Farm minister pushes for EU aid to Greek poultry farmers

   Greek agriculture minister Evangelos Bassiakos pushed his EU counterparts for immediate Community aid to poultry farmers, after consumption plunged in the wake of the bird flu cases reported within EU borders. Bassiakos was also supported by others on the EU Agriculture Ministers' Council that met in Brussels on Monday.

    The Greek minister said that specific Community measures should be taken immediately for Greek poultry farmers in particular, such as withdrawing existing stockpiles and payment of compensation to producers, as well as return on exports for the export of poultry meat to Balkan countries.

    The Greek side additionally called for the funding of action to inform the public and consumers concerning the safety and quality of poultry-trade products and the adoption of measures that will support all those affected by the crisis.

    Bassiakos briefed the Council on the precautions and safety measures taken by Greece to contain the deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus after it was detected in wild fowl and to prevent its spread to domestic poultry.

    The Council president, Austrian agriculture minister Josef Proell, clarified that discussion of compensation for poultry farmers would be take place during the afternoon session of the Council and that it would be set individually for each EU member-state, based on the drop in sales. He also noted that the EU had currently decided to compensate farmers if they were obliged to destroy eggs or slaughter their chickens because of an H5N1 infection.

    European Commissioner for Health Markos Kyprianou, meanwhile, said further study was needed before proceeding with precautionary inoculation programmes that some EU member-states wished to begin.

   

   

Λεπτομέρειες στη συνδρομητική σελίδα του ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ | Αίτηση Συνδρομητή