WRITTEN QUESTION E-1339/02 by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Eligibility criteria for compensatory payments.
Date: 2002-05-13
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Azores, EAGGF, aid per hectare, aid to agriculture, eligibility criteria, peripheral region, regional aid

5.12.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 301 E/129

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(27 June 2002)

supplied by the
The Commission has only general
Member States. That information currently indicates a relatively substantial fall in consumption in the
producer Member States (cid:1) particularly in France, Italy and Spain.

information on wine consumption trends,

It seems clear that the fall in consumption is largely structural: the younger generations are drinking less
wine, in particular less table wine with meals on a daily basis. Between 1996 and 2001, wine consumption
fell from 34,7 to 31,7 million hl in Italy and from 35,1 to 34,7 million hl in France.

Although consumption is rising in the non-producer countries, the relatively low starting point means that
the increase there is insufficient to offset the decrease in the producer countries. Between 1996 and 2001,
consumption rose by 1,9 million hl in the United Kingdom but fell by 3,0 million hl in Italy.

With the increasing globalisation of trade and the disappearance of more and more trade barriers, it is not
surprising to see wines from third countries penetrating a market previously supplied solely by
Community production. Between
from 5,8 to
1996 and 2001, wine
8,8 million hl (+ 51 %) and consumption of these ‘New World’ wines increased in the United Kingdom
from 3,6 to 6,2 l/person (+ 72 %).

increased

imports

The Commission would point out that the Community promotional campaigns provided for are to
supplement private initiatives and must be of a generic and non-commercial nature. These promotional
campaigns are intended, in particular, to highlight the special features of Community production and its
links with our winegrowing regions’ soils, history and culture.

The financial support available for these promotional campaigns is relatively small. In the absence of
figures on third countries’ advertising campaigns, the Commission is unable to assess whether they are
proportional.

(2002/C 301 E/141)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1339/02

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

Subject: Eligibility criteria for compensatory payments

(13 May 2002)

The system of compensatory payments is extremely important in offsetting the specific disadvantages of
less-favoured regions, where agriculture and related activities generally play an important role. However,
the effectiveness of the system depends above all on the type of eligibility criteria and the degree of
in view of the different farming situations in the Member States, especially as regards the
flexibility,
conditions of land tenure. In the outermost regions these issues are particularly significant because of the
specific difficulties inherent in their status and the heavy dependence on certain sectors such as farming. In
the autonomous region of the Azores many cattle farmers are not applying for compensatory payments
because of the new criteria, namely the limit of 2,5 livestock units per hectare, whereas the ratio in the
Azores is 3 or 4 livestock units per hectare. Everyone knows how important the beef and dairy sectors are
in the Azores.

In view of this, can the Commission say:

(cid:1) what the reason for the limit of 2,5 livestock units is and whether this figure takes account of the

specific characteristics of the outermost regions;

(cid:1) what measures it can take, on the basis of the islands’ status as an outermost region (Article 299(2)), in

order to solve this problem and ensure correct application of the compensatory payments?

C 301 E/130

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

5.12.2002

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(21 June 2002)

In accordance with Article 14(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on support
for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and
amending and repealing certain Regulations (1), compensatory allowances are granted per hectare of
agricultural land to farmers in less-favoured areas under certain conditions, including usual good farming
practices compatible with the need to safeguard the environment and to maintain the countryside.

Under Commission Regulation (EC) No 445/2002 of 26 February 2002 laying down detailed rules for the
application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 on support for rural development from the
European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) (2), which replaced Commission Regulation
(EC) No 1750/1999 of 23 July 1999 (3), Member States must set out verifiable standards for usual good
farming practices in their Rural Development Plans (RDP).

In keeping with these requirements, the authorities in the Autonomous Region of the Azores have had to
define an upper limit for stocking density in their RDPs compatible with good farming practices. They
have proposed and justified a maximum of 2,5 livestock units (LUs) per hectare (ha). This limit, much
greater than that employed during the previous planning period in the Azores (1,4 LUs per ha) for the
granting of compensatory payments, takes into account conservation requirements as well as the specific
regional characteristics inherent to the island’s status as an outermost region.

Furthermore, on 28 June 2001 the Council adopted Regulation (EC) No 1453/2001, in accordance with
Article 299(2) of the EC Treaty,
introducing specific measures for certain agricultural products for the
Azores and Madeira and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 1600/92 (Poseima) (4). The Regulation acknow-
ledges and seeks to mitigate the effects of the particular geographical situation and the constraints imposed
by the island nature and outermost location of these two autonomous regions and, in particular, lays down
exceptional
structural measures. However, Regulation (EC) No 1453/2001 does not provide for
derogations from Article 14(2) of the aforementioned Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999.

(1) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999.
(2) OJ L 74, 15.3.2002.
(3) OJ L 214, 13.8.1999.
(4) OJ L 198, 21.7.2001.

(2002/C 301 E/142)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1349/02

by Pere Esteve (ELDR) and Carles-Alfred Gasòliba i Böhm (ELDR) to the Commission

Subject: Structural Fund discrimination affecting the province of Teruel

(13 May 2002)

The EP report A3-0115/93 (drawn up by the Committee on Regional Policy, Regional Planning and
Relations with Regional and Local Authorities) of 30 March 1993 on areas with exceptionally low
population densities (rapporteur: Mr Moretti)) points out that demographic imbalance has a distorting
effect on the facts in statistical data, thereby invalidating the information units used to map out areas
receiving Structural Fund assistance. It expresses the view that the indicators used to determine areas
eligible for Structural Fund assistance, in particular per capita GDP, fail to reflect the complexity of the
problem of underdevelopment within the European Union and to determine the priorities of Community
regional policy. The report recommends the acquisition of data on units below NUTS III level in order to
define problems more precisely.

for an amended regulation (1), which lays down
Subsequently the Commission drew up a proposal
objective, clear, impartial and lasting criteria. Even so, the current categories NUTS 1, 2 and 3 do not
correspond to these objectives and the criteria laid down in the current proposal are frequently ignored, so