ICOS Dairy Committee Chairman, Jerry Long attended the Copa-Cogeca Working Party on Milk and Dairy Products and the Civil Dialogue Meeting with the European Commission held in Brussels on 27-28 October. Mr. Thierry Roquefeuil from the French Farm Organisation, FNSEA was elected Chairman of the Copa-Cogeca Working Party, replacing Mansel Raymond from the NFU in the UK.

Voluntary Supply Reduction Scheme

A wide range of issues were discussed including the implementation of the July Support Package, which included the €150 million voluntary reduction scheme. The European Commission is adamant that should there be an under-delivery of the planned reduction in phase one, unused money from the scheme cannot be transferred to phase 2, where a heavy allocation coefficient is established.

Public Intervention

ICOS called on the European Commission to take a sensible approach to the release of SMP stocks onto the market, with the Commission indicating that it is prepared to release up to 18% of existing stocks in 2017.

Origin Labelling

The issue of origin labelling and developments across Europe was discussed in detail. Below is a table outlining the various EU Member States which have applied to the Commission to extend national legislation on mandatory origin labelling to cover dairy products and the stage of their application.

By Eamonn Farrell & Alison Graham