Summary of newsmakers of the previous day – 5.3.2008

CR and Sweden at the head of EU want to reduce bureaucracy and direct payments

According to the Minister of Agriculture Petr Gandalovič, priorities of the Czech Republic and Sweden, which will preside over the European Union in 2009, agree in matters of the EU Common Agricultural Policy. Both states will aim at decreasing of cost for direct payments and reducing of bureaucracy. Sweden will more emphasize fishery and protection of Environment; the Czech Republic logically the quality of foods and their marking, said Gandalovič to Journalists immediately after his negotiation with Sweden Minister of Agriculture at a food fairground Salima in Brno today.

Almost 1400 foods have already mark KLASA

In total 16 new products get an appraisal for quality foods today - the national mark of quality KLASA. Vilém Frček, a spokesman of the State Agricultural Intervention fund, which manages this mark, informed on it. The certificate entitling to use a logo of the mark KLASA on packages of its products producers obtain from hands of the Minister of Agriculture, Petr Gandalovič at the actual international fair of grocery and gastronomy SALIMA in the premises of fairground in Brno. According to Frček already 1392 products have been evaluated by the mark KLASA on today.

Other round of negotiations of ministers of agriculture of countries V4 took place in frame of Salima

How to make a regime of direct supports more effective and simpler? How to achieve so that tools originally worked out for the Community of six constituent states of EU would conform to the present reality and ensure an equal approach to all member states? Ministers of Agriculture of countries of Viszegrad 4 and their colleagues from Romania, Bulgaria and Slovenia tried to answer these questions today in Brno. Presentations and other convergence of national traditions to actual problems of agrarian sector continued to last year's negotiations in Český Krumlov. In the negotiation agenda there were also an application of communitary instructions and check of application of cross-compliance, proposals of EC for reduction of payments to enterprises according to size, or a fate of milk quotas as well as procedure of liberalization of the system with the aim of strengthening of competitiveness of European production.

Government passed introduction of graded sanction in frame of program Preliminary Termination of Agricultural Activity

Applicants for subsidy in frame of the program Preliminary Termination of Agricultural Activity (PUZČ) will not be sanctioned in case that an acquirer of transferred agricultural land will decrease its area to ten percents. It results from the novel of statutory order No. 69/2005 Sb., which was approved today on the proposal of the Minister of Agriculture Petr Gandalovič.