No C 337/54 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 12. 88 
moveable week were considered desirable and advis­
able. However, it must be rejected since the Committee 
Done at Brussels, 27 October 1988. 
1. The Punta del Este declaration of 20 September 
1986, which launched the new round of multilateral 
trade negotiations, gave an important place to nego­
tiations in the agricultural sector. The course of the 
initial phases of the negotiations and the attitudes and 
proposals of the contracting parties concerning the 
conduct of the negotiations in the agricultural sector, as 
well as the deliberations at the major intergovernmental 
meetings, have tended to add to this importance. That 
is why the Committee with the ministerial meeting in 
Montreal in mind, considers it appropriate to make 
known its views on the conduct of these agricultural 
negotiations, it being understood that the general 
aspects of the multilateral trade negotiations, which 
concern also agriculture, are covered by the Committee 
Opinion on the current state and future prospects of 
the GATT/Uruguay Round negotiations (1). 
(') ESC of 29 September 1988 (OJ No C 318, 12. 12. 1988). regards the moveable week as being as retrogressive 
step if the aim is greater simplicity and flexibility. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Alberto MASPRONE 
General points 
2. After two years devoted to identifying problems 
of presentation and to examining various proposals and 
objectives concerning the agricultural negotiations, the 
ministerial session scheduled for 4 and 5 December in 
Montreal would seem to be extremely necessary in 
order to draw up a balance sheet at the mid-way stage 
of the negotiations. 
This session should also be the occasion for finally 
entering into a genuine dialogue, for taking stock of 
the points on which convergence is discernible and, on 
the basis thereof, for mapping out, if possible, the broad 
outlines of negotiations in the coming two years aimed 
at establishing a better balance between supply and 
demand. 
3. In this connection it is necessary to reaffirm the 
principle that the negotiations form part of a whole, 
as laid down in the Punta del Este declaration: 'The 
launching, the conduct and thefimplementation of the 
outcome of the negotiations shaffl be treated as parts of 
a single undertaking.' Opinion on the current state and future prospects of the GATT/Uruguay Round negotiations 
as regards agriculture and the agro-food sector 
(88/C 337/18) 
On 31 May 1988 the Economic and Social Committee, acting under the fourth paragraph of 
Article 20 of its rules of procedure, decided to draw up an Opinion on the current state and 
future prospects of the GATT/Uruguay Round negotiations as regards agriculture and the 
agro-food sector. 
The section for external relations, trade and development policy, which was responsible for 
preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on September 1988. 
The rapporteur was Mr Clavel. 
At its 259th plenary session (meeting of 27 October 1988), the Economic and Social Committee 
unanimously adopted the following Opinion. 
31. 12. 88 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 337/55 
That is why the Montreal session should be concerned 
in particular with the progress required on tropical 
agricultural products and on the services connected 
with farming. 
4. The Community should point out at Montreal 
that multilateralism is an essential rule of the General 
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and that this 
rule therefore applies to the present negotiations. 
Even if it is considered that a final agreement cannot 
be arrived at until the United States and the EEC 
have reached an understanding on certain points, the 
negotiations must amount to more than just a quarrel 
between these two parties. Other countries are interest­
ed in finding a better balance in the agricultural sphere. 
Certain countries (e.g. Japan and Korea) with ambitious 
programmes for the development of their agricultural 
production should open their frontiers, too, and join in 
any concerted production limitation moves that may 
be decided on. 
5. The Committee has noted that other practices are 
at variance with the principle of multilateralism: the 
bilateral agreements for the supply of sugar and beef 
for the United States market and most recently the 
agreements concluded between the United States and 
Japan, or the transnational interests of commercial 
operators which are taking the place of the States. 
The Montreal session provides an opportunity to 
initiate efforts to limit excesses in this area. 
6. The Community should pay particular attention 
to preserving the special nature of the agricultural nego­
tiations: 
— first of all because all attempts to solve the problems 
relating to trade in agricultural products and to 
expand trade in this sector have been unsuccessful 
where they failed to take account of this special 
nature, which is due to the characteristics of agricul­
tural production and the agricultural markets: cli­
matic uncertainties, difficult preservation of prod­
ucts, disparate production structures, market inelas­
ticity, desire for security of supply, widespread 
application of support policies, disorderly world 
markets..., and 
— also because this is the only way to safeguard the 
specific features of European agriculture: all the 
Member States and the neighbouring countries in 
Europe have similar agricultural structures and have 
a common interest in preserving their agriculture as 
an element in the structure of their society and in 
their physical planning, and as part of the environ­
ment and the landscape: all in fact have a cultural tradition closely linked with rural life and thus with 
agriculture, 
— these common features set European agriculture 
completely apart from agriculture in the new 
countries with a much greater area and a much 
lower population density, which are thus very differ­
ent in historical and structural terms. This means 
that the principle of comparative advantage can 
never become the sole criterion for the operation of 
the agricultural markets at world level. 
7. The Committee notes also that the ministerial 
declaration of the Organization for Economic Co-oper­
ation and Develoment (OECD) of March 1987, the 
Venice Summit in June 1987, the proposals made by 
the various countries or groups of countries and finally 
the conclusions of the Toronto Summit introduce a 
major new element into the multilateral negotiations as 
far as the agricultural sector is concerned: the nego­
tiations will not be confined to trade barriers, rather 
an attempt will be made to reduce the support that 
most contracting parties give to their agriculture. The 
negotiations will therefore go beyond trade negotiations 
in the strict sense of the term and deal with the content 
of agricultural policies, which is another manifestation 
of the special character of the agricultural negotiations. 
This ambitious objective cannot be achieved unless the 
agricultural negotiations are approached with a great 
deal of realism and account is taken of the diversity of 
the situations in this area. 
Agro-food sector 
8. The Community should also pay attention to the 
special needs of the agro-food sector (which directly 
employes 4 000 000 EC workers). This sector has a vital 
interest in freer trade and therefore in the success of 
the GATT negotiations. 
Besides the subjects covered in the agricultural group 
negotiations, impediments to EC agro-food exports 
include also excessive tariffs and such non-tariff barriers 
as administrative and customs procedures, food com­
positional requirements, and sanitary and phyto-sani-
tary measures. 
Lastly, there is also a great deal of counterfeiting of 
high quality EEC products (misappropriating intellec­
tual property in GATT terms). 
9. Within GATT these are dealt with to varying 
degrees by the agriculture and by other negotiating 
groups. It is essential that a procedure is created where 
the problems of the agro-food sector are treated as a 
No C 337/56 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 12. 88 
whole so that the consequences for the sector's competi­
tive position are always taken properly into account by 
the Community's negotiators. 
Rights and obligations of the Community 
10. The Community will have to assert its rights 
during the negotiations: 
— A high price was paid for the fundamental principles 
of the common agricultural policy (CAP) during 
the previous negotiations (Dillon Round, Tokyo, 
Round, XXIV-6 negotiations). These principles, 
particularly levies and refunds, cannot be called into 
question. 
— The Community is the world's leading importer of 
agricultural products, and it should turn this pos­
ition to good account. But its partners should not 
expect it to be able to continue to increase its 
imports while embarking on a programme for the 
restriction of its own agricultural production. 
— The Community is the world's second largest 
exporter of agricultural/food products. It therefore 
has an interest in discussions of the problems relat­
ing to market access, particularly since a reduction 
in support will reduce export costs. It is of the 
utmost importance that the Community should con­
tinue to be able to export agricultural/food prod­
ucts, on account of its agricultural production 
potential and because of balance of trade consider­
ations. 
— While internal prices are higher than world ones, it 
is absolutely essential to have compensation for this 
difference on exports. 
— Lastly, the Committee would point out that the 
European Council held on 11-12 February 1988 
called on the Commission 'to ensure, in the context 
of the Uruguay Round and having regard to the 
provisions of the GATT, that the Community's 
measures with respect of prices and quantities are 
taken into due consideration'. 
11. No progress will be possible in the negotiations 
unless efforts are made by each of the contracting 
parties in a spirit of reciprocity. A better balance 
between supply and demand will not be achieved unless 
all the countries concerned make their contribution 
to limiting production and improving access; and no 
headway will be made on the reduction of support 
to agriculture unless all the countries concerned give 
equivalent undertakings in this area. The Community 
should of course require guarantees from its partners 
as to the effectiveness of their commitments. 
12. For all these reasons, the Committee stresses the 
absolute necessity for the Community to maintain the 
greatest possible cohesion throughout the negotiations. 
The Member States should avoid initiatives which could break up the united Community front and be exploited 
by third countries. There is therefore a need for sectoral 
cohesion, as well as cohesion among the Member States 
and between the Commission and the Council. The 
Community's credibility hinges on the resoluteness it 
shows in the stands it adopts. Too often in the past the 
EEC has been unable to respond when it was the subject 
of unjustified attacks. The Community should be aware 
of the economic strength and bargaining power of a 
single market of 320 million consumers. 
13. In view of the importance of what is at stake, 
the Committee urges the Commission to take the steps 
needed to ensure full, accurate and regular briefing of 
Community public opinion on the GATT negotiations 
and the reasons underpinning the various positions, 
particularly in talks on key matters. 
14. At the same time, given the role it plays at 
international level, the Community should be alive to 
the responsibility it has for bringing about a better 
balance on the markets for agricultural products. The 
negotiations will certainly lead it to revise some of the 
CAP instruments, which will have consequences both 
for producers and for the very balance of society in the 
Member States. That is why the Community should 
adopt a pragmatic attitude at all times, while seeking 
to identify possibilities for longer-term agreements. 
15. The present course of the negotiations gives the 
impression of a certain confusion and stagnation. The 
excessive use of panels as soon as there is disagreement 
with the EEC completely upsets the balance of the 
negotiations and alters their spirit. 
The many calls for panels, which increasingly involve 
the interpretation of GATT rules, make recourse to 
neutral arbiters more and more difficult. This leads to 
politicization of the panels, which is unacceptable. The 
Community should denounce any unfair use of the 
GATT rules aimed at judgment before negotiation. 
The political principles of the agricultural negotiations 
16. The Community's proposals are aimed at: 
— better control of production by appropriate means, 
including a progressive reduction in support with a 
direct or indirect effect on trade in agricultural 
products, 
— making agriculture more sensitive to market signals, 
31. 12. 88 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 337/57 
— a greater role for direct aids not linked to the volume 
of production. 
The Committee approves these proposals, since the 
prime aim of the negotiations should be to establish 
more orderly conditions for international agricultural 
trade by creating a better balance on the markets. This 
better balance cannot be achieved without a concerted 
effort to control production. 
17. But pursuit of these objectives must not lead to 
a severe drop in farm incomes in the Community, 
which would accelerate the flight from the land to an 
unacceptable degree, unbalance the fragile economy of 
certain regions and have detrimental consequences for 
the environment and the landscape. 
18. Insofar as the Community has to make greater 
use of direct aids (idea of decoupling supported by the 
United States), the Committee would point out that the 
CAP has to take account of 7 million farms, whereas 
the United States has only 2 million farms on a utilized 
agricultural area that is four times greater. The social 
as well as the financial consequences of decoupling 
must therefore be taken into consideration, and the 
difficulties that certain countries will face in setting 
up approriate administrative machinery must not be 
forgotten. 
The Committee would also point out that aids and 
subsidies not linked to products are not necessarily 
neutral in terms of production and prices; they should 
therefore also be included in the negotiations. 
The Committee would also stress that a reliable method 
of measuring agricultural support will have to be agreed 
on if the reduction in support is to be well balanced. 
19. Subject to the above comments, the Committee 
also approves the approach suggested by the Com­
munity, viz.: 
19.1. A phase of short-term action comprising on 
the one hand emergency measures on several major 
products and on the other hand a concerted limitation 
of support with as basis the 1984-1985 marketing year. 
19.1.1. The critical situation in which farmers find 
themselves (incomes, financial position,...) in many 
developed and developing countries warrants the adop­
tion of concerted emergency measures to restore equi­
librium and stability on the international agricultural 
markets. 
19.1.2. The Committee considers that adoption of 
these measures is a test of the goodwill and credibility 
of the contracting parties. It goes without saying that 
account will have to be taken of all the agricultural 
policy measures introduced by the various contracting 
parties since the above date, as well as the many support 
programmes that certain countries have been unable to 
do without and the mandatory reforms. 19.2. The above form the preconditions for embark­
ing upon a second, more decisive phase in a significant, 
concerted reduction of agricultural support. This would 
make it possible to rectify the production situation 
internally and would appreciably-improve the situation 
on the markets. The Committee supports this approach. 
19.2.1. Priority should be given to the abolition of 
scaling down of policies and measures that have con­
tributed to agricultural surpluses and create barriers to 
international trade or distort it. 
19.2.2. In this connection the Committee thinks that 
the Community should obtain from the United States 
a formal undertaking concerning the abolition of the 
derogations (waiver secured in 1955 in order to comply 
with Article 22 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 
1933) which enable it to impose quotas, as it sees fit, 
on such important products as the majority of milk 
products, groundnuts, cotton and sugar, with a view 
to making its policy of support for these products 
effective. The Community must take the standpoint 
that there can be no true reciprocity or balanced com­
mitments unless these derogations are abolished; the 
Community must make it clear to GATT that this is a 
vital issue on which the success of the negotiations 
depends. 
19.2.3. As regards the reduction of agricultural sup­
port, the Committee considers that all the contracting 
parties should enter into firm commitments as binding 
as those relating to customs tariffs. These commitments 
should come under close surveillance by GATT. 
19.2.4. The situation of the developing countries 
would be examined in this phase of the discussions and 
a special degree of flexibility would be shown here since 
it is only a question of short-term measures. At all 
events, the developing countries would benefit from 
such commitments, since they should lead to a general 
improvement in conditions on the world market which 
should ensure normal market access for these countries. 
20. In conclusion, the Committee hopes that the 
ministerial meeting in Montreal will make it possible, 
through a combination of immediate measures and 
long-term objectives, to find a way out of the impasse 
in which the negotiations have been for too long. 
Whatever their extent and whatever the reasons behind 
them, the differences of view regarding the approach 
to be followed for the agricultural negotiations must 
not form a pretext for inactivity; the Committee con­
siders that these differences of view must be overcome 
at Montreal if the objectives agreed at Punta del Este 
are to be fully achieved. 
21. In parallel with the efforts that the contracting 
parties must make to find a compromise that will lead 
to clearer and more effective rules for agricultural trade, 
No C 337/58 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 12. 88 
the governments must take resolute action to improve 
the functioning of the international monetary system 
if they wish to realize the aspirations underlying the 
Uruguay Round. There would be no point in seeking 
to reduce agricultural support if a simple change in 
the interest rate, magnified in its repercussions on the 
Done at Brussels, 27 October 1988. 
1. General comments 
1.1. The Committee endorses the Commission pro­
posal subject to the following comments. 
1.2. The Committee is pleased that the Commission 
was prompted to issue this proposal inter alia by the 
arguments expressed by the ESC Opinion on equal 
opportunities for women, medium-term Community 
programme, 1986-1990, which was adopted unanim­
ously on 24 April 1986. 
1.3. Basically, the reasons put forward by the Com­
mittee in April 1986 are still valid: 
a) ensuring the more effective application of existing 
Community provisions; 
b) contributing to redressing the continuing infringe­
ment of equality of rights; 
c) remedying the imbalance between the number of 
legitimate cases brought before the courts and the 
real incidence of discrimination which is very much 
higher; 
(•) OJ No C 176, 5. 7. 1988, p. 5. various currencies, would make it possible to provide 
new support at any time. 
Balanced national budgets and monetary and financial 
cooperation are preconditions for the success of the 
Uruguay Round, particularly in the agricultural sector. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Alberto MASPRONE 
d) encouraging and stimulating the implementation of 
good employment practices and modern personnel 
techniques; 
e) the legal application of the Directive should provide 
Member States with room for manoeuvre and 
enough flexibility to forestall possible abuses by 
interest groups. 
1.4. Equal opportunities for women should be one 
of the main objectives of a People's Europe. To achieve 
this end, an effort will be required in all social spheres, 
including above all, the promotion of suitable employ­
ment and educational policies. 
While legislation is important, it plays a more decisive 
role in amending individual rather than general situ­
ations. 
1.5. Current Community legislation on equality 
between men and women as laid down in the following 
must be implemented more effectively. 
— Article 119 of the EEC Treaty, 
— Council Directive 75/117/EEC: Equal pay for men 
and women, Opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive on the burden of proof in the area of equal 
pay and equal treatment for women and men (J) 
(88/C 337/19) 
On 16 June 1988, the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, 
under Article 100 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the 
abovementioned proposal. 
The section for social, family, educational and cultural affairs, which was responsible for 
preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 13 October 1988. 
The rapporteur was Mr Gomez Martinez. 
At its 259th plenary session (meeting of 27 October 1988), the Economic and Social Committee 
adopted the following Opinion by 72 votes to 10, with 5 abstentions.