WRITTEN QUESTION E-1818/00 by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) and Sergio Berlato (UEN) to the Commission. Withdrawal of funding from the agricultural sector.
Date: 2000-06-08
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Community budget, EU aid, Kosovo, agricultural expenditure, economic reconstruction, programme budgeting

C 103 E/30

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

3.4.2001

(2001/C 103 E/031)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1818/00

by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) and Sergio Berlato (UEN) to the Commission

Subject: Withdrawal of funding from the agricultural sector

(8 June 2000)

The Commission(cid:146)s proposal to reduce agricultural spending in order to fund aid for the Balkan countries
devastated by war has already provoked reactions in the farming sector in various countries.

Whilst applauding the decision to promote the recovery of those areas both politically and financially, one
is bound to ask the Commission whether it does not consider that:

1.

2.

3.

to withdraw funding from the agricultural policy would jeopardise the decisions taken in Berlin only a
year ago in the context of Agenda 2000;

this reduction in appropriations would jeopardise the implementation of the forthcoming reforms in
the rice, oil and fruit and vegetables sectors;

the major reform of the seed sector would suffer the same fate and the overall development of the
European agricultural sector would be penalised?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(12 July 2000)

The support for democracy, peace and stability in the Kosovo region is a major challenge for the Union.
For 2001 and 2002 the Commission has proposed a decrease of € 300 million in the existing annual
financial perspective ceiling for sub-heading 1a of the Community budget concerning common agricultural
policy (CAP) excluding rural development, with a corresponding increase in heading 4 concerning external
relations.

The most recent forecasts of agricultural expenditure have revealed an unused margin of € 400 million for
legislation and proposals already presented by the
2001. The new forecasts are based on present
Commission. It is important to distinguish between the level of the financial perspective ceiling and the
real funding requirements of the CAP. Since the proposal of the Commission is based on a revision of the
budgetary previsions, the reduction of the level of the ceiling for sub-heading 1a does not imply a decrease
of support to farmers nor a questioning of the CAP reform decisions taken in Berlin. In the Commission(cid:146)s
view, the real budgetary needs of the CAP in 2001 will be below the existing ceiling by an amount which
is sufficient to accommodate the reduction of € 300 million. Planned reforms in the sugar sector should
achieve an equivalent effect for 2002.

Based on the agreement reached at the Berlin European Council, any additional spending due to a reform
or revision of a common market organisation until 2006, for instance for rice, olive oil, fruits and
vegetables, would have to be financed by savings within the agricultural ceilings of
the financial
perspectives. Thus, the Commission(cid:146)s proposal concerning assistance for the Balkans does not alter the
financial opportunities for further reforms or revisions.

(2001/C 103 E/032)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1883/00

by Emilio MenØndez del Valle (PSE) to the Commission

(9 June 2000)

Subject: Conflicts in Africa

At its meeting in Brussels on 22 and 23 May 2000 the General Affairs Council rightly stressed the
complexity of the factors involved in the conflict in the Great Lakes region of Africa.