Romania and Bulgaria are set to sign EU membership treaties within
the next two months while Ukraine steps ever closer to the bloc,
offering hope to food producers and retailers seeking new,
potentially lucrative markets. But quality...
Mariann Fischer Boel, the EU's recently appointed agriculture
commissioner, has claimed that sweeping EU agricultural reforms
will provide UK farmers with a "better balance of support",
while forging a more competitive...
Recently devolved Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have already
established a strong bargaining position in the development of EU
policy, particularly in agriculture, likely to affect how the UK
handles CAP reform in the future,...
European and Swiss manufacturers of processed agricultural products
can from today sell their products to each other with less expense
and hassle than before, writes Philippa Nuttall.
Ireland's lone sugar processor Greencore Sugar is to cease
operating at its Carlow production facility in anticipation of the
pending EU reform of the sugar industry, Tom Armitage
reports.
EU Advocate General Francis Jacobs has said that the ban on the use
of the name 'Tocai' for Italian wine should be upheld. The
announcement reignites arguments surrounding Geographical
Indications (GIs) and the right to...
Hungarian food canners, who are already struggling to survive
following the country's EU accession, fear a lot of businesses may
collapse if the EU adopts proposals to reduce import duties on Thai
canned corn - though how many...
The EU has initiated a dispute against Canada and the United States
in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over the continued imposition
of sanctions against EU exports because of the EU's ban on hormone
beef.
Brussels will fight to appeal against a new decision by the World
Trade Organisation that rules the EU illegally subsidises exports
of sugar, ruling in favour of a legal challenge by Australia,
Thailand and Brazil, the world's...
Food makers alert to the levels of a potentially carcinogenic mould
commonly found on crops as scientists back an extension barrier
levels for ochratoxin A to grape juice, coffee and wine.
An expert group in Brussels backs a Commission proposal for tighter
levels of the potentially carcinogenic compounds Polycyclic
Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) found in grilled meats.
Six of the new EU member states are set to receive more than €20
million in EU funding so that they can improve and expand their
vineyards, helping them to make better quality wine and compete
more effectively in both their home markets...
Wimm-Bill-Dann, has become one of the first Russian dairy companies
to receive a new EU license to export its products to Member
States. The move is expected to help the company target large
ex-pat Russian communities in EU countries.
The Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products - set up under the new
EU legislation designed to investigate the safety of herbal
medicines - is holding its inaugural meeting in London.
Sugar producers from Serbia and Montenegro will once again benefit
from preferential access to the European Union market, following
the EU's recent lifting of a 15-month ban on duty-free sugar
imports from the country - a move...
Reporting on the latest happenings from the Baltic State's meat
sector, we discover that Estonian processors are facing increased
costs due to EU carcass disposal regulations, the region's largest
meat processor has reported...
Good news for players in the dairy industry as a new report claims
thevolume of dairy trade is growing at a faster pace than global
milk production. But Europe is outstripped by Australia and New
Zealand on the global stage.
Europe's organic food and farming sector got a major boost this
week with the adoption by the European Commission of a new action
plan to promote the sector. The challenge will be to ensure, and
maintain, consumer trust in premium-priced...
The European Union is ready to cut generous, and much criticised,
subsidies on farm exports to jump start troubled world trade talks,
said EU trade chief Pascal Lamy on Monday.
An increase in sales volumes, favourable currency conversions and
improved pricing helped the US maker of syrups for soft drinks,
Corn Products International, offset the rising price of corn in the
first quarter. But as global corn...
The Bulgarian meat processing sector still has a long way to go if
it is to meet EU standards by the country's 2007 target entry date,
say industry experts.
The European Commission has introduced TRACES, a new IT system
designed to improve the management of animal movements both from
outside the EU and within the EU. The system is designed to
simplify existing systems and create better...
The EU has made no secret of the fact that it is now looking into
sourcing meat and dairy products from Russia. Simon Pitman
spoke to the Russian Ministry of Agriculture to find out how
discussions on the subject are progressing.
Franz Fischler, EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development
and Fisheries, is to pay an official visit to China from 25 to 30
March 2004 to help consolidate what is becoming a vitally important
export market. Since 1978, EU-China...
Difficulties in the meat export market and cheap imports have been
troubling Baltic meat processors, with Estonia's largest processor,
Rakvere Lihakombinaat, reporting that its profits have been halved
in the space of a year...
Pressing reform to European food and feed controls cleared a
further obstacle this week with Parliament waving through proposed
Commission rules, leaving room for ministers to take the final
decision in coming weeks, writes Lindsey...
On the cusp of reform to the EU's heavily supported sugar regime,
some of the world's poorest sugar exporting countries have called
on Europe 'to put fairness at the heart of the new regime'.
Sugar, biotechnology, farm reform and failed WTO talks were on the
agenda this week as the EU's farm minister Franz Fischler staked
out Europe's position to the US.
The European Commission recently convened researchers, experts and
decision-makers from all over the world to discuss ways to increase
international cooperation in the battle to combat highly
transmissible animal diseases such as...
As processors in Poland and other accession countries race to
comply with EU food safety regulations, the EU Commission has said
that it will be prepared to further extend deadlines in an attempt
to help companies bring facilities...
The European Parliament has voted to create a European Centre for
Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), following growing concern
over animal disease epidemics. "Outbreaks like SARS in 2003 and
bird flu this year have been a...
EU agriculture commissioner Franz Fischler has confirmed Hungary's
Operational Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development.
Approved upon accession, the programme is part of a €422.8 million
investment which aims to make...
Accession will create changes in food and drink trade further a
field than just the European Union. In Russia a number of issues
relating to accession are set to make an impact on both production
levels and quality, but the outlook...
As the Commission this week earmarked a €6 million rural support
package for accession states, Europe's food industry body has
warned the Irish presidency that the legal and economic climate
must be right to encourage the burgeoning...
The European Commission has rejected warnings about the safety of
farmed salmon, saying that levels of harmful chemicals detected in
a recent scientific study are within safe limits. EU officials
contradicted the findings of US...
Opening Slovenian borders to allow increased imports of food
products made in the rest of the EU - and the ending of export
agreements with some non-EU countries - is likely to lead to more
pressure on domestic manufacturers, according...
With EU enlargement just around the corner, many food and drink
businesses within the 10 accession countries are facing up to the
tough challenge of bringing their production facilities up to
required standards for quality and hygiene....
The European Community, Canada and the US have taken the
controversial case of hormone-treated beef to the World Trade
Organisation's (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) this month.
Today in Brussels European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin
will meet ministers and high level representatives of the 13
acceding and candidate countries to discuss their participation in
the EU's Sixth Framework Programme...
European Union regulators are preparing to introduce new
legislation which they hope will help them clamp down on the rising
tide of counterfeit goods flooding the trading bloc.
The European Commission has sent a warning letter to the Polish
government saying that the country must do more to bring food
safety standards relating to meat production in line with current
EU regulations if it is to ensure a smooth...
Undecided limits on the amount of genetically modified organisms in
cereal and vegetable seeds have thrown the GMO debate into further
disarray, as EU setbacks delay voting until Spring next year.
Following a scientific risk assessment, the European Parliament and
the European Council adopted a directive prohibiting the use of
growth promoting hormones on 14 October, reports CORDIS.
Around 30 industry and governmental experts from Central and
Eastern European candidate countries (CEEC's) are meeting this week
for a seminar on food safety.
A report carried out at the request of the Commission's Enterprise
DG has concluded that innovation capabilities in the candidate
countries still lag behind those within the 15 current Member
States, report CORDIS.
In a landmark decision, the European Commission has blocked the
first attempt by an EU region to turn itself into a statutory
GM-free zone. The EU body ruled that governments that tried to ban
genetically-modified crops would be in...
In the run up to the WTO trade talks next week in Mexico, the
European Union has called on the WTO to rule on the 'legality of
the Australian quarantine regime' applied to imports of a large
number of food products of EU...
