EXCEPTIONAL MARKET SUPPORT MEASURES (7933/06)
Letter from Lord Bach, Minister for Sustainable
Farming and Food, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
to the Chairman
I am writing to inform you of an issue which
is to come before the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on 25
April. This concerns a proposal for a Council Regulation amending
Regulations (EEC) No 2771/75 and (EEC) No 2777/75 as regards the
application of exceptional market support measures.
An Explanatory Memorandum was prepared and submitted
on 12 April. The Explanatory Memorandum has been cleared by the
Commons Scrutiny on 18 April but it has not proved possible to
obtain scrutiny clearance from the Lords ahead of the vote in
Council on 25 April.
This proposal would provide a legal basis on
which special emergency support measures for the poultry industry
could be exercised to help alleviate the number of challenges
resulting from avian influenza.
It is unfortunate that scrutiny could not be
completed in time for Council but I wish to inform your Committee
of the Government's intention that it is long established UK policy
not to use public funds to underpin changes as a result of market
evolution. However we recognise these are exceptional times, and
may demand exceptional measures. We are therefore considering
the UK's response to the EC's proposal to legalise special emergency
measures to respond to such challenges. We anticipate the Council
of Agriculture Ministers voting on this on 25 April.
21 April 2006
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