WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2027/97 by Edouard des PLACES to the Commission. Drought and the grass premium
Date: 1997-06-05
Institutions: DES PLACES, European Parliament
Subjects: agricultural guidance, aid to agriculture, animal feedingstuffs, cultivation techniques, drought, environmental protection, fodder-growing, livestock farming, management of resources, means of agricultural production

C 45/144

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

10. 2. 98

With regard to imports, measures were taken on rice imports originating in the overseas countries and territories,
on which the import duty is zero. The safeguard clause introduced in January for four months was confirmed
until 30 September 1997. This measure was recently extended by the Council until 30 November 1997, keeping
the quantity to be imported at 69 610 tonnes of husked rice equivalent.

These  measures  caused  an  increase  in  the  demand  for  Community  rice  and  therefore  slowed  down  sales  to
intervention, in particular in Spain where, at 30 May 1997, the quantities in intervention reached approximately
40 000 tonnes, most of it indica rice.

(98/C 45/186)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2027/97

by Edouard des Places (I-EDN) to the Commission

(5 June 1997)

Subject: Drought and the grass premium

In areas of extensive stock-rearing in France, many livestock farmers have signed five-year agreements, which
expire this year, under the (cid:145)grass premium(cid:146) agro-environmental measure.

Under these agreements, farmers are prohibited from reducing any acreage covered by them which is still under
grass.

Would it be possible, by way of exception, to authorize livestock farmers who are suffering from drought to
withdraw some acreage from their agreements in 1997 so as to plant it with fodder crops to feed their livestock?

Acreage  thus  withdrawn  would  not,  of  course,  be  eligible  for  1997  premiums  under  agro-environmental
measures.

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(4 July 1997)

Article  4(1)  of  Regulation  (EEC)  No  2078/92  on  agricultural  production  methods  compatible  with  the
requirements  of  the  protection  of  the  environment  and  the  maintenance  of  the  countryside (1)  specifies  that
farmers who sign agri-environmental contracts have to do so for at least five years.

While Article 12 of its implementing Regulation (EC) No 746/96 (2) provides for the existence of cases of force
majeure, it is up to the Member States to evaluate them and note the specific cases of force majeure. These cases
of force majeure thus recognized by the Member States have to be communicated to the Commission. In the case
of France, the drought situations referred to were not included in the communication to the Commission.

It thus does not appear possible to exempt all the farmers in a region from the obligation to fulfil their obligations
for the stipulated five-year period solely on the grounds of this weather phenomenon and without examination of
the concrete circumstances of each recipient.

It should be noted that an agri-environmental commitment of at least five years is an essential condition of this
scheme, which can be derogated from only exceptionally and in duly justified cases.

(1)  OJ L 215, 30.7.1992.
(2)  OJ L 102, 25.4.1996.

(98/C 45/187)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2029/97

by Graham Mather (PPE) to the Commission

(13 June 1997)

Subject: Cross-border pension rules

I recently handled a case on behalf of a constituent concerning a cross-border pension. There was one problem
with this case, mainly that the pension authority in Belgium cut off the pension to the widower of the original