WRITTEN QUESTION E-2161/03 by Glenys Kinnock (PSE) to the Commission. Support for accession and ACP countries.
Date: 2003-06-30
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: ACP countries, EU financing, European Development Fund, European standard, accession to the European Union, agro-industry, cooperation policy, food safety, health legislation, plant health legislation, veterinary legislation

C 88 E/388

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

8.4.2004

(2004/C 88 E/0394)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2161/03

by Glenys Kinnock (PSE) to the Commission

(30 June 2003)

Subject: Support for accession and ACP countries

The Commission will be aware that several accession countries (Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech
Republic) urgently need to upgrade agri-food establishments in order to meet EU standards on animal,
public and plant health, and that there is a threat of closure to firms which cannot meet the required food
safety standards. Would the Commission confirm, with figures, that much-needed assistance is being given
to help these countries in their efforts to meet EU standards?

Furthermore, would the Commission offer a clear indication, with figures, of how this compares to the
resources being made available to ACP countries which face even more of a challenge at this time if they
are to benefit from greater access to EU markets?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(5 September 2003)

EU assistance to Candidate Countries

The Commission is well aware that the Accession Countries need to upgrade agri-food establishments in
order to meet Union standards on animal, public and plant health. The pre-accession instruments, and in
particular the Sapard Programme, have as one of their key objectives to help address these concerns. The
Sapard programme provides annually EUR 560 million to the ten beneficiary countries, including Hungary,
Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. On average, 48 % of this amount is allocated to the measures
concerning investments in agricultural holdings (22 %) and investments in processing and marketing of
agricultural and fishery products (26 %). In the individual programmes, emphasis is put on investments in
upgrading the enterprises in these sectors to meet Union standards.

These issues are addressed in more detail in the Sapard Annual Report 2000, Report from the Commission
to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the
Regions (1), in particular pages 23-25, and in Annex 4 thereof.

In addition, Phare funds can be used in full complementarity with Sapard for the purpose of improving
structures for quality, veterinary and plant health controls, for food quality and for consumer protection,
including Border Inspection Posts. The bulk of investments in the public sector, aimed at ensuring
compliance with the ‘acquis’, is expected to be supported by Phare and not Sapard, as the latter only
supports smaller actions (less than EUR 2 million) at local level. A table listing the amounts in euros spent
in Phare-projects in the area of food safety and upgrading of agri-food establishments is in Annex 1 and is
sent direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament’s Secretariat.

Community assistance to African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States

The Commission’s co-operation programmes with the ACP States take into account the problems related
to the upgrading of agri-food establishments for the export industry of ACP States to the European market.
Furthermore, they also relate in a wider perspective with all the problems linked to agriculture exports into
the Community market from ACP States, like sanitation legislation, organisation of the producers and
export/importers, etc.

The possibility for the European Development Fund (EDF)
to fund quickly responsive projects is
nevertheless limited by the fact that ACP/EU Co-operation Programmes are discussed and agreed upon
with the beneficiary country/region on a partnership basis and enter into the Cotonou Partnership
programmation cycle.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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In the field of plant protection for agriculture export crops, the Commission has worked in close
collaboration with its partner countries/regions in three main directions (see details in Annex 2, sent direct
to the Honourable Member and to Parliament’s Secretariat).

In the field of animal sanitation the main areas of the Commission’s interventions have been in the fishery
products’ sanitation and in combating cattle diseases (see details in Annex 3, sent direct to the Honourable
Member and to Parliament’s Secretariat).

The Commission, in response to the new ‘Food and Feed Controls’ Regulation (currently before the Council
and Parliament under the co-decision procedure), is launching a feasibility study to assess the impact of the
new Regulation and to define the ways to support the ACP States in the most cost-effective and sustainable
way. Moreover, the forthcoming mid-term reviews of the ACP State and regional strategies will provide an
opportunity to assess whether more resources should be devoted to meeting Union standards of plant and
animal health, within the available resources of the EDF.

(1) COM(2001) 341 final.

(2004/C 88 E/0395)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2177/03

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(30 June 2003)

Subject: Procurement

Will the Commission update its estimates of the proportion of the annual value of public contracts (cid:1)
broken down by capital and current spending (cid:1) that are let to non-resident companies in each Member
State?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(4 August 2003)

In reply to the earlier written question E-0563/03 from the Honourable Member on public
procurement (1), the Commission provided estimates of the value of direct and indirect intra-Community
imports as a percentage of total procurement in 1998, provided by a business survey.

It also indicated that it was pursuing the possibility of incorporating this survey within the framework of
the structural business statistics programme carried out by Eurostat together with the Member States’
statistical
institutes have not proved willing to incorporate such a
survey within this programme and the Commission is not so far in a position to update these estimates.

institutes. Member States’ statistical

All the evidence suggests that within the Union public procurement market the number and value of direct
imports, or public contracts let to non-resident companies, remains low, at a comparable level with earlier
figures. Current work being undertaken for the Commission should provide some new data regarding cross
border activity, prices, and the participation of small and mediu- sized enterprises in public procurement
markets. For example, initial results of a recent pilot panel study of both suppliers to public authorities and
public authorities themselves, undertaken for the Commission, suggests that indirect imports now account
for an increased amount of overall public procurement at around 14 %. If confirmed, this would be a
marked increase over the estimate of 8,5 % in 1998.