Protest action “Milk for Juncker”: For a few days now, EU Commission President Jean Claude Juncker has been receiving very special mail. To protest against the European Commission’s destructive milk policy, dairy farmers from all over Europe have been sending fresh milk to his office.
Hogan and Juncker
Among others, they blame him for not reacting to the European Milk Board (EMB)’s open letter, in which the organisation had called for EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan to be removed from his office. Juncker thus just stands and watches while an important pillar of EU agriculture – i.e. milk producers – is not only dangerously weakened, but is truly brought to collapse. Chronicle overproduction and the consequent low milk prices literally tear away dairy farmers’ livelihoods. Nonetheless, Hogan and Juncker refuse to implement a crisis instrument for the milk market that would require no subsidies. They just keep their eyes shut to the negative consequences this ignorant policy has on jobs and development – and thus on stability in and beyond the agricultural sector.
Too much milk creates problems! This is the message to President Juncker, who will now experience this up close.
Poll in Holland
Hogan not popular among dairy farmers: A majority of Dutch milk producers are of the opinion that Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan does not acknowledge the problems that many farmers are facing and therefore want him to leave. Nearly 60 per cent of the voters who participated in the poll of Melkvee.nl (Dutch internet site for dairy producers) agree with the European Milk Board (EMB)’s call that Hogan is not suitable as European Commissioner for Agriculture. Of the remaining 40 per cent, 20% think leaving is a step too far but feel that Hogan should do more for the sector. The other 20 per cent think that he should stay and that the EMB puts itself on the sidelines.
Silvia Däberitz, EMB and Sieta van Keimpema, DDB
