WRITTEN QUESTION E-1557/97 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (6 May 1997)

Subject: Funding of the register of olive cultivation in Greece

The register of olive cultivation is governed by Council Regulation (EEC) No 154/75 ((OJ L 19, 24.1.1975, p. 1.)) and Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2276/79 ((OJ L 262, 18.10.1979, p. 11.)), and expenditure for the establishment and updating of the register is financed at a rate of 100% (under Council Regulation (EEC) No 2159/92) ((OJ L 217, 31.7.1992, p. 8.)) by a 2.4% reduction in the amount of aid paid during the marketing years up to 1997/98. Even though the sum withheld so far in respect of Greece has now reached DRS 15 billion, no funding has yet been made available to establish a register of olive cultivation in Greece; on the other hand, olive registers in Italy, France and also in Spain - where the register is currently being developed - have already been funded at a rate of 100%.

Will the Commission say:

1. why the register of olive cultivation for Greece has not so far been established; and

2. what it intends to do to ensure that it is established under the same terms as applied to the other Member States in question (100% funding)?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (9 June 1997)

1. The register of olive cultivation was not established in Greece by the statutory deadline because no proposal was received from the Greek administration. Accordingly, in April 1992 the Commission took the initiative of publishing a call for tenders to carry out, in cooperation with the national administration, a pilot study to evaluate the technical and financial constraints on establishing the register. The final results, available in April 1994, were sent to the national authorities.

Since then, the situation has improved. Following the results achieved in identifying agricultural areas for the Integrated System (arable land), the bilateral meetings held from February 1996 onwards have made it possible to reach the following position:

- a single identification system for agricultural land will be used in Greece for arable land, the olive-growing areas and those under vines. The approach adopted for the integrated system (a clustering method using black and white ortho-photos at a scale of 1/10 000) will be extended to the permanent crops;

- the identification of the olive-growing areas and of the surfaces under vines will be unified. For municipalities where work has already been completed on arable land, the permanent crop parcels will be updated. For the other municipalities, in March 1997 Greece submitted a work plan which is in the process of acceptance;

- in April 1997, the Ministry of Agriculture forwarded to the Commission a 1997-98 work programme relating to the cultivation declarations, to their computerization and to their control. This proposal is being considered.

2. If the work plan proposed by Greece is respected, establishment of the olive cultivation register will be completed in December 1998. Insofar as Regulation (EEC) No 2159/92 envisages withholding aid until the marketing year 1997/98 and where the part-financing rate is currently fixed at 100%, the Greek register of olive cultivation could therefore be financed in the same way as in the other Member States. If changes were made in Regulation (EEC) No 154/75, it would be up to the Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission, to give an opinion on the financing of the programmes already approved.