WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1176/97 by Cristiana MUSCARDINI to the Commission. Cuts in Community funding for Italian agriculture
Date: 1997-04-03
Institutions: European Parliament, MUSCARDINI
Subjects: EU financing, Italy, agricultural levy, agricultural quota, aid to agriculture, fine, milk, milk product, regulation of agricultural production













EUR-Lex - 91997E1176 - EN






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91997E1176

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1176/97 by Cristiana MUSCARDINI to the Commission. Cuts in Community funding for Italian agriculture  


Official Journal C 373 , 09/12/1997 P. 0080 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1176/97 by Cristiana Muscardini (NI) to the Commission (3 April 1997)Subject: Cuts in Community funding for Italian agricultureThe Commission's decision to cut funding for Italian agriculture by LIT 324 billion to recover unpaid fines by the Italian Government for the 1995/96 marketing year not only severely penalizes Italian agriculture as a whole, but also casts doubts on the approach adopted by the Council Presidency, which had given assurances that it had negotiated a delay with the Community authorities for the final payment of the supplementary levy.1. Will the Commission therefore say whether Italy had agreed to the final payment of the fines by the end of April or the beginning of May and, if so, why the Commission has not honoured the agreement?2. Is it right to penalize agriculture as a whole for a problem involving a single sector?3. Will the Commission indicate immediately which sectors will be affected by the LIT 324 billion cut?Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (25 April 1997)Article 5(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 536/93 laying down detailed rules on the application of the additional levy on milk and milk products ((OJ L 57, 10.3.1993. )) requires Member States to take all necessary steps to ensure that the additional milk levy is paid within the time limit laid down, i.e. before 1 September each year. That Regulation also stipulates that if the levy is not paid within the time limit, the Commission is to reduce advance payments.1. To take account of the financial and administrative difficulties of the Italian authorities, an agreement was reached between the Community and Italian authorities on 13 December 1996 to suspend the recovery of the amounts due until 31 January 1997. After that date the obligation to reduce advances under Regulation (EEC) No 536/93 would come into play. However, in order not to disrupt the rate of payments for expenditure in other sectors, the Commission planned to recover the amounts due in three instalments, the last of which is due at the beginning of May, by which time, following the steps taken by the Italian Government, all of the additional levy should have been received by the Italian authorities.2. The legitimacy of this measure is derived from the rules in force, which provide explicitly for the recovery of amounts due from the Member State. It is up to the Member State concerned to take the necessary measures (Article 8 of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 on the financing of the common agricultural policy ((OJ L 94, 28.4.1970. ))) to ensure that operators in a sector comply with the rules so that the financial consequences do not burden other sectors.3. The Commission does not believe that the reductions will have any influence on the rate of expenditure in other sectors.