Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on: - the ' Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) on improving the efficiency of agricultural structures' , - the ' Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) on improving the processing and marketing conditions for agricultural products' , and - the ' Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) on producer groups and associations thereof'
Date: 1996-04-24
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: agricultural product, agro-industry, marketing, policy on agricultural structures, producer organisation













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51996AC0536

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on: - the ' Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) on improving the efficiency of agricultural structures' , - the ' Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) on improving the processing and marketing conditions for agricultural products' , and - the ' Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) on producer groups and associations thereof'  


Official Journal C 204 , 15/07/1996 P. 0038 





Opinion of the Economic and Social  Committee on: - the 'Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) on improving the efficiency of agricultural  structures`, - the 'Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) on improving the processing and marketing conditions  for agricultural products`, and- the 'Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) on producer groups  and associations thereof`(96/C 204/12)On 1  April 1996, 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 proposals. The Section for Agriculture and Fisheries, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work  on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 11  April 1996. The Rapporteur was Mr Bento Gonçalves. At its 335th Plenary Session (meeting of 24  April 1996), the Economic and Social Committee adopted  the following Opinion by 102 votes to three, with 15 abstentions. 1. Gist of the proposals1.1. The three proposals are designed to make the rules  governing farm structures across the EU clearer and easier to consult. This is an essential step  towards achieving the desired objective of improving the rural economy. 1.2. The proposals focus on farms in Objective 5a regions of the EU. The basic regulations are  1360/78, 866/90 and 2328/91, adopted in 1978, 1990 and 1991 respectively. 1.3. The proposals simply consolidate and update the relevant legislative texts, making them  clearer and more transparent so that interested parties can consult them more easily. 2. Specific comments2.1. In view of the considerations and principles set out in the Commission  proposal COM(95) 434 final for a Council Regulation and the related Committee Opinion CES 1452/95,  the Committee thinks that the Commission should take advantage of the present consolidation  exercise to improve the legal framework governing producer organizations, especially in the fruit  and vegetable sector. 2.1.1. These improvements should be included in the proposal for a Council Regulation on producer  groups and associations thereof (COM(96) 58 final - 96/0046 CNS) and should make it easier for  Member States to recognize farm cooperatives as producer organizations, in order to make the best  use of their considerable long-standing experience in this sphere, without prejudice to equal  treatment of the other relevant legal entities. 2.1.2. The Regulation should also explicitly provide for the possibility that producer  organizations may consist solely of agricultural producers as typified in the EU by cooperatives  and cooperative groups. 3. The Committee approves the Commission proposals, subject to the improvements referred to in  point  2 above. Done at Brussels, 24  April 1996. The Presidentof the Economic and Social CommitteeCarlos FERRER