EU aid withdrawal 'intolerable', says Spanish ag union
A Spanish agricultural union is branding the European Commission's decision to suspend emergency aid as sheer abandonment, and plans to protest to the national government demanding compensation comes from closer to home. 
The Spanish Union of Small Growers and Ranchers were already demanding more compensation to offset the effects of the Russian veto on fresh produce sectors, claiming, as have many other European countries and organizations, that the €125 million (US$162 million) package was not enough.
However, following the sudden halt to the emergency aid package because of a disproportionate surge in claims, the union led a press conference in Madrid on Sept. 11, where officials criticized the 'negligent' EC decision, adding that Mediterranean agriculture is the 'major victim of this crisis'.
"The situation in rural areas is compounded daily. Farmers no longer know what to do," union general secretary Lorenzo Ramos told the conference.
"Now we don’t even have aid. It is intolerable."
Ramos is now calling on the Spanish government to urgently step in and help agricultural sectors because the aid suspension is likely to generate more uncertainty in markets.
He also said domestic prices in most fruit and vegetables have fallen by at least half in many commodities year-on-year, citing an example of a typical Spanish plum producer who was getting around €0.19 (US$0.25) per kilo (2.2 pounds), compared with around €.060 (US$0.78) last year.
"Losses from the Russian veto and its side effects will be millions. Farmers are paying for a crisis that they did not cause."
Proposing solutions, Ramos detailed what the union is now demanding on behalf of its members; that aid must be re-started immediately, adding that whether or not a country has wrongly justified its request for aid, it is not an excuse to cancel the entire plan.
He also said the EC must respond to those producers who are harvesting perishable produce right now and have no idea what to do with it because huge losses can build up over just four days.
Agriculture & Rural Development Commissioner Dacian Cioloş has pledged to find alternative aid measures as quickly as possible.
Photo: www.shutterstock.com
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