Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-07-02-Speech-1-065"
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"en.20010702.7.1-065"2
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"Thank you very much, Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen. I should like, first of all, to thank the Commission for its brief statement. I am sorry that the Commissioner responsible is not here, but I am very grateful to you, Mr Byrne, for joining us here today.
Lastly, a more detailed study would also need to be undertaken of other aspects, such as the regulation of citrus fruits, measures for specific products affected by international competition and the standardisation of trade with third countries.
In broad terms, these are the concerns of the Group of the European People’s Party and of a southern country, about the COM. Thank you very much, Commissioner, for joining us today.
I can only regret the fact, however, that you limited yourself simply to making a statement of good intentions and to thanking Parliament, without actually going into the problems or proposing any potential solutions.
A year has passed since the Council instructed the Commission to undertake a specific study of the situation in the fruit and vegetable sector, which is currently suffering more than any other, in a report on the workings of the COM in fruit and vegetables. In order to prevent disruption to support for this sector, an extension was approved for the improvement plans for the year 2000. We have now reached a point where, in 2001, this extension is coming to an end and the situation is creating considerable uncertainty in the sector, which risks causing farmers to abandon their land despite the gains that have been made as a result of the improvement plans.
This problem requires a decision, which can be implemented immediately by setting in motion support mechanisms replacing the current improvement plans as these come to an end.
The nut sector is of great social and environmental importance to the European Union, and to the southern countries such as Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal and France, because these countries have many small farms that create a great number of jobs and which also have a considerable and direct influence on the environment.
Parliament has declared itself to be in favour of seeking a definitive solution for this sector, within the framework of the COM in fruit and vegetables. What we need now, Commissioner, is for the Presidency and the Commission to speed up their work on finding a definitive solution for the nut sector in the European Union within the framework of the COM in fruit and vegetables and, until then, to extend the improvement plans.
With regard to the other problems of this COM and to those discussed in the report, I think that we need to support producers’ organisations and strengthen the instruments that the COM places at their disposal, especially the operational funds.
We would also want to encourage links and mergers between producers’ organisations and to see operational funds belonging to producers’ organisations that have merged – or the actions carried out jointly by various organisations – financed at a rate of 70% instead of the current 50%. They would therefore receive the same treatment that the current regulations give to actions undertaken within the industry or between trade organisations.
I also feel that there needs to be a revision of the regulations in this field, in order to harmonise funding with operational funds or through rural development funds, with the sole proviso that adequate control mechanisms are put in place in order to ensure that funding is not given twice. This is creating distortions in the sector’s financing."@en1
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