AGRICULTURE: EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT COMMITTEE ADOPTS RAFT OF REPORTS.

• Position: Brief Article

Trade in cattle and pigs.Friedrich-Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf (Greens), the German rapporteur who assessed the Commission's proposal for a Directive on health monitoring problems in Community trade in cattle and pigs (COM (1999)456), believes a compulsory Tuberculosis and Brucellosis test (bacterial infections causing miscarriage in cattle, sheep and goats and which can be transmitted to man) is not indispensable for each animal exported from a region where official veterinary services are not yet attached to a licensed monitoring network. The Commission's proposal also covers the following points:- under certain conditions, Brucellosis and Tuberculosis tests will not be compulsory before December 31, 2000 in respect of cattle under 30 months destined for meat production from farms free of the diseases, when accompanied by a veterinary certificate;- the derogation applicable to Spanish animals destined for slaughter is extended to December 31, 2000;- difficulties encountered in the transposition of the Directive and the lengthy nature of co-decision procedure have led the Commission to decide that transitional provisions should be adopted according to committee procedure for a period not exceeding three years.The rapporteur is formally opposed to the approach on this last point arguing that experience suggests Member States often show considerable reluctance in transposing Community provisions that do not suit them. Instead, he proposes that any additional leeway granted to measures introduced by the Commission should be limited to one year. EU Agriculture Ministers succeeded in January 24 in adopting a common position on this dossier (see European Report N[inverted exclamation mark] 2469 for further details).Information on the CAP.The Committee adopted a draft report from Maria Izquierdo Rojo (PES, Spain) on a proposal for a Council Regulation concerning information on the Common Agricultural Policy (COM(1999)536), presented by the European Commission on October 26, 1999. Mrs Izquierdo Rojo proposes the allocation of Euro 4.5 million per year from 2000 to programmes promoting the CAP, information to rural players and awareness raising campaigns, presented by farming or rural development organisations. Information in third countries and Central and East European countries...