WRITTEN QUESTION E-1224/00 by Antonios Trakatellis (PPE-DE) and Ioannis Averoff (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Commission decision to recover illegal aid payments from the Greek Cotton Board.
Date: 2000-04-14
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Greece, common agricultural policy, control of State aid, cotton

C 53 E/106

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.2.2001

(2001/C 53 E/136)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1224/00

by Antonios Trakatellis (PPE-DE) and
Ioannis Averoff (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(14 April 2000)

Subject: Commission decision to recover illegal aid payments from the Greek Cotton Board

By Commission decision of July 1999, published in the Official Journal of the European Communities on
10 March 2000 (1), Greece is required to recover the aid received by Greek cotton-growers by way of
compulsory contributions collected from 1992 to the present time by the Greek Cotton Board. This aid
was financed by parafiscal charges unduly imposed on products imported from other Member States of the
European Union, amounting to 1 % of the price of ginned cotton.

1.
As the notification of the Commission(cid:146)s decision makes no reference to the total sum of the aid
concerned, will the Commission state the amount of the illegal aid together with interest which Greece
must recover from cotton-growers?

Could Greece,

in agreement with the Commission, have taken measures to ensure that aid for
2.
technical assistance, dissemination of know-how, training and research did not contravene the common
market rules and were consistent with the rules on State aid?

3. Why did the Commission delay taking its decision for so long, despite the fact that Greece did not
invoke the exemptions from application of the rules on State aid provided in Article 87(3) of the EC Treaty
such as (cid:145)aid to facilitate the development of certain economic areas(cid:146) so that such aid could be considered to
be consistent with the common market?

(1) OJ L 63, 10.3.2000, p. 27.

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(31 May 2000)

1.
A brief communication by the Greek authorities dated 21 March 2000 put the total amount of levies
paid to the Greek cotton organisation under Article 30(3) of Law No 2040/92 between 1992 and 1998 at
GRD 366,3 million. The final Commission Decision requires interest on this amount to be calculated as
from the date of the levies.

2.
Although the state aid measures referred to could by their nature be considered compatible with the
common market, they are financed by means of the collection of parafiscal charges also imposed on
products imported from other Member States, which is not compatible with the Commission(cid:146)s policy on
parafiscal charges. Moreover, the charges contravene the Act of Accession of Greece, which prohibits any
restrictive measure on cotton imports from third countries. This incompatibility could be remedied by
amending the system of financing the Greek cotton organisation and by refunding the charges wrongly
collected.

3.
The fact that Greece did not invoke the exception provided for in Article 87 (ex-Article 92) (3)(c) of
the EC treaty has no connection with the time required to take a final decision on the case. It should be
noted that this matter was also the subject of an infringement procedure (Article 226 (ex-Article 169) of
the EC Treaty) concerning the compatibility of the levies with the common organisation of the cotton
market. Only after this matter had been concluded was it possible for the Commission to close the file
from the point of view of the state aid.