Opinion on the proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 on the common organization of the market in cereals and Council Regulation (EC) No 1868/94 establishing a quota system in relation to the production of potato starch (95/C 236/15)

On 28 March 1995 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Articles 43 and 198 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the abovementioned proposal.

The Section for Agriculture and Fisheries, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 4 May 1995. The Rapporteur was Mr Stokkers.

At its 326th Plenary Session (meeting of 31 May 1995), the Economic and Social Committee adopted the following Opinion unanimously.

1. Introduction

1.1. The Commission proposal is based on Treaty Articles 42 and 43. Its aim is to extend the quota system for the production of potato starch established by the Council on 27 July 1994 to the new Member States.

1.2. At the same time it adapts the present version of the Council Regulation in order to:

- ensure that the compensatory payments to farmers are limited to the quantity of potatoes corresponding to the sub-quota of the starch producer;

- correct a drafting error which could lead to false interpretations as to the quantity of potato starch that must be exported without qualifying for a refund.

2. General comments

2.1. The Committee notes that the proposed quota allocation for Austria, Finland and Sweden is based on the amount of potato starch produced in these Member States in 1993 for which national aid was received.

2.2. The reference period chosen for the new Member States differs from that used for the allocation of quotas to the other Member States.

2.3. The Committee realizes that this proposal does not grant the new Member States the quantities they asked for, but would point out that this was also the case in the allocation of quotas to the old Member States.

2.3.1. The aim of the quota system is to bring production into line with the development of the market and in the Committee's view this must be the starting point for the allocation of any extra quotas.

2.3.2. Consequently the Committee recommends that when the quota system is assessed and adjusted to the market in 1997, priority be given to production capacity already in existence now and to capacity expansion projects currently in progress, for which no sub-quotas can be allocated at this time.

2.4. The Committee would point out that in its Opinion on the Commission's 1994/1995 farm price proposals (), it called for a degree of flexibility in the administration of the quota arrangements for potato starch.

2.5. One aspect of this flexibility must be that a potato starch producer can utilize, in addition to his quota for a marketing year, more than the present 5 % of his next year's quota (e.g. 10 %).

2.6. As potato production can vary considerably from one year to the next on account of the weather, a potato starch producer must also be able to take up any part of his previous year's quota which he was not able to use because of a shortfall in the potato harvest.

2.7. The Committee regrets that the Commission has not used the necessary adaptation of the present Regulation to tailor the above-mentioned aspects of the quota system more closely to the needs of the potato starch sector.

2.8. Subject to the above comments, the Committee approves the Commission proposal.

Done at Brussels, 31 May 1995.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Carlos FERRER

() OJ No C 148, 30. 5. 1994.