Summary of newsmakers from the previous day 22.6.2005

Farmers associate little

Sale coops win recognition in the Czech Republic more slowly than in the EU. ‘Farmers in other European countries share in trade together as far as 80 percent of meat and milk. In the Czech Republic the share is close to 40 percent. Breeders are losers because of a fragmentation’, said a chairman of the Agricultural Association, Miroslav Jirovský, at an expert seminar in Větrný Jeníkov in Jihlava region yesterday. According to Jirovský more important difficulties arise in sale and in a production realization because of fragmentation. Consumer prices of food in the country increased only by one tenth in last nine years, almost by the least from all European countries. They increased less only in Germany and Lithuania. On the contrary they grew by a half in Poland; by almost 90 percent in Hungary.

European Commission approved radical reform of sugar market in EU

The European Union approved a proposal of far-reaching changes of sugar market in the European Union today. The proposal of a commissar Marianne Fisher-Böl should strengthen a competition on the market by a deep decrease of minimal prices of sugar and sugar beet and by a reduction of production quotas. In this way an archaic system changes, which outlasted almost 40 years without larger changes. ‘The Commission just adopted proposals of a sugar reform,’ said the agricultural commissar’s spokesman Michael Mann.

Ban of commercial whaling will further remain in force

A ban of commercial whaling will further remain valid. Member states of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) decided on it at their meeting in Southern-Korean Ulsan yesterday. To cancel the ban, which is valid for 19 years, was straggled for by Japan and its allies. IWC, whose members are newly also the Czech Republic and Slovakia, imposed a ban of commercial whaling in word seas in 1986. However, this ban is got round by Japan and Ireland with reference to the fact that whales are hunted only for “scientific” purposes. Norway, which had risen objections against the ban already earlier, has realized whaling since 1993.

Protectionists appeal to Brussels to stop aid payment to Slovakia

Representatives of 35 non-governmental organizations from 20 countries called upon the European Union to stop an aid payment to Slovak from the Solidarity Fund for damages removal after a gale in November lasts year in Tatry. They condition the renewal of the aid to a “sufficient” guarantees of Slovak government that the EU money will be used only for activities which are in harmony with suggestions of the World Conservation Union (IUCN). A spokeswoman of the organization Friends of the Earth Europe, Barbora Černušáková, informed ČTK about it at the close of the two-day meeting of protectionists in High Tatra.