Nine European Union member states look set to face fines totalling more than $240 million after they exceeded their annual milk production quotas.
The EU went 574.6 million tonnes over its 115.7 billion tonne quota for the year from 1 April 1997 to 31 March 1998. The worst offenders were Germany and the UK, who produced 317,400 and 115,620 tonnes over quota respectively. Germany now faces a fine of $133 million, with the UK set to hand over $48 million.
Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Austria all face smaller fines. Only Italy, Finland, France, Portugal, Spain and Sweden kept within their quotas and will escape unpunished.
Quotas, enforced in 1984 to discourage over-production, have caused a storm of controversy of late. Last year, the European Commission took legal action when Italy and Spain failed to pay fines after exceeding quotas. And some countries