NoC108/14 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 19.4.93
OpinionontheproposalforaCouncilRegulation(EEC)ontheintroductionofalimitto
thegrantingofproductionaidforprocessedtomatoproducts(*)
(93/C108/04)
On8December1992theCouncildecidedtoconsulttheEconomicandSocialCommittee,
underArticle198oftheTreatyestablishingtheEuropeanEconomicCommunity,onthe
abovementioned proposal.
TheSectionforAgricultureandFisheries,whichwasresponsibleforpreparingtheCom­
mittee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon5February1993.TheRapporteurwas
MrPricolo.
Atits303rdPlenarySession(meetingof24February),theEconomicandSocialCommittee
adoptedthefollowingOpinionunanimously .
1.Introduction
1.1.Theprincipleofaidfortheprocessingofcertain
fruitsandvegetables,freshtomatoesinparticular,was
confirmedbytheCouncilinitsMay1978'Mediterrane­
anpackage'ofmeasuresdesignedtostrikeabalance
morefavourabletotheCommunity'sMediterranean
regions.Theneedtoencourageindustrialprocessingof
freshproduce,avoidingwithdrawalfromthemarket
andthedestructionofinterventionstocksunderlaythe
decision.Theemphasiswasonincentivescapableof
buildingamodernagro-industrial structureinhighly
ruralareas—essentialinordertotackletheprevailing
highlevelofunder-employment .
1.2.Theaidsystemwasdesignedtoprovidefinancial
compensation (processingpremium)fundedbythe
EuropeanAgriculturalGuidanceandGuaranteeFund
(EAGGF)forprocessingcompanies,thecosttobe
bornebytheEAGGF,tooffsettheremainingraw
materialdifferentialbetweenECandthirdcountry
products—which,asiswidelyknown,aremorecom­
petitiveduetolowpay.Thegrantingofaiddepended,
however,onthecompanyenteringintocontractswith
farmers,guaranteeingthemaminimumfairprice.1.5.CouncilRegulation (EEC)No989/84of31
March1984introducedmachinerytopenalizeany
excessofthe'guaranteethreshold',thensetforthe
entireCommunityat4700000tonnesoffreshproduct
intendedforprocessing,anddividedupbetweenthe
threesub-categories of'tomatoconcentrate','tinned
wholepeeledtomatoes'and'othertomatoproducts'.
WhereCommunityproductionoffreshtomatoesear­
markedforprocessingexceededthepre-determined
levels,productionaidforthefollowingmarketingyear
wouldbereducedproportionately (ie.a1%reduction
inaidforeachpercentagepointofexcess).Incalculat­
ingthethresholds,accountwastakennotofannual
volumes,butoftheaverageproductionoverthethree
marketingyearsprecedingthemarketingyearforwhich
aidwastobeset.
1.6.Itwassubsequentlyfoundthatthesystem,as
designed,wasanobstacletoeffectiveproductioncon­
trolpolicy,fortheobviousreasonthatreducingaiddid
notalwaysdeterproducersfromexceedingguarantee
limits.
1.6.1.Itwasthereforedecidedtointroducemore
restrictivemeasuresforthe1985/1986,1986/1987and
1987/1988marketingyears,restrictingaidtopro­
ductionofpre-determined amounts.Inthemeantime,it
wasestablishedthatintheeventofguaranteethresholds
beingexceeded,accountwouldbetakenonlyofthose
amountsforwhichaidhadbeengrantedoverthethree
precedingmarketingyears.
1.6.2.Inotherwords,theproduction'quotasystem'
wasintroduced:withanumberofextensions,this
remainedinforceuntilthe1991/1992marketingyear.
1.6.3.Thequotasystemlapsednaturallywiththe
1991/1992marketingyear:the'guaranteethreshold'
systemhasautomaticallycomebackintoforceforthe
1992/1993marketingyearsincenodecisionhasbeen
takentoextendthevalidityofthequotasystemarrange­
ments.1.3.Itshouldbeemphasizedthatprovisionofaid
underthesearrangementssimultaneously benefitspro­
cessors,farmersandconsumers :processorsareenabled
toplacethefinishedproductonthemarketmore
efficiently;farmersreceiveaworthwhilepricefromthe
saleofrawmaterial,andcanrelyontheindustryto
absorbtheircrop;andconsumerspayalowerpricefor
thefinishedproduct.
1.4.Lastly,itshouldbenotedthatthearrangement
haslargelyeliminatedthegrave,recurrenttensions
whichusedtodisruptallaspectsofproductdelivery
totheprocessingindustry,andhasprovidedfarmers'
associationswithsubstantialroomformanoeuvre :as
aresult,theyhavegrownconsiderablyinstrength.2.Generalcomments
2.1.TheCommitteebelievesthattheaimsandcon­
tentoftheCommission'sproposaltoreintroduce,from (!)OJNoC328,12.12.1992,p.6.

19.4.93 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC108/15
the1993/1994marketingyear,arrangementslimiting
thegrantingofproductionaidforprocessingfresh
tomatoes,meaningaidonlyforpre-determined
amountsearmarkedforprocessing,meritsupport.
2.2.Theproductionquotamechanismunques­
tionablypossessesanumberofadvantagesforboth
farmersandprocessingconcerns:underit,farmerssow
inlinewiththeamountsoffreshproducetobesupplied
totheindustry;processingcompaniescanadjusttheir
productioncapacityinlinewiththeamountsagreed
withfarmers.
2.3.Lastly,the'quotasystem'providesbothfarmers
andtheindustrywithstablebenchmarksfortheirpro­
duction.Aboveall,itremovestheelementofchance
anduncertaintyofthesysteminvolvingaidreductions
intheeventofguaranteelimitexcess.Ashasbeenseen
inthepast,itmaybeworthwhileunderthelatter
systemtoputupwithreducedaidwhenproduction
dramaticallyoutstripsguaranteelimits.ofconsiderableimportance,sincefarmers'associations
inthetomatosectorinsomecountrieshaveassumed
suchproportionsthatattheveryleast,areviewofthe
situationisjustified.
2.7.Whileconvincedofthedesirabilityofreturning
tothe'quotasystem',theCommitteeneverthelesscon­
sidersthatanumberofminoramendmentsneedtobe
madetothesystemasoperateduntil1991,inorderto
reflectchangedmarketandagriculturalorganization
circumstances .A'degreeofflexibility'shouldbeintro­
ducedinordertooffsettherigidityoftheearlierquota
scheme.
2.8.Morespecifically,itshouldbeborneinmind
thatallocationofeachcountry'soverallproduction
volumeintothreeseparatesub-quotas,
a)tomatoconcentrate
b)tinnedwholepeeledtomatoes
c)othertomatoproducts,
wasshapedbyasituationwhichhas,inpart,been
alteredbydifferentmarkettrends.
2.8.1.Ithasbeennotedthatforanumberofyears,
forexampleinItaly,the'tinnedwholepeeledtomatoes'
sub-quotahasnotbeenfullyused,whilethe'other
tomatoproducts'sub-quota(juices,pulps,etc)hascon­
sistentlybeenexceeded.
2.8.2.Consequently ,itwouldbeillogicaltomaintain
thequantitativesub-divisionasappliedinthepast.It
shouldberevisedsothatforeachoverallvolumeallo­
catedforeachcountry,thesub-quotasaredividedon
anewbasis,reducingthosewhicharehardlyusedand
increasingbythesameamountwhichhaveprovedto
beinsufficient .
2.9.TheCommitteebelievesthatflexibilityisalso
neededwithregardtotheinter-quotatransfersunder
thedraftRegulation :inparticular,suchtransfersshould
bepermittedforindividualmarketingyears,sothat
theseamountscannotbeconsolidatedinwhenquotas
forundertakingsarebeingcalculatedforsubsequent
marketingyears.2.4.ItshouldalsobepointedoutthattheCom­
mission'sinitiativereflectstheCouncildecision—made
whenthe1992/1992farmpriceswereset—torestore
thequotasystemforthe1993/1994marketingyear.
2.5.Thereintroduction ofthissystemistherefore
legal.
2.5.1.TheCommitteealsoendorsestheCom­
mission'sintentiontoapplythearrangementsforan
indeterminateperiod:itishardtoimagineonesystem
beingusedforoneortwomarketingyears,andthen
beingreplacedbyanother.
2.5.2.Itgoeswithoutsayingthatreviewofthesys­
temdependsonanysubsequentchangestotheCom­
monAgriculturalPolicy(CAP)andtheconclusionof
thenegotiationsontheGeneralAgreementonTariffs
andTrade(GATT).
2.6.TheCommitteehasnocommenttomakeon
the'overallvolumes'offreshtomatoesallocatedto
eachproducercountry.Asinthepast,thisistobe
handledbytheprocessingindustry.
2.6.1.TheCommitteeneverthelesscallsuponthe
Commissiontoreviewtheoverallquantitiesassigned
tothevariousproducercountriesinthefuture,toreflect
theirrealproductioncapacity.
2.6.2.Itishopedthatcarefulthoughtwillbegiven
tothe'agent'towhomquotamanagementistobe
entrusted.
2.6.3.TheCommitteewonderswhetheraformula
shouldnotbedevisedempoweringtheMemberStates
toassignmanagementresponsibility .Thequestionis3.Specificcomments
3.1.Inthelightoftheabovecomments,theCom­
mitteerecommendsthefollowingamendmentstothe
text:
3.1.1.Article1.1shouldbeamendedinorder(a)to
reduce,forItaly,thevolumeoftomatoesearmarked
forprocessinginto'tinnedwholepeeledtomatoes'by
atleast100000tonnes(b)toincreasethequantityfor
'othertomatoproducts'bythesameamount.
3.1.2.The5%maximum,laiddowninArticle1.2,
secondindent,fortransferfrom'concentrate'to'other

NoC108/16 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 19.4.93
tomatoproducts',shouldbeincreaseduptoa
maximumof15%inspecificshort-termcircumstances .
3.1.3.Itshouldalsobemadepossibletoraisethe
5%limitsetoutinArticle1.2,thirdindent,fortransfer
from'otherproducts'to'concentrate',uptoamaximumof15%inspecificshort-termcircumstances .
3.1.4.Article1.3(c)shouldbecompletedasfollows:
'Wherethequantityconstitutedusingthe2%
reserveisnotfullyusedorispartlyusedfornew
initiatives,itshallbereturnedtothequantitytobe
assignedtoindividualundertakings.'
DoneatBrussels,24February1993.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
SusanneTIEMANN
OpinionontheproposalforaCouncilRegulation (EEC)amendingRegulation (EEC)
No2299/89onaCodeofConductforComputerizedReservationSystems
(93/C108/05)
On11February1993,theCouncildecidedtoconsulttheEconomicandSocialCommittee
underArticle84(2)oftheTreatyestablishingtheEuropeanEconomicCommunityonthe
abovementioned proposal.
TheSectionforTransportandCommunications ,whichwasresponsibleforpreparingthe
Committee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon12February1993.TheRapporteur
wasMrMoreland.
Atits303rdPlenarySession(meetingof24February1993),theEconomicandSocial
CommitteeadoptedthefollowingOpinionunanimously .
1.Introduction Councilagreedaregulationonacodeofconductfor
computerizedreservationsystems.TheCommitteegave
itsOpinionontheseproposals.TheRegulationislarge­
lyreflectiveoftheCommittee'sOpinion.1.1.Therehasbeenconcernthatthedevelopment
ofcomputerreservationsystems(CRS)ownedbyairline
companiesmayoperatemoreintheinterestsofpromot­
ingthoseairlinesthaninensuringthattravelagentsare
abletopresentacomprehensive andobjectivedisplay
ofairlineservicesavailabletothecustomer.1.3.Article2.3oftheCouncilregulationstated'The
CouncilshalldecideontherevisionofthisRegulation
by31December1992onthebasisofaCommission
proposaltobesubmittedby31March1992
accompanied byareportontheapplicationofthis
Regulation'.However,thereportandthedraftproposal
werenotpublishedbytheCommissionuntillatein
1992.1.2.Asaresultofthisconcern,theCommission
agreedinJuly1988ablockexemptionregulationon
certaincategoriesofagreementsbetweenundertakings
relatingtoCRSforairtransport.InJuly1989the