WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3393/97 by Graham WATSON to the Commission. Agenda 2000 and the environment
Date: 1997-10-23
Institutions: European Parliament, WATSON
Subjects: aid per hectare, cereal-growing, crop yield, environmental protection, market intervention, set-aside, utilised agricultural area, world market price













EUR-Lex - 91997E3393 - EN






Avis juridique important




|



91997E3393

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3393/97 by Graham WATSON to the Commission. Agenda 2000 and the environment  


Official Journal C 158 , 25/05/1998 P. 0097 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-3393/97 by Graham Watson (ELDR) to the Commission (23 October 1997)Subject: Agenda 2000 and the environmentHow do the proposals for changes to the EU cereal regime fit with the Commission's proposals for protection of the environment?Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (18 December 1997)The Commission has not yet made detailed proposals on a reform of the cereals regime. The general outline of the intended reform is to be found in the Commission document on Agenda 2000 ((COM(97) 2000 final. )).The Commission intends to propose a reduction of the cereals intervention from the present level of ECU 119.19 a ton to a safety-net level of ECU 95.35 a ton in conjunction with a non crop specific area payment to be established at ECU 66 a ton, multiplied by the regional cereals reference yields of the 1992 reform. These payments are calculated strictly with a view to mitigate the economic consequences of a lower intervention level.The Commission will table a proposal enabling Member States to make the granting of direct payments for arable crops and set aside conditional on the respect of environmental provisions, allowing them to be increasingly used to pursue environmental objectives. Provided Member States make use of this possibility, the benefits to the environment could be considerable.The Commission believes that the funding of targeted agri-environmental measures would be the most effective use of the agricultural budget for achieving environmental objectives. The Commission proposes, therefore, to strengthen the agri-environmental pillar of the common agricultural policy through increased budget funding and, where necessary, higher part-financing rates.In addition, the Commission will propose to transform the less-favoured areas scheme into a basic instrument to maintain and promote low-input farming systems. This would be specifically relevant where the adjustment of the cereals regime and of other market organisations, in conjunction with unfavourable natural conditions, puts pressure on the continuation of this type of farming, which in many areas is seen as being a precondition for the maintenance and upkeep of the rural environment.The Commission expects, additionally, positive environmental effects from a reformed cereals regime where the reduction of the intervention level is followed by an actual drop in market price. This would reduce the incentive for an excessive use of fertilisers and pesticides. Such extensification effects have been observed as a result of the introduction of the so-called price stabilisators in 1988 and the reform of the common agricultural policy in 1992.