WRITTEN QUESTION E-1154/02 by Jorge Hernández Mollar (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Commission presence at the Fifth World Avocado Congress.
Date: 2002-04-22
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: international meeting, marketing, plant disease, plant health treatment, scientific research, the EU's international role, tropical fruit

C 277 E/154

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

14.11.2002

Given the fact that the likely failure of the replanting operations is due solely to exceptionally harsh
weather conditions, would the Commission consider granting an extension with a view to preventing
Sicilian wine-growers and producers from sustaining enormous losses and thousands of jobs from being
lost in the sector?

(1) OJ L 132, 23.5.1990, p. 19.

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(21 May 2002)

The regulatory provisions to which the Honourable Member refers no longer apply. They were repealed by
Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 of 17 May 1999 on common organisation of the market in
wine (1).

The provisions now in force are the above Council Regulation supplemented by Commission Regulation
(EC) No 1227/2000 of 31 May 2000 setting detailed rules of application for Council Regulation (EC)
No 1493/1999 as regards production potential (2).

Action on the problems encountered by the wine-growers concerned over using replanting rights must
accord with these.

The duration of such rights is set by the Council Regulation, amendment of which would require
Parliament’s opinion.

Under the present provisions replanting rights that expire are transferred to reserves run by the
Member States at national or regional level. Thus they are still available for use and can be assigned in line
with rules set by the competent authorities that respect the Community provisions.

(1) OJ L 179, 14.7.1999.
(2) OJ L 143, 16.6.2000.

(2002/C 277 E/176)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1154/02

by Jorge Hernández Mollar (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(22 April 2002)

Subject: Commission presence at the Fifth World Avocado Congress

The Fifth World Avocado Congress will be held in the Málaga and Granada provinces and will be attended
by 700 participants, 100 of whom are engaged in research.

The Congress will focus on avocado marketing, as well as on different varieties and diseases. In the light of
the forthcoming World Congress, the deplorable lack of health protection for this plant has prompted calls
in the above-mentioned provinces to set in motion the necessary mechanisms for quality control and
species protection.

Does the Commission believe that,
it should play an
important role in the World Avocado Congress forums and discussions to promote avocado production in
the provinces of Málaga and Granada, which represents 87 % of European avocado production and 97 % of
Spanish avocado production?

in view of its special powers under the CAP,

14.11.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 277 E/155

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(30 May 2002)

The Commission thanks the Honourable Member for informing it of the Fifth World Avocado Congress in
October 2003 in the Málaga and Granada provinces. It was not invited to take part in any of the first four
congresses. If during the 18 months still to run before the fifth congress the organisers ask it to take part it
will examine, bearing in mind the limit on the staff at its disposal, whether a presence is needed.

(2002/C 277 E/177)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1158/02

by Salvador Garriga Polledo (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(22 April 2002)

Subject: Analysis of the teaching of mathematics in the European Union

Experts have yet again noted that mathematics teaching in all the Member States is particularly weak,
which has in turn led to deficiencies and gaps in education, especially in information technology.

This only serves to put the European Union at a disadvantage in relation to other world centres of
technological and scientific development, making it
the gaps in the study and
development of mathematical sciences in the EU.

imperative to fill

Does the Commission consider that it should instigate an overall analysis of mathematics teaching
throughout the European Union,
in all the Member States, which would prepare the way for tough
measures to be taken to improve the teaching of mathematical sciences in our educational institutions, and
to overcome the present deficiencies in this area?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(20 June 2002)

In February 2001, for the first time in the history of education in Europe, the Education Council adopted a
report on the concrete future objectives of education and training systems to be achieved in 2010 (1).
These questions were also discussed in Uppsala on 2 March 2001 at an informal meeting of the Ministers
for Education and Research. Mathematics, sciences and technology constitute a priority area. Maths plays a
crucial role when learning natural sciences and technology, and has a direct influence on levels of success
in these fields at school and university.

A group of experts on ‘Mathematics, sciences and technology’ made up of representatives of the 15 EU
Member States has thus started its work aimed at increasing the numbers going in for scientific and
technological subjects; for this purpose, instruments such as indicators and performance calibration are
being used. Particular attention will also be focused on encouraging young people to study scientific and
technical subjects, and on ensuring a steady supply of teachers qualified in these subjects. An initial report
from this group will be available at the end of 2002.

The results of the PISA 2000 study (the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment), which
were published at the beginning of 2002 and were concerned with the skills of 15-year-old pupils in three
areas, including mathematics and the sciences, reveal wide disparities between and also within the EU
Member States. However, most of the Member States performed better in advanced maths, for example,
than the United States. It is clear that there is room for improvement, but this is a matter for the Member
States rather than the EU.