Aid for private storage of butter and skimmed milk powder should be prolonged to help farmers through the current crisis. Agriculture Committee MEPs gave their go ahead on Wednesday to a Commission proposal to prolong intervention periods for the butter and milk powder market until February next year.

A report by Paolo De Castro (S&D, IT), backing a Commission proposals to ease the effects of the current dairy market crisis, was unanimously approved in committee, with an oral amendment calling on the Commission to extend measures foreseen for the private storage of butter to include cheese.

 Efforts to halt sliding prices

 To halt the fall in the prices of milk and other dairy products, MEPs backed a Commission plan to prolong public aid to buy up butter and milk powder until February 2010. Under current rules, this aid should have ceased on 31 August.  In July 2009, the Commission issued a report explaining the situation of the dairy market, and proposing that public state aid would be extended until February 2010.

 MEPs amended the proposal to extend private storage measures to the cheese market, which is also in difficulty. The committee also agreed that the Commission should be authorised to prolong the  2010/11 intervention period if the market situation does not improve.

 MEPs to question Commission on crisis

 The Commission will be asked to brief Parliament's next plenary session on dairy market developments and the outcome of the 7 September Agriculture Council meeting to discuss possible interventions. Tabling an oral question will enable MEPs to air the issue in plenary and press the Commission and Council to counter the crisis.