Fruit and vegetable producers from Spain, France and Italy will analyze the situation of the different campaigns and will seek common positions in relation to the major problems of the sector. This will be done during meetings held in November, under the framework of the Spanish-French-Italian Joint Committee.
This year there have already been tomato contact group meetings, on 28th of March and garlic on April 11th, as well as the strawberry contact group that met on February 20th. The plenary meeting of the Spanish-French-Italian Joint Committee was held on May 10th in Madrid. This meeting was headed by the administrations of the three countries, in which the results were reported from all previously concluded contact groups and Proposals achieved in each group.
The Spanish-French-Italian Joint Committee, of which FEPEX is part, has become an important framework to improve relations between European fruit and vegetable professionals, and promote joint actions.
At the initiative of the Board, the ministers of Spain, France and Italy presented to the Commissioner of Agriculture, Dacian Ciolos, in March, a document to improve the legislation on crisis management, which has been taken into account by the European Commission in its reform on crisis management, approved by the Committee of Management and published on July 11th in the Commission Regulation (EC) No. 701/2012 of the 30th of July.
The Spanish-French Joint Committee of fruits and vegetables was created at the request of the governments of France and Spain. Both countries agreed at the ministerial meeting in July of 1997, to meet regularly the administrations and
producers of both countries in order to solve the existing problems in this area and avoid crisis. Italy joined the committee in 2010.
Under the framework of the Joint Committee, contact groups have been created for certain products such as strawberries, tomatoes, garlic, peach, nectarine and apples. These groups meet regularly to analyze the situation of product markets, issues and matters of common interest to the producers of the three countries.
Source: Fepex