Presidency points to Union's 'lack of competitiveness'

摘要

Any new regulatory constraints - health, environmental or other - must be "cautiously" anticipated, EU agriculture already having to obey all kinds of norms that increase its costs and erode its international competitiveness vis-a-vis imports, which are not subject to the same standards. This warning was given, on 31 May in Merida, Spain, by the Spanish Presidency of the Union during a meeting of the Special Committee on Agriculture of the 27 member states. In a document intended to foster the debate on the strengths and weaknesses of the European agricultural model, Spain underlined that it will in any case be necessary to maintain "Community instruments" making it possible to offset this "lack of competitiveness".