Poland cries

Poland claims the recent EU ban on its dairy products (see page 11) is a polit-ical move designed to reduce excess milk production.
The EU halted Polish exports at the end of 1997 after inspections uncovered high bacteria counts in milk and production hygiene problems.
Grazyna Opinska of the Polish government’s Committee for European Integration complains that the number of dairies tested was too small to be representative, and has called for those dairies that meet EU standards, or were not visited, to be allowed to resume exports.
The country acknowledges that its dairy sector faces difficulties, but feels the EU’s action prevents modernisation by stripping farmers of funds to upgrade facilities.