§ 41. Dr. Marekasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the super levy on milk production proposed by the European Community Commission.
§ Mr. MacGregorAs part of its post-Stuttgart proposals for reform of the common agricultural policy the Commission has proposed a supplementary levy for deliveries to dairies in excess of the 1983 milk guarantee threshold, which is equal to 1981 levels of deliveries to dairies plus 1 per cent. We continue to believe that the best way to solve the milk problem is to act on price restraint to the guarantee threshold, and to make it clear that prices will be held back until the surplus is under proper control. The supplementary levy, as proposed by the Commission, would impose a considerable burden on producers who have expanded significantly since 1981 and would raise a number of serious problems about implementation and administration.