Stronger supports for dairy farmers win backing from 15 EU members

A TOTAL of 15 European Union member states, including Ireland, have called for major improvements in support for hard-pressed dairy farmers.

Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Minister Brendan Smith said yesterday his fellow ministers and he are agreed in calling for additional rapid action at EU level to deal with the very serious situation on European milk markets driven by the global economic crisis.

“The group of 15 ministers called for a comprehensive EU approach combining immediate short-term measures along with a medium-term strategy to deal with volatility in the milk sector. This position was also broadly supported by several other countries,” he said.