We are urgently developing research requirements with other European laboratories to make sure we understand and the disease (Schmallenberg) better.NFU calls for urgent payments to fruit and veg co-ops
THE NFU is calling on the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) to do what it can to ensure it can release payments due to fruit and vegetable co-operatives in time for Christmas.
A recent EU judgement has resulted in the suspension of payments to all UK producer organisations (POs) while Defra and the RPA establish a new policy to ensure POs comply with the new EU law.
Sarah Pettitt, chairman of the NFU’s Board for Horticulture, said: “The RPA has had ample time to establish the new policy and POs and their grower members have been extremely patient.
“What we need now is rapid progress to ensure that those POs that pass muster and comply with the new EU law can have their claims paid before Christmas.”
Ms Pettitt said the NFU also wanted to see the RPA release the claims made for payment by fruit and vegetable co-operatives before the EU judgement was published on September 30.
“There is no reason why these legitimate claims should be being held up by the RPA because they were made before the EU judgement was published. These payments are a vital lifeline for POs and we hope the RPA will see sense and ensure that they too are paid before Christmas,” she said.
The judgement was made by the EU Court of First Instance in relations to how POs were operating in France.
It changed EU law, requiring member states to ensure all their POs complied or risk disallowance plus fines as well as the return of all monies from POs considered to have been illegally paid.