WRITTEN QUESTION E-1619/00

by Jan Mulder (ELDR) to the Commission

(29 May 2000)

Subject: Appropriations for lowering nitrate content

The Budget Authority reserved an appropriation of 220m euro in the year-2000 budget under item B1-4050 (environmental operations in agriculture) for financing incentive measures to lower nitrate content below the permitted upper limit.

To date, no appropriations have been committed or paid out for that purpose.

1. Can the Commission state why no action has hitherto been taken to implement the Budget Authority's express wish?

2. Does the Commission consider it acceptable for the Budget Authority's express wish that these appropriations should be used to influence current developments in the Member States to be ignored?

3. What proposals will the Commission submit for ensuring that these appropriations can still be committed and paid out for that purpose? By what deadline can such proposals be expected?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(13 July 2000)

As indicated by the Honourable Member, budget item B1-4050 is for part-financing of action by Member States and regions encouraging farmers to apply agricultural production methods designed to protect the environment and preserve the landscape. The terms of Articles 22 to 24 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and amending and repealing certain Regulations(1) and of Articles 12 to 20 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1750/1999 of 23 July 1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 apply(2). Agri-environment measures are the sole compulsory component of Member States' rural development programmes but under the subsidiarity principle informing the basic Regulations incentives to reduce nitrate levels further than required by law need not be included in them. However, such incentives cannot then be provided.

1. The Commission is at present examining the rural development programmes for 2000-2006 sent by the Member States for approval. Once approval has been given, the chapter B1-40 appropriations will be used to part-finance expenditure incurred on the various rural development measures. As no programme has yet been approved no appropriations have yet been used.

2. Examination of most of the programmes sent by Member States is very advanced. Some seventy of them contain this type of measure. Member States have the option of launching, without awaiting programme approval by the Commission, all operations leading to contracts with farmers for the implementation of agri-environmental measures.

They can even begin paying aid under such contracts from the date on which the Commission received the programme but this expenditure cannot be reimbursed from the Community budget until after approval. Thus some expenditure has probably already been incurred but cannot yet appear in the Commission's accounts.

3. The Commission considers that the existing legal framework will permit approval of the programmes in the near future and hence utilisation of the appropriations without any need for new proposals.

(1) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999.

(2) OJ L 214, 13.8.1999.