A4-0176/97

Proposal and amended proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92 establishing a support system for producers of certain arable crops and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1872/94 (COM(96)0422 + COM(97)0022 - C4- 0448/96 - 96/0212(CNS))

The proposal was approved with the following amendments:

(Amendment 1)

Recital 1

>Original text>

Whereas the support system for producers of certain arable crops established by Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92(1) provides for compensatory payments and special aids to be granted to producers of cereals, oilseeds or protein plants and linseed in return for a cut in institutional prices and on condition that the producers participating in the general scheme set aside a certain percentage of their arable land;

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(1) OJ L 181, 1.7.1992, p. 12. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) 2989/95 (OJ L 312, 23.12.1995, p. 5.)

>Text following EP vote>

Deleted

(Amendment 2)

Recital 2

>Original text>

Whereas the beef sector is experiencing a serious and long- lasting crisis on account of the impact of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), which makes it necessary to take a series of measures relating to the common organization of the market in beef and veal, financing of which cannot be guaranteed to comply with budgetary discipline within the meaning of Council Decision 94/729/EC(2); whereas observance of budgetary discipline can be ensured only by making savings on other market organizations financed by the EAGGF Guarantee Section;

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(2) OJ L 293, 12.11.1994, p. 14.

>Text following EP vote>

Deleted

(Amendments 3 and 29)

Recital 2a (new)

>Text following EP vote>

Whereas the across-the-board linear reductions in compensatory payments being considered by the Commission actually run counter to the principles of the common agricultural policy agreed in 1992 and are likely to destroy the confidence of those affected in the reliability of binding commitments;

(Amendment 4)

Recital 2b (new)

>Text following EP vote>

Whereas, irrespective of the need to honour unequivocal commitments, the Commission is called upon to submit at the earliest possible opportunity proposals for the period after the year 2000 designed to show how the errors of the common agricultural policy pursued hitherto may be avoided in the future and how an integrated and sustainable policy for the countryside in the European Union must be shaped;

(Amendment 5)

Recital 3

>Original text>

Whereas arable crops account for by far the largest part of EAGGF Guarantee Section expenditure; whereas that sector is also experiencing a better market situation than expected when the system provided for in Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92 was introduced; whereas, therefore, the requisite savings should be made by adjusting the compensatory payments in that sector;

>Text following EP vote>

Deleted

(Amendment 6)

Recital 4

>Original text>

Whereas, however, the protein plants sector has not developed in the same way as the other arable crops in question; whereas, to safeguard the balance between the various arable crops, compensatory payments for protein plants should be kept at their current level;

>Text following EP vote>

Deleted

(Amendment 8)

Recital 5

>Original text>

Whereas compensatory payments for arable crops from the 1997 harvest other than the advance for oilseeds are chargeable to the 1998 budget; whereas 1997 budget funds need to be released and a system of payment should be established in future which can be administered more effectively; whereas, to that end, advances for oilseeds should be postponed by setting the date from which they may be paid at 16 October, with an increase in the maximum advance payments from 50% to 65%;

>Text following EP vote>

Whereas compensatory payments for arable crops from the 1997 harvest other than the advance for oilseeds are chargeable to the 1998 budget; whereas the system of payment for oilseeds should be administered more effectively; whereas, to that end, if under the 1997 budget the appropriations available for financing the advance are not sufficient, that part of the advance payments which cannot be covered in the 1997 budget should be paid from 16 October 1997, with an increase in the maximum advance payment from 50% to 65%; whereas the Commission has to present, not later than 15 September 1997, a proposal to the budgetary authority on the financing of the BSE measures, in the event that these measures for the budgetary year 1997 cannot be paid within the 1997 budget;

(Amendment 9)

Recital 5a (new)

>Text following EP vote>

Whereas this amendment to Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92(1) is designed exclusively to ensure that the 1997 appropriations are actually used so that transfers of payments to the 1998 budget are avoided as far as possible, as the European Parliament called for in paragraph 12 of its resolution of 13 March 1997(2) on the budgetary guidelines for 1998; whereas it must be made absolutely clear that this amendment in no way anticipates a radical adjustment of the per hectare compensatory payments made in respect of arable crops, since that adjustment will be made only within the framework of the revision of the CAP scheduled for 1999;

(1) OJ L 181, 1.7.1992, p. 12. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2989/95 (OJ L 312, 23.12.1995, p. 5.)

(2) OJ C ....

(Amendment 10)

Recital 6

>Original text>

Whereas producers are currently receiving higher compensation for set-aside than for land under cereals; whereas that difference is no longer justified given the economic situation of cereals and having regard to the various adjustments made to the set-aside scheme since it was introduced to make it more flexible; whereas, on the other hand, the current level of compensation for set-aside is likely to persuade producers to practice voluntary set-aside and this would cancel out the objective sought by reducing the rate of compulsory set- aside; whereas compensation for set- aside should therefore be aligned on that for cereals as initially provided for in Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92,

>Text following EP vote>

Deleted

(Amendment 11)

ARTICLE 1(1)(a)

Article 4(2), third indent (Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92)

>Original text>

(a) in the third indent of Article 4(2) 'ECU 54.34' is replaced by 'ECU 50.37'

>Text following EP vote>

Deleted

(Amendment 12)

ARTICLE 1(1)(b)

Article 4(3), last subparagraph (Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92)

>Original text>

(b) in the last subparagraph of Article 4(3) 'ECU 358.6' is replaced by 'ECU 332.42'

>Text following EP vote>

Deleted

(Amendment 13)

ARTICLE 1(1)(c)

Article 4(5) (Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92)

>Original text>

(c) in Article 4(5) 'ECU 138.9' is replaced by 'ECU 128.76'

>Text following EP vote>

Deleted

(Amendment 14)

ARTICLE 1(1)(d)

Article 5(1)(b) (Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92)

>Original text>

(d) in Article 5(1)(b) 'ECU 433.5' is replaced by 'ECU 415.24'

>Text following EP vote>

Deleted

(Amendment 15)

ARTICLE 1(1)(e)

Article 7(5) (Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92)

>Original text>

(e) in Article 7(5) 'ECU 68.83' is replaced by 'ECU 50.37'

>Text following EP vote>

Deleted

(Amendment 16)

ARTICLE 1(1)(f)

Article 7(6) (Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92)

>Original text>

(f) in Article 7(6) 'ECU 48.30' is replaced by 'ECU 35.35'

>Text following EP vote>

Deleted

(Amendment 17)

ARTICLE 1(1)(g)

Article 11(2) last sentence (Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92)

>Original text>

(g) in Article 11(2) the last sentence is replaced by the following:

'The advance must be paid on or after 16 October following the harvest.'

>Text following EP vote>

Deleted

(Amendment 27)

ARTICLE 1(1)(ga) (new)

Article 11(2a) (new) (Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92)

>Text following EP vote>

(ga) In Article 11 the following new paragraph 2a is inserted:

'2a. If under the 1997 budget the appropriations available for financing the advance are not sufficient, that part of the advance payments which cannot be covered in the 1997 budget shall be paid out after 16 October 1997.

The above provision shall also apply, mutatis mutandis, in the following year to the 1998 budget.'

(Amendment 19)

ARTICLE 1(1)(h)

Article 6a(2) and (3) (Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92)

>Original text>

(h) in Article 6a, paragraphs 2 and 3 are replaced by the following:

>Text following EP vote>

Deleted

>Original text>

'2. For the 1997/98 and subsequent marketing years, the amount of the compensatory payment per hectare for linseed referred to in Article 6a(3) shall be ECU 97.43 multiplied by the regional yield for cereals, excluding maize yields in those regions where a separate yield is applied for maize.'

(Amendment 20)

ARTICLE 1(1)(i)

Article 6a(4) (Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92)

>Original text>

(i) in Article 6a, paragraph 4 becomes paragraph 3.

>Text following EP vote>

Deleted

(Amendment 21)

ARTICLE 1(2)

>Original text>

2. Council Regulation (EC) No 1872/94 is hereby repealed(1).

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(1) OJ L 197, 30.7.1994, p. 10.

>Text following EP vote>

Deleted

Legislative resolution embodying Parliament's opinion on the proposal and amended proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92 establishing a support system for producers of certain arable crops and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1872/94 (COM(96)0422 + COM(97)0022 - C4-0448/96 - 96/0212(CNS))

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission proposal and amended proposal to the Council, COM(96)0422 + COM(97)0022 - 96/0212(CNS) ((OJ C 300, 10.10.1996, p.19 and C 95, 24.3.1997, p. 63. )),

- having been consulted by the Council pursuant to Article 43 of the EC Treaty (C4-0448/96),

- having regard to Rule 58 of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and the opinion of the Committee on Budgets (A4-0176/97),

1. Approves the Commission proposal and amended proposal, subject to Parliament's amendments;

2. Calls on the Council to notify Parliament should it intend to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

3. Asks to be consulted again should the Council intend to make substantial modifications to the Commission proposal and amended proposal;

4. Instructs its President to forward this opinion to the Council and Commission.