Common Position (EC) No 10/2002 of 8 November 2001 adopted by the Council, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, with a view to adopting a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the statistical surveys to be carried out by the Member States in order to determine the production potential of plantations of certain species of fruit trees
Date: 2001-11-08
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU Member State, EU production, fruit-growing, national statistics, production capacity, statistics

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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COMMON POSITION (EC) No 10/2002

adopted by the Council on 8 November 2001

with a view to adopting Directive 2002/. . ./EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of
. . . concerning the statistical surveys to be carried out by the Member States in order to
determine the production potential of plantations of certain species of fruit trees

(2002/C 45 E/04)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 285 thereof,

(4) The experience acquired in previous surveys of fruit tree
plantations has shown that it is necessary to introduce a
certain flexibility into survey methods used by the Member
States whilst maintaining the comparability of data between
Member States.

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Article 251 of the Treaty (2),

Whereas:

(1) The Commission, in order to perform the task conferred
upon it by the Treaty and by Community provisions
governing the common organisation of the market in the
fruit and vegetable sector, needs to be kept accurately
informed on the production potential of plantations of
certain species of fruit trees within the Community and
to have available medium-term estimates of production
and supply on the markets. This information is currently
provided
Council
the
Directive 76/625/EEC of 20 July 1976 concerning the stat-
istical surveys to be carried out by the Member States in
order to determine the production potential of plantations
trees (3). Now that new
of
fruit
amendments are being made,
is appropriate on the
it
grounds of clarity to repeal the said Directive and replace
it by this Directive.

certain species of

for within

framework

of

(2) All

fruit

States

should

the Member

carry out
trees of

surveys
concurrently on plantations of
the same
species in accordance with the same criteria and with
full
comparable accuracy. New plantations attain their
yield only after a certain number of years. These surveys
should therefore be repeated every five years in order to
obtain reliable statistics on production potential
taking
account of the fruit trees which are not yet productive.

(5) Since the objectives of

the proposed action, namely to
obtain complete and reliable statistics on the production
potential of plantations of certain species of fruit trees in
the Community
and on medium-term estimates of
Community production and supply, cannot be sufficiently
achieved by the Member States
individually and can
therefore, by reason of the effects of the action, be better
achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt
measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity
as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the
principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this
Directive does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve
those objectives.

(6) The measures necessary for the implementation of

this
Directive should be adopted in accordance with Council
Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the
procedures
implementing powers
the exercise of
conferred on the Commission (4),

for

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

1.
The Member States shall carry out during 2002, and
every five years thereafter, surveys on plantations of certain
species of fruit trees existing on their territory.

2.

The following species shall be surveyed:

(3) Uniform surveys should be carried out in each Member
State on the main varieties of each species of fruit, endeav-
ouring at the same time to establish subdivisions according
to variety which are as complete as necessary.

(a) dessert apples

(b) dessert pears

(1) OJ C 96 E, 27.3.2001, p. 212.
(2) Opinion of the European Parliament of 13 June 2001 (not yet
published in the Official Journal), Council Common Position of 8
November 2001 and Decision of the European Parliament of . . .
(not yet published in the Official Journal).

(3) OJ L 218, 11.8.1976, p. 10. Directive as last amended by Directive
1999/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 16,
21.1.2000, p. 72).

(c) peaches

(d) apricots

(e) oranges

(4) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.

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(f)

lemons

(g) small-fruited citrus fruit.

The species to be surveyed in the various Member States are set
out in the table in the Annex.

The list of said species and the said table may be amended in
accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 8(2).

The survey of plantations of varieties of apples and pears
destined solely for uses other than dessert apples and pears
shall be optional.

The survey shall apply to all holdings with an area
3.
planted with fruit trees, provided that the fruit produced is
entirely or mainly intended for the market.

The survey shall cover pure and mixed crops, i.e. plantations of
fruit trees of several of the species referred to in the first
subparagraph of paragraph 2 or of one or more of
them
together with other species.

Detailed rules for applying this Article shall be adopted in

2.
accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 8(2).

Article 3

1.
In the case of random sampling, the sample shall be
representative of at least 95 % of the area planted with fruit
trees. Estimates
shall be made for areas not covered by
sampling.

So far as the results of the surveys carried out by random
2.
take every
sampling are concerned, Member States
measure to ensure that sampling errors at the 68 % confidence
level shall, at the most, be of the order of 3 % for the whole of
the national area planted with fruit trees of each species.

shall

3. Member States shall take appropriate measures to limit
mistakes of reporting and, if necessary, to estimate their effect
on the whole of
the area planted with fruit trees of each
species.

The rules for applying this Article shall be adopted in

4.
accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 8(2).

4.
The survey may be either exhaustive or based on random
sampling, in accordance with the criteria laid down in Article 3.

Article 4

Article 2

1.
The surveys referred to in Article 1 shall be organised so
that the results may be presented in various combinations of
the following characteristics:

A. Variety of fruit:

fruit, and in order of

For each species of
importance,
enough varieties shall be shown to enable a separate
assessment to be made for each Member State, by variety,
of at least 80 % of the total area planted with fruit trees of
the species in question and, in any case, all varieties repre-
senting 3 % or more of the total area planted with fruit
trees of the species in question.

B. Age of trees:

The age of trees must be calculated from the time of their
planting in the orchard. The planting season which extends
from the autumn to the spring shall be considered a single
period.

1. Member States shall notify the Commission of the results
of these surveys as rapidly as possible, and in any case before
1 October of the year following the survey year.

2.
The results referred to in paragraph 1 shall be supplied
for each production area. The boundaries of the production
areas to be adopted for Member States shall be fixed in
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 8(2).

3.
Sampling errors together with any mistakes discovered in
reporting as referred to in Article 3 shall be notified before
1 October of the year following the survey year.

4. Member States shall send the Commission a methodo-
logical report on how the survey was carried out no later
than 1 October of the year following the survey year.

Article 5

Member States which have annual estimates:

(a) of areas of

fruit

trees,

the clearing of which has been

carried out on their territory, and

C. Area planted, number of trees and density of plantation:

(b) of the new plantations of fruit trees on their territory,

The density of plantation may be surveyed and quoted
directly or may be calculated from the area planted.

shall notify the Commission of this information no later than
31 October of the year following the reference year.

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Article 6

Article 9

The Commission shall study the following in consultation and
ongoing cooperation with Member States:

Directive 76/625/EEC shall be repealed with effect from . . . (*).

(a) the results supplied,

Any references made to repealed Directive 76/625/EEC shall be
considered as a reference to this Directive.

(b) the technical problems raised,

in particular by the prep-

aration and implementation of these surveys,

Article 10

(c)

the significance of the findings of the surveys.

Article 7

The Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and
to the Council, within one year of notification of the results by
Member States, a report on experience acquired during the
survey.

Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and
administrative provisions necessary to comply with this
Directive by . . . (*) at the latest. They shall forthwith inform
the Commission thereof.

When Member States adopt these measures, they shall contain
a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such
reference on the occasion of
their official publication. The
methods of making such reference shall be laid down by
Member States.

Article 8

Article 11

The Commission shall be assisted by the Standing
set up by Council

1.
Committee on Agricultural Statistics,
Decision 72/279/EEC (1).

This Directive shall enter into force on the day of its publi-
cation in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 4 and
7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the
provisions of Article 8 thereof.

Article 12

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC
shall be set at three months.

Done at . . .

3.

The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.

For the European Parliament

The President

For the Council

The President

(1) OJ L 179, 7.8.1972, p. 1.

(*) Three months after the date of entry into force of this Directive.

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ANNEX

SPECIES SURVEYED IN THE VARIOUS MEMBER STATES

Apples

Pears

Peaches

Apricots

Oranges

Lemons

Small-fruited
citrus fruit

Belgium

Denmark

Germany

Greece

Spain

France

Ireland

Italy

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Austria

Portugal

Finland

Sweden

United Kingdom

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

(cid:215)

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STATEMENT OF THE COUNCIL’S REASONS

I.

INTRODUCTION

1. On 24 November 2000 the Commission submitted a proposal

the
European Parliament and of the Council, based on Article 285 of the Treaty, concerning statistical
surveys in order to determine the production potential of plantations of certain species of fruit
trees.

for a Directive of

2. The European Parliament delivered its first-reading opinion on 13 June 2001.

3. The Council adopted its Common Position at its meeting on 8 November 2001, in accordance with

the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty.

II. OBJECTIVE

4. The purpose of the proposal is to repeal Directive 76/625/EEC and replace it with a new Directive

that would be simpler and more straightforward to apply.

In particular, the proposal provides greater flexibility, especially as regards survey methodology and
the time the survey is carried out. Thus, the threshold is replaced by an objective defined in terms
of representativeness of the sample and Member States may choose the best time to carry out the
survey. The only constraint is the deadline for forwarding results to the Commission.

III. ANALYSIS OF THE COMMON POSITION

5. Given the above objectives, the Council approved the substance of the Commission’s proposal,
while making a number of changes, the reasons for which are set out below. Most of the changes
were based on European Parliament amendments, especially in the proposal’s key areas, such as the
list of species to be surveyed, the variables to be surveyed and the basis for calculating plantation
density.

The Council also wanted to clarify the scope of certain provisions, particularly those concerning
deadlines for sending results to or notifying the Commission (Article 4(4) and Article 5(b)), and to
make drafting adjustments at some points (Article 1(3) and Article 3(1)).

6. Recital 5

The Council wanted the objective of obtaining complete and reliable statistics on the production
potential of plantations of certain species of fruit trees to be broadened to include production not
intended for the Community market.

7. Article 1(1)

To avoid uncertainties, the Council specified that the first survey should be carried out during 2002.

8. Article 1(2)

It was not at this stage feasible to make surveys compulsory for nuts, but Member States with a
certain output volume of nuts undertook to make efforts to collect data on them.

9. Article 1(2)(g)

The Council followed the European Parliament’s proposal to delete the parenthesis giving examples
of small-fruited citrus. These fruit did not have enough shared characteristics to be grouped under
the same heading.

10. Article 1(2), third subparagraph

As explained in point 8,
the Council did not make nut surveys compulsory, but adopted
Parliament’s suggestion of allowing the list and the table in the Annex to be modified using the
management committee procedure.

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11. Article 1(3)

The Council replaced the words (cid:145)for sale(cid:146) with the words (cid:145)for the market(cid:146) to make clear that
professional selling was intended.

12. Article 2(1)(A)

The Council did not adopt the European Parliament’s request that rootstocks be included in
surveys, since the Directive’s aim was to keep the Commission informed on the production
potential of certain species of fruit trees in the Community, so that it could fulfil its obligations
arising from the common organisation of the market in the fruit and vegetables sector and from
the Treaty.

Extending the surveys to rootstocks, while of interest to nurserymen, would have no impact on the
management of the common agricultural policy.

13. Article 2(1)(B)

The Council deleted the reference to double grafting, which made it possible to obtain more
reliable results.

14. Article 2(1)(C)

At Parliament’s suggestion, the Council deleted the word (cid:145)net(cid:146) in relation to the (cid:145)area planted(cid:146),
because in so far as results were comparable, the calculation method could be based on either the
net or the gross area planted.

15. Article 3(4)

This paragraph was added by the Council so that technical issues raised by this Article could be
resolved in the management committee.

16. Article 9

To ensure that the old Directive could not be considered to have been repealed before the deadline
for transposing the new Directive had expired, the Council specified, in Article 9, that the date of
repeal corresponded to that of the entry into force of the Directive as provided for in Article 10.

In addition, the Council stated that the acts implementing Directive 76/625/EEC would not be
repealed automatically after the repeal of the old Directive.

IV. GENERAL CONCLUSION

The Council believes that its Common Position, with the changes set out above and taking account of
the first-reading opinion of the European Parliament, best fulfils the objectives of the Commission’s
proposal; these changes have been taken on board by the Commission.