EU to give at least 150 million Euros compensation to farmers for E. coli outbreak

[News_Editor]

EU to give at least 150 million Euros compensation to farmers for E. coli outbreak

2011-06-09 02:02:13 GMT+7 (ICT)

BRUSSELS (BNO NEWS) -- The European Union on Wednesday announced that it will pay at least 150 million Euros ($218 million) in compensation to farmers affected for the E. coli outbreak.

This amount was proposed by the European Commission at the Agriculture Council’s extraordinary meeting on Tuesday. However, it only represents about 30 percent of the actual damages.

Many Member States, led by France and Spain, criticized the low amount proposed by the Commission and urged for a 100 percent compensation. Commissioner for Agriculture, Dacian Ciolos, promised a rapid revision of the text and to increase the amount of compensation.

On Wednesday, Ciolos proposed a 210 million Euros ($306.2 million) compensation, a 50 percent of the damages that will be discussed within three days. The Agriculture Commissioner added that farmers may receive extra compensation in addition to the one from the EU's budget.

During the Council meeting, Spanish Agriculture Minister Rosa Aguilar said decrease in demand for Spanish vegetables was causing farmers 200 million Euro ($291.57 million) in damages every week.

Initially, it was suspected that Spanish cucumbers carried the bacteria but this theory was ruled out by the EU last Wednesday. The Commission then removed its own alert notification on Spanish cucumbers from the Rapid Alert System on Food and Feed (RASFF).

On the other hand, Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy John Dalli urged for coordinated and transparent information in order to avoid drawing premature conclusions.

Dalli referred to Russia's ban on vegetable imports from the EU after considering that the European body has not provided sufficient information in regards to the source of the deadly outbreak of the new strain of E. coli bacteria.

A total of 25 people have died from a severe complication caused by a virulent new strain of the bacteria, which affects the blood, kidneys and nervous system. German Health Minister, Daniel Bahr, said that on Wednesday that the outbreak appeared to be under control.

At least 2,400 people have been infected mostly in Germany but also in the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom and other European countries due to the outbreak of the new, never before seen strain of Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia Coli (EHEC).

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