WRITTEN QUESTION E-2864/01 by Sebastiano Musumeci (UEN) to the Commission. Safeguarding olive oil production.
Date: 2001-10-17
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Italy, designation of origin, import, labelling, location of production, olive oil, product designation, third country, traceability

C 115 E/178

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EN

16.5.2002

granted to be delivered to ginning plants. However, Regulation (EC) 1051/2001 (1) provides only for the
possibility of restricting the areas under cultivation, subject to certain conditions, and not for the division
of quantities delivered into those eligible or ineligible for aid. Cotton producers do not know for which
quantities ultimately aid will be granted or
receive the market price only
(approximately Drs 56 per kilo) or on what criteria and when their production will be reassessed. They
are also pondering whether to gather in all their crop in view of the fact that the cost of harvesting is
barely covered by the market price.

for which they will

In addition to the above Regulation, the Commission’s report to the Council ‘On Greek requests in the
cotton sector’ (2) also rejects the possibility of individual division of production and the notion of eligible
and ineligible quantities of cotton on the grounds that the existence of two kinds of cotton at the level of
producers and ginning plants alike would create serious problems with system monitoring and a risk that
the rules on aid could be infringed. A substantial modification and adjustment of the basic rules governing
aid for cotton would therefore be required.

1.

Can both subsidised and unsubsidised cotton be delivered to ginning plants?

Do the reasons which led the Commission in the past (2) not to allow Greece to subsidise only a part

2.
of the quantities produced by each grower no longer apply?

3.
Has the Commission examined the measures taken at the ginning plants to prevent a possible
infringement of the aid rules through the simultaneous delivery of consignments of cotton which are
eligible or ineligible for aid?

(1) OJ L 148, 1.6.2001, p. 3.
(2) COM(1998) 10 final.

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(26 November 2001)

The Commission has asked for and received a copy of the Decree of 24 September 2001 on national
measures decided by the Greek authorities in connection with the new aid scheme for cotton applicable
from the 2001/02 marketing year.

At present the Commission is looking carefully at the official legal texts relating to the Decree and cannot
state a position on the matter.

At all events, under Article 17(3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1051/2001 of 22 May 2001 on
production aid for cotton (1), the Member States now have the right to restrict the areas eligible for the aid
under environmental measures authorised for the purpose.

Cotton obtained on areas not eligible for the aid may be ginned but cannot qualify for Community aid and
is not subject to the minimum price obligation.

(1) OJ L 148, 1.6.2001.

(2002/C 115 E/186)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2864/01

by Sebastiano Musumeci (UEN) to the Commission

(17 October 2001)

Subject: Safeguarding olive oil production

The judgment of
Justice of 14 December 200 in Case C-99/99 ‘Italian Republic v.
Commission of the European Communities < Action for annulment < Regulation (EC) No 2815/98 (1) <
marketing standards for olive oil, threatens to destroy the principle of the’territoriality’ of production.

the Court of

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The loss of territoriality in olive production is leading to an increase in the influx into Italian territory of
olive oil from countries in Northern Africa, the Iberian peninsula and Greece, wrongfully passed off as
Italian oil.

Does the Commission not consider that

for olive oil, as for other products, the principle of
1.
‘traceability’ of the whole production cycle must apply and it is unacceptable for the blending stage to
determine the origin of the oil?

Does it not consider that the only appropriate criterion for the origin of oil is where the olives were

2.
produced, rather than where they were pressed?

(1) OJ L 349, 24.12.1998, p. 56.

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(21 November 2001)

The Commission does not share the Honourable Member’s fears that there will be an increase in imports
of olive oil from third countries.

There are at present no plans to adjust the annual customs duties or to increase the single only existing
import quota, which is for Tunisia.

As for blending of oils from various sources, it should be stressed that this practice is not only allowed but
is very necessary in many cases. Because national olive oil production cannot meet consumption demand,
the Italian oil industry buys significant volumes of oil from third countries and the other Member States
(about 400 000 tonnes a year), with a view to selling it on the world market (over 270 000 tonnes
exported in 2000/01). The Italian industry has adapted to market realities and has managed to profit from
them to the extent that it is now one of the major players in the global olive oil trade.

Turning to the Honourable Member’s claim regarding the marketing of oils labelled as ‘Italian’, it must be
done in accordance with the rules laid down in the Community legislation on labelling, trading standards
and protected designation of origins/protected geographical indications (PDOs/PGIs) (Directive 2000/13/EC
of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 March 2000 on the approximation of the laws of the
Member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs (1), Council Regulation
(EEC) No 2081/92 of 14 July 1992 on the protection of geographical
indications and designations of
origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs (2) and Commission Regulation (EC) No 2815/98 of
22 December 1998 concerning marketing standards for olive oil (3)). The labelling of blends of oils from
different sources must also comply with the above.

As regards labelling for the origin of oils and their traceability, on 19 June 2001 the Council of agriculture
ministers mandated the Commission to find a clear and immediate solution to the issue of the origin of
oils. The Commission has accordingly been able to introduce a legal provision linking an oil’s origin to the
place where the olives are harvested. In the relatively rare cases where an oil’s origin differs from the place
where the oil was extracted, both origins must be marked on the label. A provision to this effect entered
into force on 1 November 2001.

On the issue of traceability, the Commission is certainly not opposed to operators introducing it. The
measures adopted by the Council on 19 June of this year allow the Member States to finance quality
improvement programmes in which traceability can play a leading role. Furthermore, traceability is already
required in the case of olive oils qualifying for PDO and PGI status under Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92.

(1) OJ L 109, 6.5.2000.
(2) OJ L 208, 24.7.1992.
(3) OJ L 349, 24.12.1998.