THE European Commission has approved an agreement with Norway which will impose a minimum price on salmon imports to the EU to prevent below cost selling which European salmon producers say is driving them out of business. It has also agreed with Oslo that Norway will limit the growth in its exports to the EU to 10 per cent a year until 2002 and increase its export duty on salmon to 3 per cent.
The decision was taken late on Sunday night by the Commission at a special meeting ahead of a deadline for imposing anti dumping measures on the Norwegians. It was opposed by the Social Affairs, Transport, and Fisheries Commissioners, Mr Padraig Flynn, Mr Neil Kinnock, and Ms Emma Bonino, respectively.
The Minister of State for the Marine, Mr Eamonn Gilmore, welcomed the agreement and said that it could provide a five year framework which would help to stabilise the market. "This is a significant result after 18 months of effort on our part, lobbying the European Commission, travelling to Norway and setting up trilateral meetings between Ireland, Scotland and Norway," he said.
It was the first formal agreement of this type under the EU and one that he hoped would be implemented.
Opponents of the deal say that the floor price proposed by the Trade Commissioner, Sir Leon Brittan, will not be high enough to provide an economic return for Irish and Scottish salmon producers. They would have preferred the imposition of a 13.75 per cent dumping levy on the import.
Norway has regarded the trade conflict as its most serious dispute with the EU since Norwegians rejected membership of the bloc in a 1994 referendum. Norway's salmon exports to the EU are worth £510 million a year.
Sir Leon said that he had no doubt that it was better to reach an agreement "because the agreement was going to last longer and also lead to higher prices."
