WRITTEN QUESTION P-2362/00 by María Rodríguez Ramos (PSE) to the Commission. Guidelines for the negotiation of the agriculture chapter of the free-trade agreement with the Maghreb.
Date: 2000-07-07
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Israel, Morocco, Tunisia, agricultural product, fruit vegetable, negotiation of an agreement (EU), trade agreement (EU)

3.4.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 103 E/133

Whereas the responsibility for nuclear safety lies with the operator and the national regulator,
economic risk of operating a power plant has to be borne by the operator, alone.

the

The Commission has defined the transposition of the environmental impact assessment acquis as a short-
term priority within the accession partnership with the Czech Republic. To date, the Czech Republic has
not ratified the Espoo Convention on environmental impact assessment in a transboundary context. The
Commission will report on further Czech progress in adopting the acquis in its forthcoming progress
report.

The Commission will continue to urge the Czech Republic to undertake steps to adhere to the acquis in
time for accession.

(2001/C 103 E/147)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2362/00

by Mar(cid:237)a Rodr(cid:237)guez Ramos (PSE) to the Commission

(7 July 2000)

Subject: Guidelines for the negotiation of the agriculture chapter of the free-trade agreement with the

Maghreb

The Commission has submitted its proposal for guidelines for the negotiation of the free-trade agreement
with Morocco, Tunisia and Israel in the Council(cid:146)s Maghreb Group. The proposal contains every possible
liberalisation measure, ranging from increased quotas to reduced tariffs, and including various approaches
to managing entry prices.

Is it standard practice for the Commission to ask the Council for a negotiating mandate amounting to a
(cid:145)blank cheque(cid:146) for all negotiations with third countries, or does it do so only when agricultural production
is the main interest at stake?

What does the Commission consider to be the advantages of a negotiating strategy which may raise great
expectations in the Mediterranean countries, thus making subsequent negotiations more awkward, and
which is already causing alarm amongst tomato producers in southern areas of the EU?

In the specific case of tomatoes, given that the Kingdom of Morocco has consistently exported excessive
quantities of tomatoes to the EU, how does the Commission intend to apply its guidelines without
sparking off a new crisis amongst producers in southern areas of the EU?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(27 July 2000)

The proposal for negotiating instructions which the Commission presented recently to the Council was
drawn up within the context of a renegotiation of the agriculture protocols to the association agreements
with Morocco, Tunisia and Israel, in accordance with the provisions of those agreements.

This review of reciprocal concessions aims at pushing forward the progressive liberalisation of agricultural
trade between the Community and these countries with a view to creating a free-trade area in accord with
the Barcelona Declaration signed in 1995 by all the Member States and their 12 Mediterranean partners.

In line with Article 133 of the EC Treaty (formerly Article 113) on trade policy, the Commission has sent
the Council a recommendation for a Council Decision authorising the Commission to open negotiations
with these countries. This proposal for a negotiating brief outlines the measures which could be taken
within the framework of the forthcoming negotiations for a reciprocal and progressive liberalisation of
trade and stresses the importance to the Community of improved access for its agricultural exports to the
countries in question in order to attain a better balance in mutual preferences.

On the issue of Community imports of tomatoes from Morocco (cid:129) and as noted in fact in the draft
negotiating instructions (cid:129) the Community aims to achieve an unambiguous agreement so that trade can
run smoothly over the next few marketing years.