Liberal and Democrat MEPs have given their broad support to a series of measures aimed at countering the crisis in the dairy farming sector and endorsed today in the European Parliament's Strasbourg plenary session.  The resolution urged the European Commission to adopt a package of short-term initiatives aimed at supporting dairy producers whose product prices have dropped 40% in three years while consumer prices have risen by 14%.  

George Lyon MEP (UK Liberal Democrat, Scotland), ALDE coordinator on the Agriculture Committee, endorsed the package saying:

"Milk producers across Europe are facing a crisis with fallen demand caused by recession and increased production in third countries.  As with other stricken sectors, we must act to alleviate their pain.  This is a short-term crisis that requires immediate action."

But Mr Lyon went on to argue that this should not distract the Council, Commission and Parliament from the long-term challenge of reforming the Common Agricultural Policy

"For too long European consumers have paid for an inefficient agriculture policy that has failed both farmers and consumers.  This crisis should not be used as an excuse to turn our backs on the road to further reform of the CAP.

"The Commission must focus on sorting out the current market, which is clearly failing.  Consumers are losing out as they fail to benefit from the fall in milk value, and farmers are losing out as they don't receive their fair share of the retail milk price."

welcomed the Commission's investigations into the food chain and its impact on prices and profits, but urged Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel to go further, asking:

"Will she commit to action that will root out supermarkets' abuse of their monopoly positions?  Will she commit to competitive markets that allow producers a fair share of the cake?  Will she commit to a functional milk market that gives a fair deal to farmers and a fair price to consumers?