WRITTEN QUESTION E-1615/03 by Joan Vallvé (ELDR) to the Commission. Aid for rice growing.
Date: 2003-05-13
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Spain, agricultural production, aid to agriculture, ecology, principle of additionality, reform of the CAP, rice, support policy, terms for aid

6.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 58 E/81

2003 and forwarded them according to Article 6(2) of the Procedural Regulation (2) to the British
authorities for a reply within one month. The Commission is awaiting the reply of the British authorities
and will then take a final decision.

(1) OJ C 69, 22.3.2003, p. 9.
(2) Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 of 22.3.1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 93 of

the EC Treaty, OJ L 83, 27.3.1999.

(2004/C 58 E/098)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1615/03

by Joan Vallvé (ELDR) to the Commission

(13 May 2003)

Subject: Aid for rice growing

The Commission Communication to the Council and the European Parliament of 10 July 2002 (1) stated,
in the section on rice (p. 15 of the English version of the text):

The global price reduction will be compensated at a rate of 88 % … This leads to compensation of
177 EUR/t, … Of this, 102 EUR/t multiplied by the 1995 reform yield would become an income
payment paid per farm. The remaining 75 EUR/t multiplied by the 1995 reform yield would be paid
as a crop specific aid reflecting the role of rice production in traditional production areas.

This additional aid recognising the specific characteristics of traditional rice-growing areas was particularly
welcome in areas such as the Ebro y Pals delta in Baix Empordà, Girona, where rice production has been
well established for some time. Although they did not agree with the basic philosophy behind the
Commission proposals nor the future prospects indicated for this crop, the rice growers and the Catalan
Government alike considered that this additional aid could alleviate, if only partly, the loss of income
which application of the reform would entail.

However, in the text of the legislative proposals submitted in January 2003, this specific aid has been
extended to all areas of rice production, with no territorial differentiation, and based on establishing a
basic area of cultivation for each country and imposing penalties if this is exceeded. In the case of Spain,
the area laid down is 104 973 hectares.

This new approach will greatly exacerbate the damage that the CAP reform will inflict on Catalan rice
growers, since they cultivate areas where there are no alternative crops and, in addition, their crops have
great ecological value as most of these areas are protected by the Ramsar Treaty. If rice production is no
longer viable, this will not only have a considerable impact on incomes, but will also damage ecosystems
and eventually threaten the survival of an exceptional environment which is unique in Europe.

Does the Commission not think that, for these areas of great ecological value, the specific aid that was laid
down should be maintained in its entirety and that, if the basic area is exceeded, the penalties should not
affect the growers who are established in these areas?

(1) COM(2002) 394 final.

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(17 June 2003)

Under its proposed reform of the common agricultural policy (CAP), which it presented to the Council and
Parliament in January 2003, the Commission is suggesting that specific aid for rice, under the support
regimes, should be granted to all rice producers, irrespective of their area of production.

C 58 E/82

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

6.3.2004

The planned reform will allow the Member States to subdivide their base area using objective criteria. In
that case, it will be up to them to decide whether to subdivide their base area so that the impact of any
reductions can differentiated by region of production.

In any case, agri-environmental aid may be granted over and above specific aid for rural development in
accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 on support for rural development from the
European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and amending and repealing certain
Regulations (1).

(1) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999.

(2004/C 58 E/099)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1633/03

by Mario Borghezio (NI) to the Commission

(15 May 2003)

Subject: Commemoration of Saint Mark of Aviano, symbol of European identity

Pope John Paul II has canonised the Capuchin priest Mark of Aviano, emphasising his prophetic mission as
a man of peace, and holding him up as a symbol of a common European cultural identity.

Can the Commission state what initiatives the EU intends to undertake, at a time when a Constitution
affirming Europe’s Christian cultural and spiritual roots is being prepared, to celebrate (together with Saint
Benedict, Patron Saint of Europe) Mark of Aviano, a great European, defender of Vienna and an
extraordinary man of peace?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(16 June 2003)

The notable merits of Marco d’Aviano unfortunately do not alter the fact that the Commission must
confine its work to its areas of competence, so no specific action to commemorate the life and testimony
of this Saint will be launched on the Commission’s own initiative. As a matter of record, Honourable
Members have drawn the attention of the Commission to the merits of individual Saints before, and the
Commission’s response has been the same. The Commission could draw the Honourable Member’s
attention for example to the reply given to question E-0559/93 by Mr Fernandez-Albor (1).

(1) OJ C 320, 26.11.1993.

(2004/C 58 E/100)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1638/03

by Bernard Poignant (PSE) to the Commission

(16 May 2003)

Subject: Combating marine pollution caused by the sinking of the ‘Prestige’

Southern Brittany is now having to deal with the problem of pellets of fuel oil from the ‘Prestige’, which
sank off the Galician coast over six months ago, being washed up along its shores. The hulk is still leaking
oil, and we now have proof that the decision to tow the ‘Prestige’ away from the Spanish coast helped
ensure more extensive and widespread pollution of the European coastline.