WRITTEN QUESTION E-0545/04 by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. CAP: consequences of the distribution of the reduction in income in agriculture and financing of techniques which promote animal welfare or are environmentally sound for use on small farms.
Date: 2004-02-26
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU financing, animal welfare, common agricultural policy, environmental protection, farm income, smallholding, support policy

C 78 E/956

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

(2004/C 78 E/1012)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0544/04

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(26 February 2004)

Subject: CAP: intended change in the ratio between payments to large and small farms, a ceiling for aid per

farm and limiting the damage caused to third countries

the Common Agricultural Policy proposed by the Commission are
1. When the reforms of
implemented, what impact does the Commission expect them to have on the ratio between payments to
large and small farms: will it remain unaltered or will it change? What impact does the Commission intend
the reforms to have in this respect?

2.
Apart from the changes which the Commission has already proposed, does it consider additional
measures necessary to prevent further emigration from rural to urban areas, which would ultimately cut
agricultural production for the EU’s internal market?

3. Will the Commission work towards a subsidy model which safeguards the interests of small farmers
better than at present, for example by setting a limit (cid:1) e.g. EUR 30 000 (cid:1) for financial aid to a single
farm?

4. When weighing up the shape which the reform of the CAP should ultimately take, will
the
Commission also bear in mind the impact on small farmers in other parts of the world, particularly their
uncertainty regarding the supply of food and industrial raw materials for the internal market in the Third
World due to market-distorting, relatively cheap imports of farm surpluses from EU Member States?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(22 March 2004)

The Commission is collecting the information it needs to answer the question. It will communicate its
findings as soon as possible.

(2004/C 78 E/1013)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0545/04

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(26 February 2004)

Subject: CAP: consequences of the distribution of the reduction in income in agriculture and financing of

techniques which promote animal welfare or are environmentally sound for use on small farms

1.
Is the Commission aware of the report commissioned by the Netherlands Minister of Agriculture,
Nature Management and Fisheries and submitted on 1 April 2003 by the Agricultural Economics Research
Institute (LEI) which analyses the impact of the Commission’s reform proposals on developments in
agriculture and particularly on farm incomes, and which indicates in particular that in the Netherlands the
areas under cereals and fodder maize will decline substantially while cultivation of potatoes and vegetables
will increase, the area of pastureland will increase by 5 % and family incomes will fall by 28,4 % from their
present level of approximately EUR 30 000, the largest fall being 49 % in dairy farming?

2.
How is this decline in income likely to work out for the EU as a whole in the categories less than
25 ha, 25-50 ha, 50-75 ha, 75-100 ha, 100-500 ha, 500-1 000 ha and more than 1 000 ha, broken down
in percentages by type of farm in arable farming and livestock farming?

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/957

In the reform plans, the Commission rightly intends to emphasise farming which promotes animal
3.
welfare and is environmentally sound, as an additional condition for payment of subsidies. How will the
Commission ensure that this emphasis does not result in the most subsidies going to large farms which
have greater resources by means of which to apply new and expensive techniques, while smaller farms
which have already opted to adopt organic cultivation methods unaided are placed at a disadvantage?

4.
Small farms in the new Member States which currently operate without new environmentally friendly
techniques are particularly likely to find themselves at a disadvantage as regards the share they receive of
grants to help finance desirable technical innovations. What will the Commission do to prevent this?

In view of the anticipated unintended effects, will the Commission amend elements of its reform

5.
plans?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(22 March 2004)

The Commission is collecting the information it needs to answer the question. It will communicate its
findings as soon as possible.

(2004/C 78 E/1014)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0616/04

by Klaus Hänsch (PSE) to the Commission

(1 March 2004)

Subject: Allocation of EU resources

As regards the allocation of EU resources to the district (Kreis) of Mettmann and the cities of Duisburg,
Düsseldorf, Neuss, Remscheid, Solingen and Wuppertal (in North Rhine-Westphalia), will the Commission
give:

1. The total amount and breakdown of EU structural resources received under the individual funds and

the various Community programmes and initiatives?

2. The amount of EU resources allocated since 1999 under other budgetary headings for pilot projects or
(cid:1) as direct aid (cid:1) to universities, research establishments, enterprises and other bodies in the above-
mentioned cities and the district of Mettmann?

3. The number of jobs created or maintained by means of this assistance?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(4 March 2004)

The Commission is collecting the information it needs to answer the question. It will communicate its
findings as soon as possible.