WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2505/97 by Mark WATTS to the Commission. Common agricultural policy and rural agricultural employment
Date: 1997-07-18
Institutions: European Parliament, WATTS
Subjects: EU programme, aid to agriculture, cessation of farming, common agricultural policy, job creation, job preservation, rural population, statistics, working population engaged in agriculture, young farmer

17. 3. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 82/95

The gender desks hold annual co-ordination meetings with experts from the Member States in the field of gender
and development co-operation. These occasions are used for discussions of a wide range of topics, including
co-operation  between  the  Commission  and  Member  States.  In  addition  to  this,  regular  informal  contacts  are
maintained with the Member States which give opportunities to co-ordinate future activities or simply to share
information.  An  example  of  the  pooling  of  information  and  working  tools  between  the  Commission  and  the
Member States is that a series of gender profiles for Mediterranean countries recently produced by an external
consultant for the Commission have also been shared with the gender and development experts of the Member
States.

(1)  OJ L 189, 30.7.1996.

(98/C 82/157)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2505/97

by Mark Watts (PSE) to the Commission

(18 July 1997)

Subject: Common agricultural policy and rural agricultural employment

Can the Commission provide data to show that the continued decline in rural agricultural employment within the
European Union has been mitigated by the application of advice and/or payments under Objectives 5a and 5b of
the common agricultural policy which pertain to rural development?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(5 September 1997)

Each year sees a reduction in the agricultural workforce and the disappearance of a number of farms. In 1983, the
agriculture and forestry sector still accounted for 9.3% of total employment. By 1995, this percentage had gone
down to 5.5%.

There are various measures making it possible to create or maintain jobs in rural areas which are financed either
under Objective 5(a), designed to accelerate the adaptation of agricultural structures as part of the reform of the
common  agricultural  policy,  or  under  Objective  5(b),  designed  to  facilitate  development  and  structural
adjustment in rural areas.

Among the operations financed by Objective 5(a), start-up aid to young farmers is granted to 23 000 new entrants
on  average  each  year.  The  assistance  granted  to  businesses  processing  and  marketing  agricultural  and  forest
products helps to safeguard or create jobs in that sector. The compensatory allowances paid to farmers living in
mountain or less-favoured regions help to support employment in particularly difficult areas. In 1995 more than
1 200 000 farmers benefited from this aid.

The programmes financed under Objective 5(b) aim to compensate for the continuous decline of employment in
agriculture in particular by developing new small and medium-sized enterprises, rural tourism, services and the
modernization of villages. In the period 1989-99, overall estimates suggest that more than 500 000 jobs will have
been created or maintained in Objective 5(b) regions through Community programmes.

(98/C 82/158)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2507/97

by Fre·de·ric Striby (I-EDN) to the Commission

(22 July 1997)

Subject: Difficulties encountered by French building firms in Germany

The new requirements to be met by European (in this instance, French) craft firms in the building sector since
1 January 1997 when carrying out work in Germany pose problems in connection with the freedom to provide
services.