WRITTEN QUESTION E-3416/01 by Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Management and payment of aid to citrus fruit growers in Greece.
Date: 2001-12-21
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Greece, aid system, citrus fruit, farm income, market gardening, processing industry, producer organisation, production aid, sale

C 160 E/108

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

4.7.2002

and worldwide. Torture is one of the most abhorrent violations of human rights and human dignity. In its
work towards the prevention and eradication of torture and ill-treatment, the EU is guided by the relevant
international and regional norms and standards on human rights, the administration of justice and the
conduct of armed conflict. The prohibition against
inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment is also reiterated in Article 4 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The
Council wishes to emphasise that the fight against terrorism could not under any circumstances justify the
use of torture.

torture and other cruel,

On 9 April 2001, the Council adopted Guidelines for an EU policy towards third countries on torture and
other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, with a view to strengthening the Union’s
actions towards the global eradication of torture. The Guidelines aim at providing the EU with an
operational tool to be used in contacts with third countries at all levels as well as in multilateral human
rights fora. The EU’s objective is to influence third countries to take effective measures against torture and
to ensure that the prohibition against torture is enforced. Every prisoner, regardless of his legal status,
must benefit from all the guarantees recognised under international law and must be treated in accordance
with the relevant international standards.

Finally, where preventive measures in the European Union are concerned, that is a domestic matter for the
Member States.

(2002/C 160 E/141)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3416/01

by Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(21 December 2001)

Subject: Management and payment of aid to citrus fruit growers in Greece

In paragraphs, 2.36, 2.37, 2.40, 2.41, 2.42, 2.49, 2.164, 2.165, 2.173, and 2.174 of its annual report for
the financial year 2000, the Court of Auditors highlights management errors, failings of control systems,
inadequate effectiveness of systems of checks, and a defective system for setting prices and premiums, etc.

1. What is the actual problem in managing and paying aid to citrus fruit growers in Greece?

Has that problem resulted in lower incomes for producers? How great is the reduction in income and

2.
who is responsible?

3. What measures has the Commission taken or will it take to make the system more transparent and
more profitable for producers?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(30 January 2002)

The problems observed in the management and payment of aid to citrus producers in Greece are
numerous and complex.

The main ones are as follows:

: both administrative and on-the-spot checks carried out by the Greek authorities display weaknesses;

: citrus producer organisations do not always have the necessary data for them to carry out effective
checks of their members or for the Greek authorities to conduct checks of organisations and their
members;

: in the past, 3 % of the aid to be paid to producer organisations has been deducted by Greece for
it

insurance (ELGA) under a national

the Commission that

law. Greece assures

agricultural
discontinued this practice in 2001.

4.7.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 160 E/109

Citrus producers’ income could fall if their contributions to ELGA were to exceed the compensation paid
to them. Furthermore, if citrus producer organisations fail to meet their obligations under the regulations,
the organisation and its members may be refused some aid. Weaknesses in the Member States’ checks
could, however, result in undue payments to beneficiaries.

Citrus producers’ income is made up of:

: sales on the market for fresh produce, and

: sales to the processing industry.

Citrus producers’ income is therefore the product of sales on both markets and must be compared to the
cost of production. At Community level, only 20 % to 30 % of their production is sold for processing;
production sold on the market for fresh produce therefore makes up their main source of income.

The fall in processing aid in recent marketing years has been due to the overrun in the Community
thresholds. The Commission has therefore discharged its responsibilities. Acting on a proposal from the
Commission, the Council adopted Council Regulation (EC) No 2699/2000 of 4 December 2000 (amending
Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 on the common organisation of
in fruit and vegetables,
Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 on the common organisation of the market in processed fruit and vegetables
and Regulation (EC) No 2202/96 introducing a Community aid scheme for producers of certain citrus
fruits (1)), which has resulted in an increase in the processing thresholds. In the case of oranges, the
increase is 26,2 %.

the market

In addition, the Community threshold has been subdivided among the Member States so that producers in
individual Member States are responsible for any overruns.

As a direct consequence of the increase in the thresholds, no penalty relating to processing aid for oranges
was levied in respect of the 2001/02 marketing year.

(1) OJ L 311, 12.12.2000.

(2002/C 160 E/142)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3419/01

by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE)
and Ioannis Marínos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(21 December 2001)

Subject: Cultural heritage of occupied Cyprus

The Greek and Cypriot press report that priceless artwork is in danger of falling back into the hands of a
gang of smugglers who removed it from occupied Cyprus and attempted to sell it abroad. The work in
question is part of the renowned frescos from the Monastery of Antiphonitis in the Pentadaktylos region of
Cyprus occupied by the Turkish army, which were seized in October 1997 following concerted action by
the German and Cypriot police in Munich.

The frescos were found in fragments hidden in the walls and under the floors of two houses owned by the
notorious Turkish trafficker in antiquities, Aydin Dikmen, who was arrested by Interpol at the time but is
now strangely a free man despite owing tax to the German State. The work in question is in fact still with
the Munich police and it has not been possible to return it to the Republic of Cyprus, though sources in
Germany report that there is a serious risk that it will be given back to the Turkish dealer.

There are two reasons for this unlikely scenario. One is that the former West Germany did not sign the
1970 Unesco Treaty which provides for the return of stolen works of art to their country of origin, despite
the fact that the former East Germany did sign and : according to the German Treaty of Reunification :
the former West Germany is obliged to comply with the treaties signed by East Germany. Secondly,