WRITTEN QUESTION P-2255/02

by Carlos Bautista Ojeda (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(17 July 2002)

Subject: Support for cork production in the EU

The production of cork is a lengthy and laborious process, from the time of its formation in cork-oak groves to the time the season's harvest is processed and reaches the final consumer. Cork is one of the products that features in Annex I of the Treaty on European Union in the list referred to in Article 32 of the Treaty, and Spain and Portugal are the two main cork producers in the EU. The majority of the cork produced in those countries is intended for the agri-foodstuffs industry (manufacture of bottle corks, etc.). Given the circumstances, there is no denying the important environmental, economic and social role that cork plays in the regions in which it is produced.

Can the Commission indicate how Community policy on cork currently operates, both from the point of view of the markets and from that of rural and forestry development? Does it intend to enhance and if need be revise this policy in order to safeguard the future of the cork industry in the EU? Is the Commission aware that unless more aid is set aside for it this industry may cease to exist?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(17 September 2002)

At present, the market of cork products is not subject to any particular regulation.

Under 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), the rural development programmes 2000-2006 provide for financial support to private forest owners or municipalities for the management and sustainable development of cork oak stands, the preservation of resources and the afforestation of farm land, with a view to maintaining the economic, social and ecological functions of cork oak forests in rural areas. Support is also provided for vocational training to improve the occupational skill and competence of persons involved in forestry activities.

The above-mentioned programmes continue and expand the scope of the efforts already initiated under Council Regulation (EEC) No 2080/1992 of 30 June 1992 instituting a Community aid scheme for forestry measures in agriculture(2). Under the latter Regulation, Community support provided during the period 1994-1999 contributed to the improvement of over 100,000 hectares of existing cork oak stands in Spain and Portugal and to the plantation of another 100,000 hectares in those Member States during the same period.

In addition, substantial efforts at Community level have also been undertaken under the Community Research Framework Programmes. These research activities are aimed at increasing the overall competitiveness of the cork sector in the Community, in particular that of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). As an example the Commission presented some months ago a very successful Craft programme on the improvement of cork glue and sterilisation (a special microwave treatment against bacteria and fungi) which had a considerable positive impact on the use of European cork.

The Commission considers that the structural support by the regional and rural development programmes can provide a coherent package of measures to strengthen the development of the cork sector within the Community. Moreover, the common agricultural policy (CAP) mid-term review, recently proposed by the Commission(3), foresees to allocate more resources to the rural development policy in the future. Nevertheless, it is the responsibility of Member States and regions to decide the specific measures and financial resources to be allocated to cork-related activities within the above-mentioned programmes. In view of the ecological, social and economic importance of the cork sector, the Commission will certainly be open for any specific additional initiatives in its support proposed by the Member States in the framework of the current programmes and within the existing financial envelopes.

(1) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999.

(2) OJ L 215, 30.7.1992.

(3) COM(2002) 394 final.