MEPs in the European Union’s Budget Committee are calling for the inclusion of an extra €100m in funds to support dairy farmers in the EU’s 2017 Budget.

Some €500m was allocated already this autumn in emergency funding for the sector by MEPs in the EU Budget, with the extra €100m bringing the total in appropriations to €600m above the draft budget for the sector.

Budget committee members said that the increase in emergency funding was to to tackle the effects of the dairy sector crisis and the Russian embargo on the industry.

Speaking to Agriland, Sinn Fein MEP Liadh Ni Riadh, who is a member of the Budget Committee, said that the issue will go to a vote at next week’s plenary session in Strasbourg and then it will go the the European Council.

“Hopefully Member States will agree to it. It will then be up to each Member State what they do with each national envelope.

“It’s generally regarded in the Budget Committee that there is a need to support dairy farmers. With the Russian embargo there’s a sense that we need to support [the sector],” she said.

Ni Riadh confirmed that there would be no inclusion in the Budget of a similar emergency fund for other sectors of the agriculture industry, such as the beef and tillage sectors.

“The tillage sector is going through a crisis of its own, the market is volatile and something does need to be done here.”

The European Parliament will vote on its position on the Draft Budget 2017 on October 26 in Strasbourg and this will then kick-off three weeks of conciliation talks with the Council.