The European Commission plans to reform the European Union’s sugar common market system has been roundly condemned at a European Parliament hearing, with critics branding it both “incomplete” and “too radical”.
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The EP’s agriculture committee spokesman on the issue Jean-Claude Fruteau, (a French socialist), said: “The proposed reform focuses too much on competitiveness and largely ignores the social consequences,” adding the commission had failed to propose new uses for sugar surpluses, such as bio fuels. Hubert Chavannes, of the International Confederation of European Beet Growers (CIBE), said the proposal was “too drastic in terms of reducing production and prices and it doesn’t ensure the sustainability of the sector”.
