Italian farmers facing €1.4bn in EU fines

The European Commission has given Italy two months to respond to its demand to pay €1.42bn in unpaid super levy fines accumulated over the 14 years from 1995 to 2009.

Agri-media commentators across the EU member states have been highly critical of the demand. Notably, critics have described the commission’s insistence that Italian authorities need to recoup the due money from “offending” non-paying dairy farmers as totally unrealistic, given the relative poverty of the farmers in question.

One commentary issued by UK-based specialist dairy quota and entitlement broker Ian Potter Associates states: “Italy now has two months to respond and I guess it is likely to be an Italian transcript of Foxtrot Oscar.”