WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2306/97 by Josu IMAZ SAN MIGUEL to the Commission. Olive oil
Date: 1997-07-03
Institutions: European Parliament, IMAZ SAN MIGUEL
Subjects: Spain, common organisation of markets, consumer protection, fraud, olive oil, product quality, production aid, reform of the CAP, sales aid

10. 2. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 45/169

(98/C 45/222)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2306/97

by Josu Imaz San Miguel (PPE) to the Commission

(3 July 1997)

Subject: Olive oil

Mr  Fischler,  Commissioner,  has  recently  visited  various  olive-growing  regions  in  Spain  and  has  been  made
aware  of  the  social  implications  of  the  reform  which  he  himself  is  proposing  and  which  is  based  on  the
replacement of production and consumption aid by a scheme based on the number of trees. According to research
carried out by the Spanish Social and Economic Council, this would lead to a loss of up to 12 million working
days and the jobs of 120 000 self-employed people.

Mr Fischler experienced at first hand the sensitivity of Andalusian farmers and the Spanish State as a whole,
which accounts for 30% of world olive oil production, and saw for himself how the replacement of production
aid by per-tree aid would discourage genuine production and quality to the benefit of fictitious estates, which
would enrich large landowners but lead to a reduction in employment.

The  criteria  on  which  Mr  Fischler(cid:146)s  proposed  reform  is  based  run  counter  to  the  competitiveness  objectives
which  underlie  Community  policies  and  could  even  increase  the  level  of  fraud:  the  scheme  proposed  by  the
Commission would lead to large-scale fraud since per-tree aid would cause genuine production to be abandoned
and favour estates which are olive farms in name only.

Has Mr Fischler changed his mind about the reform of the COM in olive oil as a result of his visit to Spain? Does
he agree that the terms of the COM reform laid down by the Commission would lead to a decline in the quality of
the olive oil produced? All this considered, is the Commission going to opt for a COM in olive oil based on a
system of aid to production and consumption?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(28 July 1997)

As the Honourable Member knows, the Commission sent a Note to the Council and Parliament on the olive and
olive oil sector, the need for reform of it and the alternatives envisaged. In this reflection paper it set out two
broad options: the improvement of the existing market organization and aid per tree.

The discussion in depth provoked by the document has provided a better picture of a sector of great importance
for  certain  Community  regions  marked  by  strong  socio-economic  imbalances  affecting  employment  in
particular. In some of these olive growing is the most important economic activity.

The  Commission  is  still  awaiting  the  reactions  of  the  various  Community  Institutions  to  the  document,  in
particular that of Parliament, so that it can consider all factors deemed important by all Institutions, partners and
professional bodies with an interest in this sector.

Whatever  type  of  reform  is  proposed  the  Commission  will  put  in  place  the  mechanisms  needed  to  prevent
abandonment of olive growing and monitor the implementation of a policy of higher quality in order to protect
jobs, growers’ incomes and consumers.

The  Commission’s  intention  remains  to  propose  a  reform  of  which  the  keynotes  will  be  simplification  and
reduction of fraud to a minimum. The present very complex mechanisms require improvement in order to shape a
modern sector able to meet the challenges of the future.