Motion for a resolution - B7-0057/2009Motion for a resolution
B7-0057/2009

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the crisis in the dairy farming sector

14.9.2009

further to Question for Oral Answer B7‑0208/2009
pursuant to Rule 115(5) of the Rules of Procedure

Ilda Figueiredo Willy Meyer Patrick Le Hyaric Marie-Christine Vergiat João Ferreira on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group

Document stages in plenary
Document selected :  
B7-0057/2009
Texts tabled :
B7-0057/2009
Texts adopted :

B7‑0057/2009

European Parliament resolution on the crisis in the dairy farming sector

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the question on the crisis in the dairy farming sector put to the Commission on 2 September 2009 (O-0085/2009 - B7-0208/2009),

–   having regard to Rules 115(5) and 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas diary producers are facing a serious crisis owing to the sharp falls in production prices - a drop of around 50% (from EUR 0.40 to EUR 0.20 per litre of milk),

B.  whereas production costs are high, with increases of between 50% and 100% in the prices of the main factors of production (feed, fertilisers, fuel, medicines), which were justified in the past year by the rise in oil prices,

C. whereas the crisis facing the dairy farming sector has its roots in the false choices made in the successive reforms of the common agricultural policy (CAP), which sacrificed small and medium-sized farmers to the interests of sectors such as industry and services negotiated by the EU in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other free-trade agreements,

D. whereas the successive reforms of the CAP have always taken account of the interests of agri-industry which, thanks to the full liberalisation of agricultural markets, is flooding the market with products at advantageous prices, leading to the concentration of land, agricultural production and marketing and jeopardising the survival of small and medium-sized farmers in many EU countries,

E.  whereas most production in EU countries is undertaken by small producers who - given the gradual reform of the sector, the fall in prices that has been recorded and the difficulties inherently linked to farming - will be forced to abandon production, leaving vast regions at risk of losing farming activity, leading to the deterioration of the land and rural depopulation,

F.  whereas the crisis facing the dairy farming sector, which is affecting many thousands of producers, has justifiably led to protests by farmers, who are demanding fair prices for production and aid to allow them to continue farming,

G. whereas the practical effect of the end of milk quotas announced for 2015 and the annual 1% increase (2.5 million litres) up to 2015 has been to legalise the surpluses which exist in some countries that have been producing over and above their quotas, with these surpluses being exported at low prices, flooding the markets and causing prices to fall below the final cost,

H. whereas the situation in the dairy farming sector also stems from the dominant position now held by large distribution groups in the EU and the processes of liberalisation in agri-food markets that the EU has approved in the wake of successive WTO negotiations,

I.   whereas the conditions and requirements imposed by large distribution groups with ties to industry are narrowing or entirely eliminating the margins for small and medium-sized producers,

J.   whereas the extraordinary Agriculture Council of 7 September changed none of the factors that are at the root of the crisis in the dairy farming sector, in particular the sector's liberalisation, the planned end of milk quotas and the annual 1% increase in quotas up to 2015, instead restricting itself to adopting palliative measures,

1.  Takes the view that the measures presented by the Commission and the decisions taken by the Council of 7 September do not tally with the needs of small and medium-sized producers but continue in the direction of the sector's full liberalisation in 2015 and the application of the decisions already taken that have led to the present situation;

2.  Calls for the readjustment of milk quotas, adapted to the needs of each country, and the cancellation of the annual 1% increase up to 2015;

3.  Takes the view that the economic crisis led to a decline in purchasing power and a reduction in demand for dairy products, which are basic to human nutrition; calls for urgent measures to be taken to boost purchasing power among the most disadvantaged groups;

4.  Supports immediate intervention by the Commission, withdrawing milk held in storage in order to guarantee a minimum price that is above the cost of production for small and medium-sized producers and family farms;

5.  Proposes financial support from the Commission for national bodies responsible for controlling the consumer prices set by agri-food distribution and marketing chains, and price monitoring for production factors such as feed, pesticides and fertilisers;

6.  Supports the creation of an extraordinary fund at Community level to support the dairy sector, targeted at the producers and countries that are most affected, and the fixing of new aid for the production of milk and meat linked to animal feed on the basis of local forage crops and permanent pasture; believes that this fund should also support an intervention plan for the withdrawal of newborn calves and cows for culling;

7.  Supports the introduction of rapid mechanisms for advances and swift payments to producers, as well as support and aid for income and investment;

8.  Supports the ending of the obligation to import dairy products and of the 1994 WTO agricultural agreement; argues that it is necessary to eliminate low-cost imports and implement preferential treatment for local production in the dairy sector;

9.  Believes that urgent reform of the CAP is necessary, with fair prices for small and medium-sized farmers and family farms in particular, and with aid being linked as closely as possible to production and distributed fairly among producers, products and countries, subject to ceilings and modulation, the main objective being to increase food production throughout the territory of EU countries with a view to food security and food sovereignty;

10. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the parliaments of the Member States.