WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1835/97 by Mirja RYYNÄNEN to the Commission. Taking account of climate in EU deadlines for harvesting and for aid applications
Date: 1997-05-27
Institutions: European Parliament, RYYNAENEN
Subjects: European Union, Finland, agricultural production policy, aid system, atmospheric conditions, derogation from EU law, farmer, meteorology

C 60/50

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

25. 2. 98

Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission

(7 July 1997)

The Commission is unaware of the existence of a coordinating committee in support of the Urban programme in
Toledo or of its criticisms of the programme(cid:146)s implementation. It will contact the Spanish authorities for their
opinion  and  any  comments  they  may  have.  The  Commission  cannot,  however,  submit  an  accurate  request
without knowing the subject of the criticisms and the name of the committee or of the responsible persons.

As regards the publication of an information bulletin on Urban, the Commission would like to point out that at
the time a measure is approved only the main areas of assistance are included in the programme. The content of
these  areas,  taking  the  form  of  a  set  of  measures,  is  established  at  a  later  date,  within  the  framework  of
subsidiarity,  by  the  authorities  responsible  for  the  implementation  of  the  programme.  The  Commission  is
informed and consulted during monitoring committee meetings. At the last such meeting, which took place in
January  1997,  the  Spanish  authorities  pointed  out  that  a  measure  relating  to  the  adoption  of  information  and
publicity  activities  was  undergoing  analysis  and  consultation  with  the  social  and  economic  partners  in  the
district. No expenditure had been charged to that measure.

The role of the economic and social partners in the development and implementation of programmes is taken into
account under Article 4 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 of 24 June 1988 on the tasks of the Structural
Funds and their effectiveness and on coordination of their activities between themselves and with the operations
of the European Investment Bank and the other existing financial instruments as amended (1) and in paragraph 3
of  item  20  of  the  Commission  communication  to  the  Member  States  laying  down  guidelines  for  the  Urban
Community initiative. The Regulation lays down that it is the task of the Member States, within the framework of
the institutional rules and practices specific to each Member State, to designate the competent bodies.

(1)  OJ L 193, 31.7.1993.

(98/C 60/79)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1835/97

by Mirja Ryyna¤nen (ELDR) to the Commission

(27 May 1997)

Subject: Taking account of climate in EU deadlines for harvesting and for aid applications

Under Commission rules, Finnish arable farmers are required to submit their aid applications by the end of May.
In the C aid area, notification of harvests may be delayed until 15 June, but not in the A and B areas. As spring is
late again in Finland this year, it will not be possible for crops to be harvested until June even on many farms in A
and B areas.

The  fixed  harvesting  deadlines  set  by  the  Commission  for  A  and  B  areas  do  not  make  sense  in  the  difficult
conditions  which  prevail  in  the  north.  Some  permanent  way  should  be  found  of  introducing  flexibility  in
connection with this significant problem, which affects tens of thousands of farmers, so as to ensure that it, and
the resultant uncertainty, does not continue to recur year after year.

What will the Commission do to eliminate the excessively strict enforcement of harvesting deadlines for northern
conditions  and  to  increase  flexibility  by  other  means  than  special  decisions  adopted  each  year,  which  cause
uncertainty?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(12 June 1997)

The Commission would inform the Honourable Member that the deadline for 1997 has been extended to 15 June
1997 for the whole of Finland.

The Commission is aware of the special climatic features of the Nordic regions and their impact on the sowing
date. When the sowing date for the 1997 harvest was put back, it underook to consider the possibility of fixing a
more suitable date for the whole of Finland.