The President of the Government said today in Ponta Delgada that European institution must awake from the lethargy with which they have faced the situation in the dairy sector; the latter is facing major challenges resulting from the Russian embargo, the downturn in international demand and the dismantling of the milk quota system.

"One cannot be satisfied with a response that allocates 500 million Euros to the entire European space in order to face what is, undoubtedly, one of the great challenges that milk producers are currently dealing," stressed Vasco Cordeiro.

The President of the Government spoke after receiving in audience a delegation of the European Parliament Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development that is visiting the Region. The delegation is led by  MEP Czeslaw Adam Siekiersk.

Speaking to journalists, Vasco Cordeiro defended the need for Community bodies to engage in another type of proactivity in regard to their action in this process, especially in terms of a market intervention for some dairy products.

The President of the Government also stressed that,  in addition to the measures decided at European level, the Regional Executive has allocated a considerable amount of financial aid to the dairy sector.

"Measures we have been implemented have already been made public, such as the credit line in the amount of 30 million Euros, the anticipated payment of a set of aid in the maximum authorised limit, and the increase of support to the most affect islands by this situation, which mainly derives from the Russian embargo," said the President of the Government.

The President of the Government also defended that complying with the European Treaty in regard to the specific situation of Outermost Regions "is not a matter of choice, but rather of conformity to the law.

"As for the regional reality, we believe that it is necessary to comply with the provisions of the Treaty and implement measures specifically directed to Outermost Regions and, in the case of the dairy sector, to the Azores," said the President of the Government.

"Throughout this process, we can never accept a position that defends that many of the claims made are towards the differentiated treatment of these regions in order to put producers and regional industries in a more favoured position with regard to the remaining European space," said Vasco Cordeiro.

Taking into account the challenges and organisation of the milk sector in the Azores, "it is important to provide the Region with the tools so that the sector may be on an equal footing to compete with other regions within the European space.

Vasco Cordeiro also stressed that he had the opportunity to convey to MEPs the importance the Regional Government attaches to this visit and the expectations regarding the results that it may yield in the future.