WRITTEN QUESTION E-2811/02

by Salvador Jové Peres (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(7 October 2002)

Subject: Irregular acceptance by the Commission of upwards vision of processed tomato quantity data

On 15 January 2002, the Processed Fruit and Vegetable Management Committee gave its consent to the tomato quantities communicated to it by the Member States, which meant that the full amount of aid was established for all Member States, since the Community threshold had not been overshot. Why did the Commission not make this agreement official by issuing the relevant regulation?

Joint answerto Written Questions E-2811/02, E-2812/02 and E-2813/02given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(6 November 2002)

At the meeting of the Management Committee for products processed from fruit and vegetables on 15 January 2002 it was noted, on the basis of information provided by the Member States, that the Community threshold for processing tomatoes had not been exceeded for the 2001/2002 marketing year. Consequently, no reduction in aid was applicable in respect of the 2001/2002 and 2002/2003 marketing years. In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 2201/96(1), the Management Committee had been consulted regarding a proposal for a Regulation fixing, for all Member States, the additional amount at a maximum level for the 2001/02 marketing year and aid for the 2002/03 marketing year at the level fixed by the Council. The Committee was unanimously in favour.

On 24 January 2002, outside the time limits stipulated by Regulation 449/2001(2), Italy sent a correction of the data previously provided, with the result that the Community threshold was exceeded.

The Commission therefore had two options:

- to reject on formal grounds the new data sent by the Italian authorities and complete the procedure for publishing the version of the Regulation approved at the meeting of the Management Committee on 15 January 2002, which would have entailed a certain loss for the Community budget;

- to take the new data provided by Italy into account in accordance with the spirit and the letter of the Council Regulation, which requires aid to be paid while estimating any amount in excess of the threshold based on the quantity actually delivered for processing with aid.

The second option was chosen. Consequently, a meeting of the Management Committee was convened on 25 January and held on 28 January 2002. The only agenda item was a new draft Commission Regulation correcting the proposal presented to the Committee on 15 January. The Committee was unanimously in favour of the draft, which reduces additional aid and the basic aid for the 2002/2003 marketing year in Italy and Spain the Member States whose threshold was exceeded.

The Commission is sure that the Honourable Member shares the concern to defend the Community financial interests which underlies the decisions taken and will therefore agree that it acted properly.

(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 of 28 October 1996 on the common organisation of the markets in processed fruit and vegetable products, OJ L 297, 21.11.1996.

(2) Commission Regulation (EC) No 449/2001 of 2 March 2001 laying down detailed rules for applying Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 as regards the aid scheme for products processed from fruit and vegetables, OJ L 64, 6.3.2001.