WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2994/97 by Anne POISSON to the Commission. Wheat growing in the European Union and, in particular, the Ile de France region
Date: 1997-09-16
Institutions: European Parliament, POISSON
Subjects: agricultural production, aid per hectare, aid to agriculture, atmospheric conditions, cereal-growing, durum wheat, farm price support, monetary compensatory amount, production aid

C 102/160

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

3. 4. 98

(98/C 102/239)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2994/97

by Anne Poisson (UPE) to the Commission

(16 September 1997)

Subject: Wheat growing in the European Union and, in particular, the Ile de France region

The situation in the wheat-growing sector is a matter of great concern to the European Union as a whole. The
figures are alarming: between 1992 and 1993, production fell by over 17% in Europe and nearly 60% in France,
with the result that the EU has ceased to be an exporter and is now an importer of wheat.

In  view  of  the  concern  felt  by  all  semolina  manufacturers  and  the  hegemony  being  established  by  North
American producers, what action is the Commission intending to take in order to revive wheat-growing in the EU
and, in particular, the Ile de France region, which had always produced very high-quality wheat?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(6 October 1997)

Community production of durum wheat is supported by the compensatory payments introduced by Regulation
(EEC) No 1765/92 establishing a support system for producers of certain arable crops. (1)

In the case of durum wheat grown in traditional areas, which account for 90% of Community’s total area under
durum wheat, the compensatory payment is increased by a further ECU 358.6 per hectare.

Furthermore, specific aid of ECU 138.9 per hectare is granted to production in certain departments of France,
including, in the Ile-de-France, Essonne, Seine-et-Marne and Yvelines, up to a maximum of 50 000 hectares.

In total, these production aids are equivalent to those paid for production before the 1992 reform of the common
agricultural  policy  and,  subject  to  weather  conditions,  guarantee  supplies  to  industry  in  Europe.  In  Agenda
2000 (2) the Commission stated that it had no intention of amending the aid schemes for the production of durum
wheat.

The Commission considers that the current very high level of market prices is the result of exceptional weather
conditions affecting both the quantity and the quality of production in Europe and the quantity produced in other
production areas, such as North Africa.

(1)  OJ L 181, 1.7.1992.
(2)  COM(97) 2000 final.

(98/C 102/240)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3000/97

by Roberta Angelilli (NI) to the Commission

(1 October 1997)

Subject: Building of power lines for the Rome-Naples high-speed railway line

On  14  February  1997  the  local  authority  of  San  Cesareo  (in  the  province  of  Rome)  received  the  project  for
changing the route of the power lines for the main track of the Rome-Naples high-speed railway line.

The local authority opposed the execution of the project, which would involve an area already used for a number
of public works. According to the project submitted, the power lines would run alongside two areas protected
under law No 413/85 › the ditch in the village of Vetrice and the wood called the (cid:145)Macchiarella(cid:146) used as a public
park.