WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1329/96 by Ana MIRANDA DE LAGE , Josep PONS GRAU to the Commission. Incompatibility of the CAP with exports of products from developing countries
Date: 1996-06-03
Institutions: European Parliament, MIRANDA DE LAGE, PONS GRAU
Subjects: agricultural product, cocoa, common agricultural policy, cooperation policy, developing countries, development policy, import, overseas countries and territories, restriction on competition, rice













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91996E1329

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1329/96 by Ana MIRANDA DE LAGE , Josep PONS GRAU to the Commission. Incompatibility of the CAP with exports of products from developing countries  


Official Journal C 356 , 25/11/1996 P. 0029 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1329/96 by Ana Miranda de Lage (PSE) and Josep Pons Grau (PSE) to the Commission (3 June 1996)Subject: Incompatibility of the CAP with exports of products from developing countriesThe Maastricht Treaty's chapter on development cooperation states that the Community's internal policies must be consistent with Community policy involving the developing countries.The Treaty lays down that the Community shall foster the full integration of the developing countries into the world economy, with the implication that this will involve favouring exports of products in which they have a comparative advantage.On numerous occasions Parliament has drawn attention to the incompatibility of the CAP with certain developing countries' opportunities to export products which compete with Community produce.Could the Commission explain the negative impact which the new regulation on the cocoa content of chocolate will have on imports of this product from the developing countries, and the relative losses in rice exports which the Caribbean countries and overseas territories will suffer if the new decision to associate the French overseas territories, recently submitted to the Council by the Commission, is adopted?Answer given by Mr Pinheiro on behalf of the Commission (23 July 1996)The Commission assures the Honourable Members that it makes every effort to ensure that the provisions of the EC Treaty on the need for consistency of the Community's internal policies with development policy are duly respected.With regard to the issue of cocoa, the Commission's recent proposal was inevitably a compromise that sought to balance all the interests involved, i.e. the need to eliminate barriers to the free movement of the product concerned, to protect consumers by requiring such products to be clearly and distinctly labelled, and to respect the interests of producer countries in line with the Community's obligations as a signatory to the international cocoa agreement. However, should the adoption of this proposal have a negative impact on the developing countries concerned, the Community would be obliged to compensate any loss of income through the use of Stabex funds.As regards rice imports, the Commission proposal on the trade arrangements of the overseas countries and territories (OCT) will keep Caribbean rice exports to the Community at a high level, while averting the risk of the preferential terms of the OCT arrangements being misapplied, as appears to be currently the case.