8.4.78 Official  Journal  of the European  Communities No C 84/9 
Opinion  on the proposal  for a Council  Regulation  relating  to the fixing  of representative 
conversion  rates  in agriculture 
The text  referred  to the Committee  has  not  been  published  in the Official  Journal  of 
the European  Communities. 
A. LEGAL  BASIS  FOR  THE  OPINION 
On 7 November  1977,  the  Council  referred  the  abovementioned  proposal  to the 
Economic  and  Social  Committee  in accordance  with  Articles  43 and  47 of the Treaty 
establishing  the European  Economic  Community. 
B. OPINION  OF  THE  ECONOMIC  AND  SOCIAL  COMMITTEE 
The Economic  and  Social  Committee  prepared  its opinion  on the above  matter  at its 
155th  plenary  session,  held  in Brussels  on 1 and 2 February  1978. 
The full  text  of the opinion  is as follows: 
THE  ECONOMIC  AND  SOCIAL  COMMITTEE, 
Having  regard  to the Treaty  establishing  the European 
Economic  Community,  and  in particular  Articles  43 
and 47 thereof, 
Having  regard  to the request  made  by the Council  of 
the European  Communities  on 7 and  8 November 
1977  for an opinion, 
Having  regard  to the decision  taken  by its Bureau  on 
22 November  1977  instructing  the  Section  for 
Agriculture  to draw  up an opinion  on the matter, 
Having  regard  to the urgency  procedure  provided  for 
by Articles  46 and  47 of the Rules  of Procedure, 
Having  regard  to the  oral  report  made  by  the 
rapporteur,  Mr Bukman, 
Having  regard  to the  opinion  issued  by the Section 
for Agriculture  at its meeting  on 20 January  1978, 
Having  regard  to the discussions  at its 155th  plenary 
session  held  on 1 and  2 February  1978  (meeting  of 
1 February  1978), 
HAS  ADOPTED  THE  FOLLOWING  OPINION 
by 45 votes  to three  with  two  abstentions: The Committee  approves  the proposal  subject  to the 
comments  below. 
1. The  Committee  has  repeatedly  drawn  attention 
to the need  to return  as soon  as possible  to a single 
market  for  farm  produce  in the  Community,  and 
urges  the  Commission  to pursue  this  objective 
vigorously. 
The Committee  notes  that  the  proposal  is an 
extremely  modest  one  and  gives  no guarantee  that 
compensatory  amounts  will  have  completely 
disappeared  by the end  of the seven  years  proposed 
for phasing  them  out. 
2. The  Committee  of course  deplores  this  state  of 
affairs,  which  is largely  due  to monetary  constraints 
unrelated  to the common  agricultural  policy. 
3. The  Committee  therefore  wonders  whether  the 
proposed  seven-year  period  is not  too  long  and 
whether  a shorter  period,  say  five  years,  would  not 
have  been  sufficient. 
4. Finally,  the  Committee  would  draw  the 
particular  attention  of the Community  authorities  to 
the following. 
In the  case  of the  countries  whose  currencies  have 
suffered  a particularly  marked  depreciation,  it would 
be wise  to proceed  in such  a way  that  the 
implementation  of the  Commission's  proposals  can 
be preceded  by a suitable  devaluation  of the  green 
currency  concerned. 
No C 84/10 Official  Journal  of the European  Communities 8.4.78 
When  adjusting  the  monetary  compensatory 
amounts,  account  should  be taken  of the  impact  on 
consumer  prices  and  on farm  incomes. 
This  may  mean  that  in countries  with  strong 
currencies  the newly  created  monetary  compensatory 
amounts  might  be unable  to be eliminated  within  a year  and  that,  as a result,  a longer  time  scale  should 
be proposed. 
5. Finally,  the Commission  should  do all it can  to 
counteract  the distortional  effects  of the  amounts,  in 
particular  by reviewing  calculation  methods. 
Done  at Brussels,  1 February  1978. 
The Chairman 
of the  Economic  and  Social  Committee 
Basil  de FERRANTI 
ANNE>\ 
to the opinion  of the Economic  and  Social  Committee 
The following  amendment  was  rejected  during  the debate. 
Replace  the second  paragraph  of point  1 by: 
'The Committee  considers  that  the proposal  must  guarantee  that  compensatory  amounts 
will have  completely  disappeared  by the end of the seven  years  proposed  for phasing  them 
out. In particular,  it should  be possible  to derogate  from  the 5 % annual  limit  proposed 
by the Commission.' 
Reason 
The amendment  is self-explanatory. 
Voting 
For: 6, against:  30, abstentions:  8.