WRITTEN QUESTION E-1620/00 by Jan Mulder (ELDR) to the Commission. Appropriations for improving the quality of agricultural products.
Date: 2000-05-29
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU aid, agricultural product, agro-industry, budget, marketing, product quality, quality control of agricultural products, rural development

13.3.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 81 E/61

(2001/C 81 E/072)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1620/00

by Jan Mulder (ELDR) to the Commission

(29 May 2000)

Subject: Appropriations for improving the quality of agricultural products

The Budget Authority reserved an appropriation of € 50 million in the year-2000 budget under
heading B1-406 (improving processing and sales of agricultural products) for measures to improve the
quality of agricultural products.

To date, no appropriations have been committed or paid out for that purpose.

Can the Commission state why no action has hitherto been taken to implement

1.
Authority(cid:146)s express wish?

the Budget

Does the Commission consider it acceptable for the Budget Authority(cid:146)s express wish that these

2.
appropriations should be used to influence current developments in the Member States to be ignored?

3. What proposals will the Commission submit for ensuring that these appropriations can still be
committed and paid out for that purpose? By what deadline can such proposals be expected?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(12 July 2000)

As indicated by the Honourable Member, budget item B1-406 is for part-financing of action taken by
Member States and regions to improve the processing and marketing of agricultural products (notably
through quality improvement and control). The terms of Articles 25 to 28 of Council Regulation (EC)
No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural
Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and amending and repealing certain Regulations (1) and of Articles
21 to 23 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1750/1999 (2) apply.

The Commission is at present examining the rural development programmes for 2000-2006 sent by
1.
the Member States for approval. Once approval has been given, the B1-406 appropriations will be used to
part-finance expenditure incurred on the various rural development measures. As no programme has yet
been approved no appropriations have yet been used.

2.
Examination of most of the programmes sent by Member States is very advanced. They have the
option of launching, without awaiting programme approval by the Commission, all operations leading to
contracts with enterprises for application of their processing and marketing improvement measures. Article
6 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 2603/1999 of 9 December 1999 laying down rules for transition to
the rural development support provided for by Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 (3) even allows
them to pay aid under such contracts from 1 January 2000, or from the date on which the Commission
received the programme if this is later than 1 January. Such expenditure cannot however be reimbursed
until after approval and must conform with the programme. Thus some expenditure has probably already
been incurred but cannot yet appear in the Commission(cid:146)s accounts.

3.
The Commission considers that the existing legislative framework will permit approval of the
programmes in the near future and hence utilisation of the budget appropriations without any need for
new proposals.

(1) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999.
(2) OJ L 214, 13.8.1999.
(3) OJ L 316, 10.12.1999.