WRITTEN QUESTION E-1883/00 by Emilio Menéndez del Valle (PSE) to the Commission. Conflicts in Africa.
Date: 2000-06-09
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, common foreign and security policy, war

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.

3.4.2001

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 103 E/31

The provisional version of the Council press release mentions political, economic and social factors.

Does the Commission not take the view that (cid:129) in addition to the factors quite rightly listed by the Council
(cid:129) an accurate assessment of the terrible conflicts which are tearing Africa apart should also take cultural
factors into account?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(25 July 2000)

The Commission does not consider that the General Affairs Council (GAC) conclusions on conflicts in
Africa (22/23 May 2000) restrict the factors to be taken into account by the international community in
establishing a (cid:145)realistic, integrated and coherent approach(cid:146) to these conflicts. The Commission considers
that all the factors, including cultural, that are at the root of conflicts need to be considered in shaping a
response to these conflicts. It is only on the basis of a thorough understanding of the societies in which
conflicts take place and of the motivations of all those involved, that viable policies can be established. The
Commission entertains no illusions about the magnitude of this task.

The Commission recalls that amongst the measures considered to merit particular attention in the
conclusions adopted by the Development Council on 28 November 1998, on the role of development
co-operation in strengtening peace building, conflict prevention and resolution, were (cid:145)measures in support
of balancing political, social, economic and cultural opportunities among different identity groups within
developing countries(cid:146).

Unequal opportunities and distrust amongst identity groups are generally recognised as root causes of
conflicts. Exclusion of identity groups and manipulation of distrust, which in some cases takes the form of
the promotion of ethnic hatred, are radical strategies which elicit radical and often violent responses.

(2001/C 103 E/033)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1888/00

by Jean-Claude Fruteau (PSE) to the Commission

Subject: Agriculture in the most remote regions

(9 June 2000)

The most remote regions are facing an increasingly competitive international situation. In the COM area
alone, their agricultural products such as rice, bananas and sugar face strong competition from neighbour-
ing ACP countries. The ACP countries have much lower social costs than do the most remote regions and
they also nave preferential access to the Community market.

In its report on Article 299(2) of the Amsterdam Treaty, the Commission demonstrates an awareness of
the problem, stating that the circumstances call for vigilance and increased monitoring, and also that the
frontier situation may be an advantage if it is exploited.

What specific measures does the Commission intend to take to protect the agriculture sector of the most
remote regions in this international context, and how does it intend to exploit their potential as active
frontiers of the Union?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(14 July 2000)

The outermost regions and their products are given special treatment within the framework of the
common market organisations in rice, sugar and bananas, with additional support under the specific
programmes to deal with their remoteness and island status (Poseican, Poseima, Poseidom); the latter are
designed to modify and supplement the operation of the common agricultural policy in these regions.