Portuguese pig aid
Portuguese pig aid
STATE aid to Portuguese pig farmers has been given unanimous approval by EU farm ministers, overturning a previous ruling by the commission that the aid was illegal.
In total k16.3m (£10m) was handed out by the Portuguese government in 1994 and 1998 – equivalent to about k8000 (£4900) a producer – in response to poor market conditions.
That was declared illegal by the commission in 1999/2000, primarily because Lisbon had failed to notify Brussels before handing out the cash. It ordered that the money should be recovered.
But in a rare development at this weeks farm council, Portuguese minister, Juis Capoulas, Santos convinced his colleagues that the aid had not distorted the market and should remain with the farmers. Only the Dutch delegation had reservations about overruling the commission.
The commission now has to decide whether to challenge the decision in the European courts. "We consider it completely unjustified that a member state uses the council to nullify the practical effect of a commission decision ordering the recovery of state aid," it said in a statement. "We reserve the right to institute court proceedings." *