18. 3. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 69/15 
APPENDIX 2 
Fourth paragraph of Article 43 of the Rules of Procedure 
The following amendment was rejected in the course of the debate at the plenary session. 
Add the following new paragraph after point 5.3: 
'Article 2.2(a): The Commission shall determine the conditions for the award of aid and the minimum 
amount of the aid, taking account of the productivity of the land.' 
Delete existing Article 2.3(b). 
Reasons 
To be effective the scheme should operate throughout the Community to at least compensate producers for 
loss of production potential. By fixing maxima amounts only it would be left to Member States to decide 
with what urgency they wish to pursue the scheme. 
Voting 
For: 20, Against: 55, Abstentions: 26. 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Decision amending Decision 90/218/EEC concerning 
the administration of bovine somatotropin (BST) (*) 
(91/C 69/04) 
On 4 January 1991 the Commission decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, 
under Article 198 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the 
abovementioned proposal. 
The Committee appointed Mr Silva as Rapporteur-General with the task of preparing its 
work on the subject. 
At its 283rd plenary session (meeting of 30 January 1991) the Economic and Social Committee 
unanimously adopted the following Opinion. 
1. The Committee endorses the Council proposal to 
extend until 31 December 1991 the ban on the use of 
bovine somatotropin (BST) within Community terri­
tory. 
2. Given the possible impact of the use of this sub­
stance on consumer trends and on farming structures, 
the Committee considers that the Commission must 
be allowed enough time to acquaint itself with the 
conclusions of the in-depth research which is currently 
being carried out, inter alia the research projects at 
the 'Bundesanstalt fur Milchforschung' in Kiel and the 
University of Munich, and the studies being carried out 
by the 'Institut fur Wirtschaftsforschung' in Munich 
and the University of Giessen. The latter two studies 
(!) OJNoC2,4. 1. 1991, p. 11. aim to provide more data on the probable reactions by 
consumers and producers to the use of BST(2). 
3. The Committee reiterates the comments made in 
the Opinion adopted at the 271st plenary session (3) 
(15/16 November 1989). 
4. In particular, the Committee emphasizes that it 
should be consulted on the future Commission proposal 
early enough to permit examination of this important 
(2) See items 15 and 28 of the Commission report to the Council 
and Parliament concerning bovine somatotropin, which pref­
aces the proposal for a Council Decision concerning the 
administration of bovine somatotropin (Doc. COM (89) 379 
final), which was the subject of the Committee Opinion of 
15 November 1989. OJ No C 56, 7. 3. 1990, p. 25. 
(3) OJ No C 56, 7. 3. 1990, p. 25. 
No C 69/16 Official Journal of the European Communities 18. 3. 91 
question. The Committee asks the Commission to for- as possible, to enable its Opinion to be taken on an 
ward the studies referred to in point 2 above as soon informed basis. 
Done at Brussels, 30 January 1991. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Francois STAEDELIN 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) on the application of Article 85(3) 
of the Treaty to certain categories of agreements, decisions and concerted practices between 
shipping companies^) 
(91/C 69/05) 
On 3 July 1990 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, 
under Article 198 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the 
abovementioned proposal. 
The Section for Transport and Communications, which was responsible for preparing the 
Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 16 January 1991. The Rapporteur 
was Mrs Bredima-Savopoulou. 
At its 283rd plenary session (meeting of 30 January 1991) the Economic and Social Committee 
adopted, by 84 votes to 11, with 26 abstentions, the following Opinion. 
1. Introduction 
1.1. In December 1986 the Council adopted four 
regulations in the maritime transport sector (2) which 
constituted the first stage of a common EC policy. In 
the context of this report, Regulation (EEC) No 4056/ 
86 is the most relevant. On the legal basis of Articles 
84(2) and 87 of the Treaty this laid down detailed rules 
for the application of Articles 85 and 86 to maritime 
transport. A block exemption was granted in respect 
of liner conferences subject to certain conditions and 
obligations to protect the interests of transport users. 
The Regulation entered into force on 1 July 1987. tramp shipping, consortia in liner shipping and agree­
ments between transport users. The Commission under­
took to report to the Council within a year on whether 
it was necessary to provide for block exemptions for 
passenger-transport services and consortia in liner ship­
ping. The Council noted at that time that 'where the 
object and effect of joint ventures and consortia is either 
to achieve technical improvement or cooperation as 
provided for in Article 2 of the Regulation or where 
close-knit consortia only cover minor market shares the 
prohibition laid down in Article 85(1) of the Treaty 
does not apply to them.' 
1.2. At the time of the adoption of the four regu­
lations, the Council also invited the Commission to 
consider whether it was necessary to submit new pro­
posals regarding competition in passenger transport, 
0) OJ No C 167, 10. 7. 1990, p. 9. 
(2) OJ No L 378, 31. 12. 1986. 1.3. With respect to consortia, the Commission had 
already held a hearing in April 1986 in which all sides 
of the shipping industry and representatives of the 
Member States were heard. The objective was to clarify 
the replies to a questionnaire distributed by the Com­
mission and to obtain additional information on the 
nature of consortia and in particular how they differed 
from conferences. Fairly regular discussions between 
the Commission and industry have taken place in the 
intervening period.