19/05/2005 
Carstensen and Ehlen confirm North German cooperation in agricultural policy
Law on Livestock and Meat causes a lot of worry – ISN parliamentary chat-night in Berlin on 11 May 2005 ISN Chairman Franz Meyer zu Holte called it to be a kind of
kleptocracy, this
awesome bureaucracy that will really only end in itself and as a consequence of which dynamic businesses such as pig management are being paralyzed here in Germany. This was one of the opening remarks Meyer zu Holte made when he declared the ISN parliamentary chat-night open in Berlin on 11 May 2005. More than 100 guests out of politics and industry had come, among which were many members of the Bundestag and the federal state parliaments.
The ISN Chairman demanded that the politicians present turn their backs on such excess of bureaucracy.
We, the pig keepers, want to do our business with sole responsibility. For this, we need to be supported by you, Meyer zu Holte addressed the Members of Parliament.
Schleswig-Holstein’s newly elected Minister-President, Peter Harry Carstensen, and Lower Saxony’s Minister for Agriculture, Hans-Heinrich Ehlen, once again confirmed that they are willing to work together in agricultural policy all over North Germany.
Common interest needs common expression, Carstensen went on. He said that in his capacity as Minister-President he would continue to support the pig keepers’ interests both at the regional state level and at federal level. The word-for-word conversion of the Pig Keeping Decree still is part of his support. Carstensen demanded that
pork needs to continue to be produced in Germany. Additionally, Minister-President Carstensen is convinced that for creating more extensive leeway for the pig keepers, bureaucracy absolutely needs to be reduced.
Hans-Heinrich Ehlen, Lower Saxony’s Minister for Agriculture, said he were not willing to accept that Germany must pay a fine for not converting the EU Pig Keeping Decree because of the Federal Government’s blocking policy. To his mind,
the Bundesrat’s draft decree implies the best possible compromise. Taking a look at the still-to-be-done Salmonella Decree, Ehlen demands that
this is required to be included in the existing systems in a proper way.
Dr. Christel Happach-Kasan (FDP Member of Parliament) passed on best wishes to the pig keepers on behalf of the Bundestag Committee of Consumer Protection, Nutrition and Agriculture.
Agriculture’s standing is high not only in rural areas but also in the Committee’s daily work, she reported. Many jobs, after all, were found in agriculture in rural areas. So, Happach-Kasan’s message to the young people was:
Working is possible in agriculture, too.
With regard to the Law on Livestock and Meat, ISN Manager Detlef Breuer voiced his support for a minimum amount of rules to be obeyed by all those involved.
However, such rules need to be anchored in the Law, in order to prevent the pig keepers from being driven to the wall completely by the overpowering slaughter companies, Breuer demanded.
It is another fact being looked at with great concern by the pig keepers that biogas plants are being supported massively by the government.
In regions with little expanse left, considerable price increases are being caused by those who run such plants. This appears to be a problem particularly here in our regions where the pig keepers won’t be in a position to keep pace with the increasing leasehold rent.
Photo:
Speakers at the ISN parliamentary chat-night (from left to right): Franz Meyer zu Holte (ISN Chairman), Peter Harry Carstensen (Schleswig-Holstein Minister-President), Dr. Christel Happach-Kasan (on behalf of the Bundestag Committee on Consumer Protection), Hans-Heinrich Ehlen (Lower Saxony Minister for Agriculture), Detlef Breuer (ISN Manager).
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