Lyon to tackle farming concerns in private meeting with EU Commissioner

3.12.22pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 15th Sep 2009

George Lyon, Liberal Democrat MEP for Scotland, will hold a private meeting with EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel tomorrow to seek urgent clarification on how the Commission intends to apply cross compliance rules on sheep producers after compulsory electronic tagging of sheep is introduced.

Commenting ahead of the meeting, Mr Lyon said:

"Sheep producers have told me that they fear their SFP will be cut because they believe it will be impossible to keep accurate records under the new EID system as the electronic readers are not much more than 90% accurate.

"The NFU stated on its recent road show that the Commission recognised this problem and would make allowances for that fact when it came to cross compliance inspections. I will be asking Commissioner Boel to clarify exactly what the rules will be and what level of inaccuracy will be tolerated in farmers sheep flock records held on a central database.

"It is ridiculous that farmers are being asked to comply with a system that is flawed and can only lead to real confusion and mistakes. Through no fault of their own, sheep producers will have the threat of penalties hanging over their heads from the outset. That is why I will be pressing the Commissioner to ensure that her officials set out the rules clearly before January 2010 so that farmers understand exactly what is required and are able to comply.

"I will also ask Mrs Fischer Boel to take action to alleviate the problems importers are experiencing in importing protein into the European Union because of the zero tolerance on GM contamination. Livestock and dairy producers are being hit hard by the high cost of protein which is partially due to this regulation. I want the Commission to carry out a review of the Zero Tolerance threshold as soon as possible.

"Finally, I will also be asking the Commissioner to make the removal of some of the outdated BSE control rules affecting slaughterhouses a priority in the coming session. The incidence of BSE in cattle has fallen to extremely low levels and, although we must remain vigilant, these rules are now unnecessary and should be relaxed."