved, for example, by
linking the payment of premiums to ceilings in respect of
carcass weight or the age of stock; this practice is being
followed quite successfully in the case of slaughter premiums
for calves. A further possible measure would be to increase aid
for calf-fattening in order to further limit the number of heavy
adult animals being fattened.

3.6.
Against the background of the dramatic upheavals on
the beef and veal markets — which have taken on a new
dimension as a result of the outbreak of the foot and mouth
disease — it is, in the ESC’s view, essential to seek to achieve a
harmonised approach throughout the EU over the use of
public funds to defray costs. In the current market crisis,
producers and processors alone cannot be burdened with the
considerable additional costs of comprehensive BSE safeguards.
It is also essential to avoid new distortions in competition. In
view of the seriousness of the crisis, the ESC expects that the
EU will also have to make available special funding to relieve
or remove hardship.

The ESC requests the Commission to back up the
3.7.
supply-side measures by additional and more pro-active
demand-side measures. The wide-ranging consumer protection
measures should go hand in hand with the substantial
stepping-up of an information and communication campaign.
Steps should also be taken to highlight both the importance of
beef and veal as valuable food sources and the significance of
beef and veal production to both rural areas and the food
industry.
resources under Regulation (EC)
No 2826/2000 on promotion actions for agricultural products
should also be deployed for a Community campaign of this
kind.

In particular,

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 193/41

4.

Special comments

The Committee recognises that the proposals to further
4.1.
lower the stocking density and establish the 90-head limit
would hit certain regions and farms very hard, with no
expectation of any short-term easing of market pressure.
Hence, this discussion should be comprehensively pursued in
conjunction with the mid-term reviews.

The ESC notes that

4.2.
the introduction of reference
quantities for individual producers in respect of the special
premium for male bovine animals would lead to a radical
change in market organisation. While short-term market
impact is doubtful, this adjustment would clearly involve a
considerable and permanent increase in red tape, which does

not chime with the desired administrative simplification of the
CAP which has also been advocated by the Commission. It
would, moreover, also make it more difficult for farmers to
adapt to future market developments.

4.3.
The ESC would point out that the proposed amend-
ment in respect of the suckler-cow premium must not one-
sidedly burden small agricultural holdings.

4.4.
The Committee would warn against any return to
permanent intervention. However, in the light of the current
the
extreme market disruptions,
proposal that the intervention ceiling of 350 000 t set out in
Agenda 2000 be temporarily repealed is the right course of
action. The provisions governing intervention, particularly
those in respect of carcass weights, should also be reconsidered.

the ESC considers that

Brussels, 25 April 2001.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Göke FRERICHS