CELEX: 51990PC0687
Language: en
Date: 1991-02-20
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DECISION SETTING UP A PROGRAMME OF OPTIONS SPECIFIC TO THE REMOTE AND INSULAR NATURE OF MADEIRA AND THE AZORES ( POSEIMA )

No C 81/8                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                  26. 3. 91
                           Article 6                                                        Article 8
 Countries eligible shall be those that have concluded a          The Commission shall send to the European Parliament
 cooperation or association agreement with the                     and to the Council an annual progress report and an
 Community.                                                        appraisal report at the halfway stage and at the end of
                                                                   the five-year period.
                                                                                            Article 9
                           Article 7                              This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day
                                                                   following that of its publication in the Official Journal of
The financial incentives for the EC-IIP facility in the            the European Communities.
 context of cooperation arrangements shall take the form
 of outright grants, interest-free advances, equity holdings      This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and
 or equity loans.                                                 directly applicable in all Member States.
              Proposal for a Council Decision setting up a programme of options specific to the remote and
                                     insular nature of Madeira and the Azores (Poseima)
                                                         (91/C 81/08)
                                                      COM(90) 687 final
                                     (Submitted by the Commission on 20 December 1990)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                          Community institutions to devote special attention to the
                                                                  development policies of the two regions, 'the object of
                                                                  which is to overcome the handicaps of these regions,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European             which arise from their geographical situation, far away
Economic Community,                                               from the mainland of Europe, their physical geographical
                                                                  features, the serious deficiency of infrastructures and
                                                                  their economic backwardness';
Having regard to the Act of Accession of Spain and
Portugal,
                                                                  Whereas the European Parliament, in its resolution of 14
                                                                  April 1989 on Community programmes to help the
                                                                  Portuguese autonomous island regions (*), considered
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                that in view of their island status and highly peripheral
                                                                  situation the Azores and Madeira deserve special
                                                                  treatment from the Community;
Having regard to the opinion of the European
Parliament,
                                                                  Whereas the Azores and Madeira suffer from a serious
                                                                  structural lack of development aggravated by a number
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                  of constraints (remoteness, isolation, small size, difficult
Social Committee,                                                 terrain and climate) whose unchanging nature and
                                                                  combined impact have serious effects on their economic
                                                                  and social development and place them among the least-
Whereas the autonomous Portuguese regions of the                  favoured regions of the Community; whereas these
Azores and Madeira belong politically and economically            special constraints make it necessary to step up
to the Community by virtue of the Act of Accession,               Community support in order to ensure that the Azores
which did, however, recognize some of their specific              and Madeira are fully involved in the dynamic of the
characteristics by allowing various isolated exceptions in        internal market; whereas this Community support takes
the application of the common policies;                           the form of operations under the reformed Structural
                                                                  Funds (enjoying the priority given to the Objective 1
                                                                  regions), but must also ensure that the special constraints
Whereas the Member States, in a joint declaration
annexed to the Act of Accession, called on the                    0) OJ No C 120, 16. 5. 1989, p. 321.
 ---pagebreak---  26. 3. 91                            Official Journal of the European Communities                               No C 81/9
 affecting the Azores and Madeira are taken into account         those areas where the fragile nature of island territories
 in the application of common policies, in accordance            is particularly acute, such as transport, taxation, the
 with the Community approach to the remoter regions, of          social sector, research and development, or the
 which the adoption and implementation of the Poseidom           protection of the environment in view of the vulnerability
 programme for the French overseas departments is the            of the Azores and Madeira to the risks of environmental
 first practical example;                                        or natural disasters;
 Whereas an overall, multi-sector approach is necessary
 to allow for the special constraints on the Azores and          Whereas, with respect to taxation, the special charac-
 Madeira in the application of common policies; whereas          teristics of the Azores and Madeira can be catered for by
 a coherent line must be taken as part of an overall action      allowing special indirect taxation arrangements
 programme involving legislative measures and financial          compatible with the rules of the Treaty and capable of
 commitments;                                                    promoting their economic and social development;
 Whereas, for the purposes of implementing this                  Whereas it is important to provide regular transport links
 programme, the necessary legal acts will be adopted             at the lowest possible cost to alleviate the drawbacks of
 either by the Council or by the Commission, as appro-           remoteness and the island location; whereas air transport
 priate, before 31 December 1992; whereas the                    is an instrument of regional development and the most
 application of certain measures in this programme could         appropriate forms of greater liberalization should be
 extend beyond the process of completing the internal            worked out, notably under partnership arrangements;
 market, given the permanent constraints which are a
 particular feature of the Azores and Madeira;
                                                                Whereas the exceptional geographical situation of the
                                                                Azores and Madeira in relation to sources of supply for
 Whereas this programme must be based on the twofold            products used as inputs in certain food sectors, which are
 principle that the Azores and Madeira form an integral          essential for current consumption or processing in the
 part of the Community and that the regional reality             archipelago, entails costs that are a severe handicap for
 deriving from their particular geographical situation must     this area; whereas there is a need, in this connection, to
 be recognized;                                                 make special arrangements for the supply of these
                                                                products within the limits of market needs for the two
                                                                regions and taking account of local production and
                                                                traditional trade flows;
Whereas the measures contained in the programme must
 accordingly take into account the special characteristics
and constraints of the Azores and Madeira without
undermining the integrity and coherence of the
 Community legal order; whereas the economic effects of         Whereas the extreme remoteness of the Azores and
specific measures must therefore remain limited to the          Madeira in relation to sources of supply of refined
territory of the Azores and Madeira without affecting           petroleum products, coupled with the heavy reliance on
directly the functioning of the common market;                  these products to meet energy needs and the compart-
                                                                mentalization of the market, means that supply costs in
                                                                the Azores and Madeira are much higher than in
                                                                mainland Portugal; whereas these costs are at present
Whereas Community policies already provide many                 borne by the regional budgets, which limits corre-
instruments and programmes which could deal with                spondingly their capability for action to promote
some of the specific problems and constraints of the            economic and social development; whereas these higher
Azores and Madeira, notably concerning fisheries,               costs should be offset by temporary Community aid tied
energy, environment, the craft industry and research and        to the application by the two regions of incentive
development; whereas steps should be taken to put these         programmes to promote investment in energy saving and
instruments and programmes to best use in the Azores            the development of local, renewable energy sources to
and Madeira, especially by ensuring that they reach these       improve the energy supply and demand situation on the
remote regions and by developing appropriate technical          islands;
assistance measures;
                                                                Whereas free zones can be an appreciable instrument of
Whereas Community rules must take account of the                economic development in the remote island regions of
specific nature of the Azores and Madeira and permit            the Azores and Madeira; whereas customs measures may
their economic and social development, particularly in          be appropriate regarding the arrangements applicable to
 ---pagebreak---  No C 81/10                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                26. 3. 91
the free zones in the Azores and Madeira, in view of             Whereas Portugal and the region must take account of
their special geographical situation;                            the measures and operations under this programme in
                                                                 drafting future regional development plans; whereas the
                                                                  Commission, within the scope of its powers, will take
Whereas, in view of the dependence of the Azores and
                                                                 steps to ensure that this programme is consistent with the •
Madeira on the outside world for supplies of steel
                                                                 operations of the Structural Funds and other Community
products, it would be appropriate to take temporary
                                                                 financial instruments,
measures, to extend beyond 31 December 1992 the
provisions concerning the pricing of these products
contained in Article 376 of the Act of Accession;
                                                                 HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
Whereas the special production conditions in the Azores
and Madeira require that particular attention be paid to                                   Article 1
applying the common agricultural policy to this region;
whereas appropriate measures are needed to assist the             1. An action programme for Madeira and the Azores,
development of the fruit and vegetable and flowers and           known as Poseima (Programme of options specific to the
live plant sectors; whereas these measures will have to          remote and insular nature of Madeira and the Azores)
promote the growing of tropical products in particular;          and set out in the Annex, is hereby established. This
whereas special attention will have to be given to               programme shall cover legislative measures and financial
Madeira bananas in view of their crucial economic and            commitments.
social importance for the island and with due account
for aspects relating to ecological balance and the
countryside; whereas other market and structural                 2. Within the context of the powers conferred upon it
measures will be required to support local products,             by the Treaty, the Council shall adopt the provisions
especially for the milk sector in the Azores in view of the      necessary for the execution of this programme and invite
social importance for small producers;                           the Commission to submit the relevant proposals as soon
                                                                 as possible.
Whereas, in view of the considerable social importance
of maintaining craft activities in the two regions, specific                               Article 2
Community measures should be taken to fit in with those
already planned under the Community support                      The financial resources required to implement the
framework; whereas these measures should aim at                  measures relating to agricultural structures appearing in
promoting vocational training, access to new technology          this programme shall be determined in the annual
and the use of such technology, and access to new                budgetary procedures.
markets;
Whereas the preparation, implementation, monitoring                                        Article 3
and evaluation of the measures provided for in this              This Decision shall take effect on . . . 1991.
programme require a partnership between the
Commission and the competent national and regional
authorities; whereas this partnership must permit                                          Article 4
complementarity between the measures laid down in the
programme and those applied at national and regional             This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of
level;                                                           the European Communities.
 ---pagebreak--- 26. 3. 91                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                  No C 81/11
                                                               ANNEX
          PROGRAMME OF OPTIONS SPECIFIC TO THE REMOTE AND INSULAR NATURE OF
                                           MADEIRA AND THE AZORES (POSEIMA)
                                                               TITLE I
                                                          General principles
            1.    Poseima will be based on the twofold principle that Madeira and the Azores form an integral pan of
                 the Community and that the regional reality, characterized by the special features and constraints
                  specific to the regions concerned as distinct from the Community as a whole, must be recognized.
           2.    Implementation of the measures and operations set out in the Poseima programme will in principle be
                 carried out before 31 December 1992, through the adoption either by the Council or by the
                  Commission, as appropriate, of the necessary legal acts, in accordance with the provisions and
                 procedures laid down in the Treaty.
           3.1. The Poseima programme will help attain the general aims of the Treaty by contributing to the
                 achievement of the following specific objectives:
                 — better integration of Madeira and the Azores into the Community by establishing an appropriate
                     framework for the application of common policies in this area,
                 — the full involvement of the Azores and Madeira in the dynamic of the internal market by making
                     optimum use of existing Community regulations and instruments,
                 — assisting the Azores and Madeira to catch up economically and socially, principally through
                     Community financing of the specific measures contained in Poseima.
           3.2. The Member State and the regions concerned will take into account the specific measures and oper-
                 ations contained in Poseima when drawing up future regional development plans. Within the scope
                 of its powers, the Commission, for its part, will take steps to ensure that the operations conducted
                 under Poseima are consistent with the operations of the Structural Funds and other Community
                 financial instruments.
           3.3. The drafting, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the operations and measures contained
                 in Poseima will be carried out in partnership by the Commission and the competent national and
                 regional authorities. Efforts will be made to ensure that Poseima operations and those conducted at
                 national and regional levels complement each other as far as possible.
           4.   The measures and operations contained in Poseima should enable the specific nature and constraints
                 of the Azores and Madeira to be taken into account without undermining the integrity and
                 coherence of the Community legal order.
                                                              TITLE II
                                          Optimum use of existing policies and instruments
           5.   The Commission, in partnership with the Member State and the two regions concerned, and within
                the framework of the existing regulations, will endeavour to ensure that optimum use is made of
                existing Community instruments and programmes in the Azores and Madeira, in particular by
                developing appropriate technical assistance programmes.
                                                             TITLE III
                                    Application of common policies in the Azores and Madeira
          6.    Directives or other measures adopted in connection with the internal market and other common
                policies will have to take account of the special characteristics of the Azores and Madeira and make
                their economic and social development possible, particularly in the fields of transport and taxation,
                social matters, research and technological development (without prejudice to the Community
                framework programme on this topic), and protection of the environment.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 81/12                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                     26. 3. 91
           7.1. Due allowance will be made in the Community tax regulations for the special characteristics of the
                Azores and Madeira to admit an indirect taxation system specific to these regions, compatible with
                the rules of the Treaty and capable of promoting their economic and social development.
           7.2. As regards VAT this means maintaining special arrangements for the Azores and Madeira in
                 accordance with the Act of Accession.
           7.3. A special arrangement for excise duties on manufactured tobacco, spirits and other alcoholic
                beverages, and petroleum products after 31 December 1992 taking account of,the problems of
                extreme remoteness will have to be incorporated into the general framework of the Commission's
                proposals on excise duties.
           8.   The Community and the Member State will develop any actions designed to enable the many
                different Community airlines, particularly local airlines, to serve the Azores and Madeira in the
                 interests of their development.
                                                              TITLE IV
                         Specific measures to mitigate the effects of the exceptional geographical situation
           9.1. Within six months from the date on which this Decision takes effect, the Council or the Commission,
                as appropriate, will adopt the measures laid down in this article which are intended to alleviate the
                impact of the additional costs involved in maintaining supplies of agricultural products resulting from
                the remote and insular nature of the Azores and Madeira.
           9.2. In the case of essential agricultural products for consumption or processing in the two regions, this
                Community action will consist, within the limits of local market requirements and taking into
                account local production and traditional trade flows, in:
                — exempting from level and/or customs duties products originating in non-member countries,
                — permitting, in parallel and in competition with products from non-member countries and on equi-
                     valent terms, the supply of Community products taken into intervention storage or available on
                     the Community market.
                The principles underlying the application of this system will be as follows:
                — in order to ensure that these measures have an impact on the level of production costs and
                     consumer prices, a mechanism will have to be set up to monitor this impact up to the end-user
                     stage,
                — with respect to raw sugar supplies for the Azores, the system will be applicable until such time as
                     local production of sugar beet is sufficient to satisfy local market needs and as long as the total
                     volume of sugar refined in the Azores does not exceed 10 000 tonnes,
                — with respect to supplies of compound feedingstuffs in Madeira, the system will be applied tempo-
                     rarily pending an increase in capacity and the modernization of the industry producing these
                     feedingstuffs, subject to the limits of local market needs and taking account of local production.
                     This measure could be applied for three marketing years for the products coming under CN
                     codes 2309 90 31, 33, 41, 43, 51 and 53.
           9.3. In the Azores, for the purposes of genetic improvement, aid may be granted for the purchase of male
                breeding animals originating in the Community (beef breeds).
           9.4. In Madeira, specific measures will be necessary to develop livestock farming for local market needs:
                — aid for the purchase of breeding animals (cattle, pigs, chicks and hatching eggs) originating in the
                     Community,
 ---pagebreak--- 26. 3. 91                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                    No C 81/13
                  — on a temporary basis, limited to decreasing quantities pending the development of local
                      production, exemption from levies and/or customs duties for the purchase of cattle for fattening
                      originating in non-member countries; in the light of this exemption, aid for the supply of
                      Community products will be granted to facilitate the access of these products on equivalent
                      conditions. After four years of application of the system, the situation would be reviewed.
            9.5. For the production of liqueur wines in Madeira solely to satisfy local market needs, aid will be
                  provided for the purchase of rectified concentrated musts in the Community, pending the result of a
                  feasibility study on the construction of a wine alcohol distillery.
           10.1. In the course of 1991 specific Community aid to compensate for the extra cost of supplying oil to the
                  Azores and Madeira will be introduced for a three-year period on the terms laid down in paragraphs
                  10.2 to 10.5.
           10.2. The extra costs to be offset by this aid are those related to the transport by sea of petroleum products
                  between the mainland and the main depots on the islands of the Azores and Madeira, and between
                  the main depots and the secondary depots on the other islands.
           10.3. The reference year for the calculation of Community aid will be 1989: account will be taken only of
                  the costs of sea transport — and not of the cost of storage and distribution on the islands — on the
                  basis of the quantities of petroleum products actually transported in 1989, the average transport costs
                  by category of product in 1989 and the average ecu/escudo exchange rate in that year.
          10.4. Aid will be granted for three years from 1 January 1991 up to 31 December 1993. During these three
                 years, annual Community aid will remain constant and equal to the extra cost of supplies, as defined
                  above, in the reference year (1989).
          10.5. Community aid will be granted subject to the condition that over the same period the beneficiary
                 regions devote at least 50 % of the amount of Community aid to incentive programmes to promote
                 investment in energy saving and the development of local, renewable energy sources to improve the
                 situation of energy supply and demand on the islands. The regional authorities will present an annual
                 report to the Commission to enable it to monitor observance of this condition.
          11.    Inward processing operations carried out in the Azores and Madeira free zones will not be subject to
                 the economic conditions attaching to these arrangements.
          12.    The provisions concerning the pricing of steel products contained in Article 376 of the Act of
                 Accession will be extended for three years beyond 31 December 1992. During the year preceding the
                 expiry of this period the Commission will evaluate this measure and review the situation.
                                                              TITLE V
                                  Specific measures to support products of Madeira and the Azores
          13.    In view of the economic and social importance of bananas for Madeira and the objective of a fair
                 standard of living for producers, the Commission will, without waiting for the adoption of common
                 rules, decide on structural action to assist this sector. With a view to improving the conditions of
                 production and competition, such action will include measures concerning research, harvesting, pres-
                 entation and processing, transport, storage, marketing and commercial promotion.
                 The Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission, will lay down provisions for bananas before
                 31 December 1992 with a view to the completion of the single market.
          14.1. Within six months from the date on which this Decision takes effect the Council or the Commission,
                 as appropriate, will adopt the measures referred to in this Article.
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 81/14                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                          26. 3. 91
            14.2. Measures for the fruit and vegetable and live plants and flowers sectors in the Azores and Madeira
                  may take the form of:
                  — temporary aid per hectare for programmes of measures carried out by producers and producer
                     groups or organizations to diversify production and/or improve product quality; these
                     programmes should serve to develop tropical products in particular. The aid may be increased in
                     cases where the implementation of these programmes involves technial assistance measures,
                  — aid for the marketing of tropical products where the volume of trade does not exceed 3 000
                     tonnes for each product and for each of the two regions, under marketing season contracts
                     between producers in these regions and operators in other parts of the Community,
                  — the funding of an economic analysis and forward planning study of the processed fruit and
                     vegetable sector (particularly tropical fruit and vegetables).
            14.3. Other measures to help support and develop local production on Madeira may take the form of:
                  — specific aid per hectare for potato-growing, within the limits of the present areas under culti-
                     vation, irrespective of any measures which might be adopted in the context of a market organ-
                     ization for this product,
                  — as regards sugar cane:
                     — specific aid per hectare for producers and producer groups or organizations growing sugar
                         cane under a restructuring plan to be submitted by the Portuguese authorities. After five years
                         this aid may be granted solely to producer groups or organizations,
                     — aid for the direct processing of sugar cane into sugar syrup ('Mel de cana') or farm rum,
                         where a minimum price is paid to the cane-grower,
                  — specific aid for grapes to be used in the making of quality wines psr, to be granted to producers
                      and producer groups or organizations, subject to appropriate limits on the yield per hectare.
                      Quantities delivered for distillation will not be taken into account. After five years this aid will be
                      granted solely to producer groups or organizations,
                  — specific aid to support products of traditional stockfarming on Madeira and intended for local
                      consumption (fresh milk and fresh meat).
            14.4. Other measures to help support local production in the Azores may take the form of:
                  — in the case of sugar beet:
                     — flat-rate aid per hectare for the development of local production, subject to a limit on quan-
                          tities corresponding to production of 10 000 tonnes of sugar,
                      — specific aid for the processing of locally grown beet into white sugar, with a view to
                          stabilizing supply costs,
                  — specific aid per hectare for the growing of seed potatoes (subject to a maximum of 200 hectares)
                      and for the growing of chicory (subject to a maximum of 400 hectares),
                  — specific aid for the collection of tobacco and for the traditional local production of leaf tobacco,
                      subject to maximum guaranteed quantities,
                  — temporary aid per hectare for the growing of vines to produce quality wines psr, to be granted to
                      producers and producer groups or organizations pending the results of restructuring and subject
                      to a maximum of 1 700 hectares,
                  — specific aid designed to ensure the survival of traditional economic activities in the milk sector,
                  — specific additional aid for the fattening of adult male catde, within the limits of traditional levels
                      of production.
 ---pagebreak--- 26. 3. 91                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                     No C 81/15
          14.5. As regards animal and plant health, appropriate measures will be taken to safeguard Madeira and the
                Azores from certain harmful diseases and organisms against which they are not yet protected. A
                 Community financial contribution may also be made towards prevention or eradication programmes.
          14.6. To encourage agricultural producers in the Azores to supply high-quality products and to promote
                 the marketing of such products, the Community may finance the design and promotion of a logo for
                 each of these regions.
          14.7. Special exceptions may be made, on the basis of duly substantiated applications from the Portuguese
                 authorities, to provisions restricting or preventing the granting of certain types of structural aid to
                 reflect the special characteristics of agriculture in the Azores and Madeira, with due account being
                 taken of the measures already adopted to assist Portugal.
          14.8. New forms of structural assistance may also be envisaged within the framework of programmes to be
                 submitted by the Portuguese authorities:
                 (a) Madeira:
                      — aids to improve and diversify production and to improve product quality, particularly in the
                         case of wine, fruit and vegetables, flowers and live plants, animal products and forestry
                         products;
                 (b) the Azores:
                      — aids to improve and diversify production and to improve product quality, particularly in the
                         case of milk, animal products, fruit and vegetables, flowers and live plants, wine and forestry
                         products,
                     — aid to offset the additional cost of agricultural investments because of the need for protection
                         against natural disasters and, where production has been diversified, aid for the establishment
                         of a solidarity fund for the restoration of production potential damaged by natural disasters.
          15.1. Community measures will be introduced to assist small businesses in the Azores and Madeira in the
                fields of occupational training, access to new technology and the use of such technology, and access
                to new markets.
          15.2. Such projects must be selected, on the one hand, on a partnership basis in close collaboration with
                the regional and local authorities concerned and, on the other hand, be consistent with the schemes
                implemented by the Commission in other regions of the Community.
          15.3. The Commission and the Member State will introduce the necessary measures to improve the
                dissemination and accessibility of the programmes and networks available under the Community's
                enterprise policy, with a view to increasing the productivity of the craft sector in the Azores and
                Madeira and increasing their outlets on the Community market.
                                                              TITLE VI
                                                            Final provision
          16.   The Commission will report annually to the Council on progress in the implementation of the
                Poseima programme.