WRITTEN QUESTION E-2719/98

by Leonie van Bladel (UPE) to the Council

(1 September 1998)

Subject: Shortfall of beekeepers in Europe because of the effects of old age

1. Is the Council of Ministers aware that a large number of amateur beekeepers in Europe are growing old and that this phenomenon is threatening bee stocks?

2. Is the Council aware that beekeeping is facing serious structural problems, partly because, in recent years, the number of production areas has been dwindling, and that a call has been made for no more than four bee hives to be kept per hectare?

3. Does the Council know that the number of beehives has fallen by one third in the last fifteen years while the demand for honey has been increasing?

4. Does the Council realise that many gardeners prefer to use bees for the pollination of fruit and vegetables?

5. What possibilities does the Council see for countering the increase in the average age of beekeepers?

6. Is the Council prepared to interest young people in beekeeping by means of information programmes in schools?

7. Does the Council see any possibility of financial support being granted to offset the costs of keeping bees?

Reply

(22 October 1998)

The Council is aware of the specific problems referred to by the Honourable Member. However, it has not received proposals from the Commission regarding the precise points raised in her question.

The Council would point out that there is currently no common organisation of the market in the beekeeping sector. Consequently, the measures that could be taken are more limited than those concerning other agricultural sectors which benefit from a system for the common organisation of the market.

In this respect, on 25 June 1997, the Council, after consulting the European Parliament, adopted Regulation (EC) 1221/97 laying down general rules for the application of measures to improve the production and marketing of honey(1). The detailed rules for implementing that Regulation were adopted by Commission Regulation (EC) 2300/97(2).

The purpose of the aforementioned Council Regulation is to improve conditions for the production and marketing of honey in the European Union by part-financing measures based on national programmes.

The measures which may be included in these programmes are the following:

(a) technical assistance to members of beekeepers' associations and honey houses with a view to improving the conditions for the production and extraction of honey;

(b) the control of varroasis and related diseases; improvement of the conditions for the treatment of hives;

(c) rationalisation of transhumance;

(d) measures to support laboratories carrying out analyses on the physico-chemical properties of honey;

(e) cooperation with specialised bodies for the implementation of applied research programmes to improve the quality of honey.

To be eligible for part-financing, Member States must carry out a study of the production and marketing structure in the beekeeping sector in their territory. The Community will provide part-financing for the national programmes equivalent to 50 % of the expenditure borne by Member States.

It is stipulated that the Commission will present to the European Parliament and the Council every three years a report on the application of the Regulation.

At this juncture, the Council considers that the aforementioned Regulation constitutes a fair balance between budgetary constraints and the most pressing needs in the beekeeping sector.

(1) OJ L 173, 1.7.1997, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 319, 21.11.1997, p. 4.