WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2193/98 by Fernand HERMAN to the Commission. Olive oil imports into the European Union from Tunisia
Date: 1998-07-14
Institutions: European Parliament, HERMAN
Subjects: Tunisia, association agreement (EU), import, import policy, monopoly, olive oil, quantitative restriction, tariff quota

8.4.1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 96/55

Answer given by Mr van den Broek on behalf of the Commission

(11 September 1998)

The Honourable Member is asked to refer to the Commission(cid:146)s answer to his Written Question, No E-1876/98 (1).

The Commission has no competence to participate in site selection processes. Turkey(cid:146)s authorities, and in
particular its nuclear regulatory body › the Turkish atomic energy authority (TAEA) › are responsible for such
selection, within the general framework of the guidance from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

In the wake of the recent earthquake in the Adana region, the Turkish authorities have confirmed that all the
necessary safety measures have been put in place for the Akkuyu power station. No building work has yet begun.
The name of the consortium chosen to carry out construction should be published in August.

The head of the Germano-French consortium (Framatome and Siemens) bidding for the contract has said that the
power station will be built using tried and tested technologies which will ensure its safety.

(1) See page 12.

(1999/C 96/078)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2193/98

by Fernand Herman (PPE) to the Commission

(14 July 1998)

Subject: Olive oil imports into the European Union from Tunisia

Is the quota of 46 000 tonnes for imports of olive oil into the EU from Tunisia reserved solely for the Tunisian
state oil marketing body, the Office National de l(cid:146)Huile?

If so, under what agreement and on what principle are Tunisian olive oil producers excluded from this quota?

The Single Market imposes a prohibitive import duty on the sale of non-Community olive oil over and above the
quota. However, this quota should be open to all Tunisian producers and/or all European purchasers, and should
not be the sole preserve of the state(cid:146)s own oil marketing body.

Does the Commission have any plans to abolish the olive oil import quotas system, and if so, when?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(16 September 1998)

The Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the Community and its Member States,
on the one hand, and Tunisia, on the other (1), in addition to providing for the import of a quota of 46 000 tonnes
of olive oil at a reduced rate of duty, contains provisions concerning competition and other economic provisions.

In particular, Article 37 stipulates that the Member States and Tunisia are to progressively adjust any state
monopolies of a commercial character so as to ensure that, by the end of the fifth year following the entry into
force of the Agreement, no discrimination regarding the conditions under which goods are procured and
marketed exists between nationals of the Member States and of Tunisia. The Agreement entered into force on
1 May 1998. The Office national de l(cid:146)huile is one of the bodies which would fall within the scope of this Article.

Concerning the possible abolition of the quota mechanism, the Community does not at present plan to do away
with this mechanism which, in the case of olive oil, reflects traditional trade flows between the Community and
Tunisia.

(1) OJ L 97, 30.3.1998.