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Dublin: 18 °C Wednesday 19 June, 2013

EU Commission proposes €150m fund for farmers affected by E.coli outbreak

Meanwhile, WHO expert says time is running out for investigators to determine the original source of the deadly outbreak.

A man balances on a pile of cucumbers set aside for destruction at a warehouse in Bucharest, Romania.
A man balances on a pile of cucumbers set aside for destruction at a warehouse in Bucharest, Romania.
Image: AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda

THE EU COMMISSION has proposed the provision of a €150 million fund to farmers who have been adversely affected by the E.coli outbreak in Germany.

The EU Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos told reporters that he would make the proposal at today’s emergency meeting of EU agriculture and farm ministers, according to the AFP.

The European Parliament is also focusing on the outbreak of the disease. Earlier today, several MEPs criticised Germany for a lack of communication and coordination over the crisis, while others said it was essential to discover the specific source of the outbreak.

Meanwhile, an expert at the World Health Organisation has warned that time is running out for finding the source of the outbreak.

German officials are still working to determine the source of the contamination, having ruled out Spanish-origin cucumbers and bean sprouts produced on a German farm.

WHO infectious diseases expert Dr Guenael Rodier says that the contaminated produce is likely to leave the market in the coming week, meaning the link between patients and the original contamination will disappear.

Twenty-two people have died as a result of the outbreak in Germany and one other person died from it in Sweden.

- Additional reporting by the AP

Read more: EU ministers to hold crisis talks as search for E.coli source goes on >

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Comments (5 Comments)

  • If farmers go out of business there will be no crops sown next spring. If there are no crops sown next spring there will be no harvest next autumn. If there is no harvest next autumn there will be some seriously empty shelves in grocery stores next winter. Food stil comes out of the ground and needs farmers to produce it and that ain’t ever going to change.

    Reply
  • I wonder when the EU is gonna develop a fund for the unemployed people in the building trade!! I’ve never met a poor farmer!!

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  • CSEC BIO 07/06/11 #

    It’s amazing how fast the money was found, wondering what the interest rate on this bailout will be? Can the ordinary everyday Irish person affected by the outbreak of greed get the same helping hand or is it a special plan for Germany? On a serious note it is vital that the source is found but i don’t think there should be compensation to the farmers for it!

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