Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-04-07-Speech-4-091-000"
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"en.20110407.5.4-091-000"2
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"Mr President, if you will allow me, I will start with some figures because they were referred to by several speakers in their statements. I will use the Comext data for this.
EU imports of tomatoes from Morocco grew from 185 000 tonnes in the 1999-2000 season to 295 000 tonnes in 2009-2010, following the normal trend of fresh fruit and vegetable imports from all over the world. At the same time, total additional EU imports of tomatoes increased from 242 000 tonnes to 493 000 tonnes. I have to underline that Morocco’s share of total EU imports actually decreased from 76% to 59%. EU tomato production varies between 16 and 18 million tonnes per year, of which 6.5 to 7.5 million tonnes are destined for the fresh market. I think that it is very good to bear these figures in mind so that we can keep this discussion and the size of the problem in proportion.
Regarding the new agreement with Morocco, we in the Commission believe that it is modest and balanced. If it is adopted, the Commission will, of course, ensure that all its conditions and rules are fully respected. Additional quantities under the tariff rate quota will be kept below the traditional average of supplies to the EU. The current average annual level is 300 000 tonnes. With an additional 52 000 tonnes, there will be 285 000 tonnes within the tariff rate quota, so there will still be scope for 15 000 tonnes of imports under the usual
regime.
Turning to another problem raised, namely, the claim that we failed to act, I really cannot accept that because we did not find any systemic failure in the system. There was one case that was also presented here today in which OLAF investigated the problem and referred the whole file with the findings to the French court, which did not support the full extent of OLAF’s findings, but nevertheless, the partial recovery of unpaid duties has started.
I would also like to assure this House that, regarding control of phytosanitary standards, the Commission is assuring the highest possible control and the highest possible level of standards for every import of fresh fruit and vegetables to the European Union. At the same time, I have to say that I understand the vigilance of the Members of the European Parliament and the vigilance of the agricultural sector on these very pertinent issues. I would like to assure them that, if the organisations have concrete evidence of fraud, they are invited to bring this to the attention of the Commission, which will carefully analyse it and take appropriate action if needed."@en1
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