OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE on the proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) amending Regulation (EEC) No 404/93 on the common organization of the market in bananas, Regulation (EEC) No 1035/72 on the common organization of the market in fruit and vegetables, and Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff
Date: 1995-09-13
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: common customs tariff, common organisation of markets, tariff nomenclature, tariff quota, tropical fruit













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51995AC0977

OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE on the proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) amending Regulation (EEC) No 404/93 on the common organization of the market in bananas, Regulation (EEC) No 1035/72 on the common organization of the market in fruit and vegetables, and Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff  


Official Journal C 301 , 13/11/1995 P. 0077 





Opinion on the proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) amending Regulation (EEC) No  404/93 on the  common organization of the market in bananas, Regulation (EEC) No  1035/72 on the common  organization of the market in fruit and vegetables, and Regulation (EEC) No  2658/87 on the tariff  and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff ()(95/C 301/16)On 30  May  1995 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Articles 43 and 198 of  the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal. The Section for Agriculture and Fisheries, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work  on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 7  September 1995. The rapporteur was Mr  Rodriguez de  Azero. At its 328th Plenary Session (meeting of 13  September 1995), the Economic and Social Committee  adopted the following Opinion by a large majority, with eleven votes against and four abstentions. 1. Introduction1.1. Council Regulation (EEC) No  404/93 establishing the common  organization of the market (COM) in bananas came into force on 1  July 1993. Establishing a COM in  bananas was required for the completion of the Single Market in a sector where there had previously  been different national systems. 1.2. In the two years since its creation, COM mechanisms have proved successful in achieving its  planned objectives of: - protecting Community production; - complying with the commitments made by the European Community with the ACP countries within the  framework of the Lomé Convention and, in particular, the Protocol on bananas appended to it; - maintaining trade levels with traditional Latin American suppliers of the Community market, with  opportunities for future expansion; - ensuring that the consumer pays a reasonable and uniform price throughout the EU, while at the  same time giving him a choice of bananas from different sources. 1.2.1. The entry into force of the new Community arrangements for the banana sector has ensured the  coexistence of all the commercial operators in the market, preventing a repeat of the situation  which arose in some Member States in 1992. At that time, many businesses marketing bananas incurred  heavy losses due to the sharp fall in prices caused by the over-supply of several national  markets. 2. The Commission's proposal2.1. The Commission takes the view that the operation of the  Community arrangements in the banana sector has shown that a series of changes needs to be  introduced to simplify the administration of the mechanisms established in the COM. 2.1.1. The following are the main amendments proposed by the Commission: - the exclusion of fig bananas from the scope of the present Regulation, since they are quite  different from the bananas most commonly marketed in the Community. Consequently, they should be  included, along with other tropical fruit, in the Regulation establishing the common organization  of the market in fruit and vegetables; - the choice of a different criterion to select which quantity dealt with by operators will be used  as a basis for the allocation of import licences within the tariff quota for the marketing of  bananas from third countries. The operator, and thus the holder of the import licence, will be  understood as being an actual importer of bananas; - a reduction of three to two years in the period used to calculate reference quantities for the  granting of import licences; - the establishment of a system in which exceptional circumstances affecting production and import  conditions during a given marketing year can be taken into account; - permission for traditional and non-traditional quantities of bananas to be transferred between  the ACP countries. Transfers will only be permitted between ACP countries in the same geographical  area (the Caribbean and Africa), except in cases of force majeure in which a country is not able to  export its traditional or non-traditional quantity of bananas. In such cases, such quantities may  be transferred between two countries in different geographical areas. 3. General comments3.1. The Committee recognizes the work and administrative effort carried out  by the Commission in order to achieve an efficient and fair common organization of the market in  bananas, and one which respects its original objectives. 3.2. The Committee takes the view that the Commission should, when considering banana supply, take  account of the working conditions under which bananas are produced and urge the exporting countries  to ensure that social conditions are respected and human rights protected in such production. In  this connection, the Committee calls for proper account to be taken of the Memorandum on the social  dimension of international trade submitted by the French EU Presidency on 27  March 1995. 3.3. The Committee considers that the conditions under which bananas are produced in exporting  countries should meet environmental criteria, both to prevent intensive production methods and the  inappropriate use of pesticides or fertilizers that might jeopardize environmental conservation.  The Committee also takes the view that products from third countries should, as a matter of course,  pose no danger to public health and comply with the WTO/GATT agreement on sanitary and  phytosanitary measures. 3.4. The Committee welcomes the Commission's decision to propose the changes that it considers  necessary, in an attempt to simplify the organization of the Community system for bananas and  better adapt it to its objectives. 3.5. The Committee would point out that the three basic arrangements of the COM in bananas are: - the establishment of a tariff quota to avoid over-supplying the market; - a system of allocating import licences as part of this tariff quota, according to operator type  (66,5% to operators who imported third country and non-traditional ACP bananas; 30% to operators  who marketed Community bananas and imported traditional ACP bananas; and 3,5% to new operators) to  promote the marketing of Community and ACP bananas; - the compensatory aid system to compensate Community producers for any loss of income arising from  a fall in the price of their bananas. 3.6. The Committee hopes that the implementation of the changes proposed by the Commission will not  jeopardize the efficiency of the above arrangements. In this way the COM can fulfil the objectives  for which it was created. 4. Specific comments4.1. The Committee takes the view that the term 'fig' bananas in the French  version covers a wide range of types of bananas, some of which are very similar to commonly  marketed varieties. The translations of 'bananes figues' in other languages ('plátanos guineos' in  the Spanish version) are generic and do not identify a specific variety of banana. For this reason,  the Commission should ensure that excluding certain varieties of bananas from the scope of the COM  in bananas does not lead to distortions in the import system for bananas. 4.1.1. The Committee does not, therefore, consider that either Regulation No  404/93 or,  consequently, Regulations Nos 1035/72 and 2658/87 should be amended. 4.2. The Committee takes the view that for operators importing third-country bananas, in order to  simplify the administration of the tariff quota and avoid entering reference quantities twice for  operators who have different functions in the banana-marketing chain, the Commission is right to  select the importing function as the only one that may be used to allocate import licences for  bananas which are subject to the tariff quota. 4.3. The Committee considers that in the case of category B operators who market Community and  traditional ACP bananas, the current three-function system should be maintained, since it entails a  major incentive for the sale of Community and ACP bananas. The Committee would also emphasize that  there have not been any problems relating to entering reference quantities twice for the marketing  of Community and ACP bananas. 4.4. The Committee takes the view that reducing the reference period is a positive step which will  bring the administration of the quota more in line with the current state of the market and its  operators. It also considers that the reference period could be further reduced. 4.5. The Committee welcomes the planned adoption of the measures required to guarantee the  continued operation of the market in the event of exceptional circumstances affecting production  and import conditions in a given marketing year. 4.6. The Committee considers that in Article  19a(1) of the Commission proposal, the concept of  'force majeure' should include war which seriously affects the production possibilities of a given  country. These measures should be designed to remedy the serious damage suffered by producers in  the affected countries. 4.7. The Committee takes the view that temporary reallocation of traditional and non-traditional  quantities of ACP bananas, for reasons other than 'force majeure', should also be possible between  two ACP countries in different geographical areas. 5. Conclusions5.1. The Committee considers that the Commission has made an attempt to make  Community arrangements for bananas simpler and more transparent. It does, however, take the view  that this should not jeopardize the effectiveness of the three basic arrangements that constitute  theCOM in bananas. For this reason, the Committee hopes that the points which it has made  concerning the proposed amendments to the COM in bananas will be taken properly into account. Done at Brussels, 13  September 1995. The Presidentof the Economic and Social CommitteeCarlos FERRER() OJ No C  136, 3. 6. 1995, p. 18. APPENDIX to the Opinion of the Economic and Social CommitteeThe following proposals for  amendments to the Section Opinion were rejected in the course of the discussions: Point 4.1.1Delete and replace to read as follows: 'In the event that the proposal is maintained to remove fig bananas from the scope of Regulation  (EEC) 404/93, the Committee calls on the Commission to establish clear criteria so that such  bananas falling out with the scope of that Regulation can be readily identified.'ReasonsThe  Opinion of the Section gives broad support for the Commission's proposals and does not contain any  strong argument against the proposed reclassification of 'fig' bananas. The botanical classification of bananas is complex and the avoidance of confusion, e.g. to customs  authorities, is essential. VotingFor: 18, against: 43, abstentions: 11. Delete paragraph 4.7. ReasonThere are several traditional ACP suppliers which have insufficient allotted quantities  owing to problems during the years which were used to calculate the base quota. In the Caribbean  area this applies particularly to Belize. On the other hand in the same area there are frequent  hurricanes such as the one which has just wiped out all or most of the crop in Antigua. Keeping  exchanges within the area (except for force majeure) is the fairest way of dealing with the  problems of this area which consists entirely of small producing countries. VotingFor: 21, against: 36, abstentions: 12.