Parliamentary question - E-0034/2008Parliamentary question
E-0034/2008

Situation of the EU milk market

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0034/08
by Gian Paolo Gobbo (UEN)
to the Commission

The situation of the EU milk market is deteriorating week by week. This is illustrated by the relentless growth in consumer prices in the face of steadily diminishing supplies of this valuable type of food on the market.

For obvious reasons, the shortage in milk is also making it difficult to obtain dairy products, such as butter and cheese, causing a wide range of problems for the European food industry.

This situation is as unexpected as it is worrying: the supply and demand mechanism has created unsustainable imbalances and a real danger that fresh milk and dairy products may no longer be available in shops.

This is all a result of market systems (and their economic consequences) which have dictated trends in milk supplies on EU markets and are creating problems for processing companies, with repercussions for jobs in the sector.

In view of the above, will the Commission consider, on the occasion of the conference to be held in January 2008 on the milk market's state of health, whether rapid action could be taken to address the current crisis? Will it, at the same conference, consider whether steps could be taken to temporarily suspend the milk quota regime or to speed up its abolition with a view to keeping consumer prices under control?

OJ C 291, 13/11/2008