EURO-BRIEFS
EURO-BRIEFS
• AUSTRIA could soon end up in the European court if it fails to take swift action to improve its fertiliser and manure controls. Brussels has sent a second legal warning to Vienna, citing many weaknesses in relation to the EUs nitrates directive. Mountain areas have too many exemptions and storage capacities for animal wastes are too small, it says.
• ITALY is to spend around k670m (£429m) in compensation and reduced taxes to help rural businesses in the south of the country cope with the worst drought in 30 years, according to wire service reports. With rainfall down by 25% over 10 years and as much as 40% wastage through leaking pipes and reservoirs, the situation is reaching crisis point.
• IRELAND is seeking a derogation from Brussels to allow its farmers to graze their set-aside land and take a cut of hay or silage to counter the problems of a major fodder shortage following this seasons atrociously wet weather. Farmer representatives have repeatedly called for assistance from government as the industry has faced a rising feed bill at a time when commodity prices have been falling.
• GREEN campaigners have given their support to farm commissioner Franz Fischlers mid-term review plans for the common agricultural policy. In a new report called "How Green is the Prodi Commission?" the consortium of eight leading environmental groups, including the WWF, Greenpeace and Birdlife International, lists the CAP reform initiative as one of the three main achievements of the past two-and-a-half years.
• ANTI-GMO protesters have been back in action in south-west France, destroying a crop of maize in the Tarn region – part of a long-term trial into glyphosate resistant strains. The attack took place while Monsanto was meeting local residents for an exchange of information on GMOs. The company called the attack "an act of vandalism".
• A NEW headquarters for the EUs Food and Veterinary Office – the unions "food safety police" – has been opened in Grange, Co Meath, about 25 miles to the north of Dublin. The new k35m (£22m) building will house the existing 150 FVO staff, whose job it is to ensure EU rules on food, live animals and plants are complied with. Last year FVO teams carried out over 200 inspections in 52 countries. *