NoC98/18 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 21.4.92
Opiniononthereformofthecommonagriculturalpolicy:
—ProposalforaCouncilRegulation (EEC)onthecommonorganizationofthemarketin
rawtobacco
—ProposalforaCouncilRegulation (EEC)fixingthepremiumsforleaftobaccobygroup
oftobaccovarietiesandtheprocessingquotasallocatedbygroupofvarietiesandby
MemberState(*)
(92/C98/09)
On13November1991theCouncildecidedtoconsulttheEconomicandSocialCommittee,
underArticle198oftheTreatyestablishingtheEuropeanEconomicCommunity ,onthe
abovementioned proposals.
TheSectionforAgricultureandFisheries,whichwasresponsibleforpreparingtheCom­
mittee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon6February1992.TheRapporteurwas
MrGuyau.
Atits294thPlenarySession(meetingof26February1992)theEconomicandSocialCom­
mitteeadoptedthefollowingOpinionbyalargemajority,with13votesagainstand
18abstentions .
3.1.However,toorapidimplementation ofthepro­
posedmeasureswoulddisruptthemarket.1.Thisisanimportantquestion,sinceitconcerns
boththescourgeofnicotinismandasectorwhichis
essentialtotheregionsandgrowersconcerned.Careful
consideration isrequiredinordertofindabalanced
compromisebetweencombatingnicotinismandtaking
accountofthesocio-economic stakesinvolvedin
tobaccoproduction .4.Theclassification ofthedifferentvarietiesmust
alsoberevised,sincetheproposedclassificationdoes
notreflecttherealproductioncostsoroutletsfor
eachvariety.Theremustbeapreliminarystudyofthe
prospectsformodifyingcroppingplans,toavoidthe
unforeseendisappearance ofsomeholdings.2.TheCommitteetakestheviewthattheCom­
missionproposaltoreformthetobaccosectormustbe
reworded.Itwouldadvocatedrawingupanewdraft
Regulation,incloseconsultationwiththepartiescon­
cerned.TheCommissionproposalseemsdifficultto
applyinitspresentform.5.Moreover,theconsequencesofpricechangesmust
becloselyexamined.TheCommitteenotesadistinct
increaseinthepremiumsforcertainvarieties,thepro­
ductionofwhichtheCommissionwishestodiscourage,
whereasthepremiumsforthevarietiesbestsuitedtothe
needsoftheCommunitymarketarebeingconsiderably
reduced.Thenewregulationmustensurethatthe
measurestopromotequalityareconsistentwiththe
measuresdesignedtocurbproduction .Effortstoachie­
vesuchconsistencymustinvolvecloseconsultation
withallthepartiesconcernedasrecommended above.3.Theproposedtimetableisunrealistic,sinceit
requirestheloweringofquotasby50000tonnes—13%
ofcurrentproduction—inasingleyear;itshouldbe
borneinmindthattobaccoproducedundermonocul­
tureprovidesthebulkoftheincomeofmanyunder­
developedregions.The50000tonnesshouldtherefore
betakenfromthoseregionswheretobaccoisgrownin
rotationwithothercrops.Inareaswhereitisproduced
undermonoculture ,asufficienttransitionperiodis
neededtoenablefarmerstoadaptorreconvertandto
copewiththeeffectsofsuchchangesonemployment
andthemanagementofholdings.Thereshouldbe
incentivesforrapidwithdrawalfromtobaccopro­
ductioninareaswhereadaptationispossible.6.Inaddition,thefightagainstnicotinismmustbe
effectivelyencouraged .Whilejustifiedinprinciple,
assistancetoresearchwillhavetangiblescientificand
medicaleffectsonlyundercertainconditions .Amoni­
toringproceduremustbesetuptomakeitpossibleto
assesstheeffectivenessofthefundscommitted .
7.TheCommitteeendorsestheprincipleofencour­
agingthegroupingofproducers.Theaidof10%seems
onthefaceofittobeaneffectivemethod.However,
inpresentcircumstances ,neithertheCommunitytexts
(')OJNoC295,14.11.1991,p.10-17. norconditionsonthegroundallowfortheimplemen­

21.4.92 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC98/19
tationofthisprovision.TheCommitteefearsthatthiswouldtherebyloseitsincentiveeffectandinvolvesize­
aidmaybegrantedasamatterofcourse,andthatitableadditionalbudgetarycosts.
DoneatBrussels,26February1992.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
MichaelGEUENICH
APPENDIX
Article43(4)oftheRulesofProcedure
Thefollowingamendmentwasrejectedinthecourseofdiscussions :
Addanewpoint1.1
'Itwouldbewrongtostopfarmersfromgrowingtobacco.However,giventhehighcostinhumanlivesand
coststothehealthservices,itisquitewrongtoaskthetaxpayertocontinuesubsidisingtobaccoproduction .
Aspartofthisreform,therefore,theCommissionshouldestablishaplanforphasingouttobaccosubsidies
whileestablishingalternativemeansofsubsistenceforfarmerswherethisisnecessary.Thisplanshouldstart
byeliminatingsubsidiesinthoseregionswhereothercropsgrowwell.'
Reasons
TheEECtobaccosubsidyisnowECU1,3billionperannum.Mostofthisisspentonsubsidisingthecostof
tobaccoproducedfortheEECsmoker.However,around224000tonnesofthistobaccoissurplustoEEC
requirementsandisfurthersubsidizedforexport.
Partofthistobaccoisgrownindisadvantaged areasoftheEECwhereitisoftendifficulttogrowother
cropsprofitably .However,muchofitisgrownwhereothercropsalsogrowwell.Thesubsidyshouldfirst
bephasedoutintheselatterareas,andotherwaysmustbefoundtopayfarmersintheformer.
Voting
For:32,against:33,abstentions :13.