WRITTEN QUESTION E-1821/00 by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. The dairy sector in Galicia and the reform of the CAP scheduled for the years 2005-2006.
Date: 2000-06-08
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Galicia, agricultural guidance, agricultural quota, reform of the CAP

C 81 E/98

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.3.2001

Is the Commission of the opinion that the Charter of Fundamental Rights will not lead to the
2.
undermining of human rights on the continent of Europe? What are the Commission(cid:146)s juridical arguments
for demonstrating that the Charter will not lead to an erosion of the European Convention on the
Protection of Human Rights?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(19 September 2000)

1.
The Commission would remind the Honourable Member that it has stated on several occasions that
it believes the Community should accede to the European Convention on Human Rights. This would
establish the same external checks on Community legislation as those applied by Member States to their
own legislation. In the Commission(cid:146)s view, accession to the Convention, which would require amendment
of the Treaties (1), has lost none of its immediacy.

2.
The Commission attaches the utmost importance to drawing up the EU Charter of Fundamental
Rights. This will result in the codification in a single text of all the fundamental rights protected in the
Union, with an unmistakable improvement in legal certainty.

The Commission acknowledges the need to ensure that the fundamental rights laid down in the EU
Charter are interpreted in a consistent manner where they correspond to rights already enshrined in the
Convention.

For these reasons, it in no way shares the very pessimistic views expressed by the Honourable Member.

(1) Cf. ECJ ruling [1996] ECR I-1759.

(2001/C 81 E/117)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1821/00

by Camilo Nogueira RomÆn (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(8 June 2000)

Subject: The dairy sector in Galicia and the reform of the CAP scheduled for the years 2005-2006

The reform of the CAP scheduled for the years 2005-2006 will lead to a fall in the intervention prices for
milk, to be offset by the introduction of a premium granted directly to farmers, which in 2007-2008 and
following years will amount to PTA 4,16 per kilogram. However, this premium will only apply to
production levels corresponding to each dairy farm(cid:146)s own quota.

Faced with the possible abolition of the system of milk quotas as a result of further CAP reforms, what will
be the situation of farms with a large land-based capacity for growth (cid:129) as is the case of most Galician
farms (cid:129) which are now hampered in developing their production by a quota system imposed on them
years ago, at the precise time when they were optimistically undertaking a process of modernisation?
Would a potential and necessary additional production capacity be given financial support comparable to
that given to production levels corresponding to the current quotas, assuming that some system of
premiums was maintained?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(11 July 2000)

The direct payments to producers planned from 2005 onwards are currently established by tonne of
reference quantity ((cid:145)quota(cid:146)) of milk. If the Council decided to discontinue the system of quotas, it would
have to take account of all the consequences, including the base for and method of calculation of the
direct payments. Nevertheless, the Commission considers that it is premature to take a position on the
matter at this stage.