COPA URGES TAX ON VEGETABLE PROTEINS The European Community's farmers' pressure group Copa has urged EC farm ministers to agree a tax on vegetable proteins similar to the oils and marine fats tax which has already been proposed by the EC Commission. Copa president Hans Kjeldsen told a news conference on Tuesday he had also urged ministers to seek a similar mechanism for cereal substitutes. He was speaking after a meeting of farm leaders with the Danish foreign and agriculture ministers, who currently chair meetings of their EC colleagues. Kjeldsen said taxes on the products concerned would help the EC's budget problems and would provide some price stability for producers. This would in turn help the market position for certain crops of which the EC is a net importer such as oilseeds, peas and beans, but for which the Commission is now proposing severe output restrictions. A minority of EC ministers opposed to an oils and fats tax on imported and domestically produced oils and marine fats succeeded in blocking the idea during this year's annual EC price fixing. However, the EC Commission has said it maintains its proposals for a tax. Kjeldsen said Copa had urged the ministers to pursue international negotiations on farm trade with the aim of bridging the gap between EC and world prices.