Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-01-19-Speech-4-014-000"
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"en.20120119.3.4-014-000"2
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"Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, first of all, also on behalf of Mr Cioloş, I would like to thank the rapporteur, Mr Bové, and the members of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) for the report, and I would like to thank those who submitted oral questions about imbalances in the food supply chain.
The report also refers to land prices and land rent as raised by Mr Bové in his speech. The writers of a study in 2010 attempted to identify the ratio between land prices and direct payments. The Commission is ready to carry out other studies that will give a better idea of the impact of farm rents and leases on agriculture input costs.
The last point I would like to discuss, also in response to the point raised by Mr Bové in his speech, before moving on to the other issues more closely linked to imbalances in the food supply chain, concerns energy and water. Improving the way enterprises use water is a win-win situation for all those involved. As well as allowing farmers to reduce their costs, it has a positive impact on the environment.
The second pillar of the CAP includes mechanisms for promoting the production of renewable energies inside and outside farms located in rural areas, the transformation of agricultural and forest biomass, and investments in rationalising the use of resources also as a means of saving energy. The measures provided for in this second pillar also offer many possibilities for optimising the management of water resources.
Honourable Members, the imbalances and abuses in the food supply chain are currently further aggravated by price volatility, a problem raised by the three oral questions which are subjects the Commission is focusing on in particular. Unfair commercial practices between companies can take place at all levels of the food supply chain. They are a threat to farmers, to small and medium-sized enterprises and their employees, and often also to consumers.
Therefore, what measures should we adopt? Until today, at European level, unfair commercial practices have mainly been tackled in the context of the relations between companies and consumers. As far as relations between companies are concerned, the EU has adopted measures against contractual terms and conditions and commercial practices that are clearly unfair due to delays in payments. The directive should become effective before the end of March 2013, but I recently wrote to all the ministers involved to invite them to anticipate the entry into force of this law, which is a practical application of the ‘Small Business Act’. We estimate, in fact, that this directive will help to inject around EUR 180 billion into the market.
There is also a directive on misleading and comparative advertising, which aims to guarantee proper practices and sets rules for the authorisation of comparative advertising. Along with the communication ‘Towards a Single Market Act’, the report on monitoring distribution, and following on from this Parliament’s own-initiative report adopted last July on a more efficient, fairer retail market – the Corazza Bildt report – the Commission has also scheduled the adoption of a communication on unfair commercial practices this year.
This text should clearly define the scope and breadth of the problem in retail sales and underline the fragmentary nature of national rules and their application. Madam President, I am sorry if my speech has been longer than expected, but there have been so many questions and they have been so complex; I will be much briefer in my response.
The Commission also consulted the interested parties to find out what their perception is in the ‘European Business Test Panel’, and is currently analysing the responses it received. Once we have evaluated the data we have collected, we will look at possible spheres of action for remedying the various problems we found.
Furthermore, this year, we plan to adopt a communication on the directive on misleading and comparative advertising. On a national level, some Member States have already adopted important tools to foster the management of commercial relations between companies, commercial law, policies for small and medium-sized enterprises, and laws and codes of conduct against unfair practices. The Commission has given the High-Level Forum for a better functioning of the food supply chain a mandate to work, among other things, on contractual relations between companies and on price transparency.
The representatives of the agricultural sector, industry, commerce and distribution recently came to an agreement about a document on vertical relations within the food supply chain and the principles of good practice, which proposes a common definition of fairness in relations between companies. The document also proposes guidelines for commercial relations between companies, accompanied by concrete examples of unfair and fair practices.
The prices of the means of agricultural production, of input costs, have reached record levels in recent years, although they have not been matched by a corresponding rise in the output prices of agricultural products. Despite the fact that the real prices of inputs rose by almost 18% between 2005 and 2011, agricultural prices have risen more slowly. Farm revenues also fell by more than 10% in 2009 as a result of the economic crisis, and only returned to pre-crisis levels in 2011.
However, the measures for applying these principles have not yet been evaluated, and therefore there is still an additional, delicate task to carry out. Based on the progress over the next few months, the Commission will make a decision as to whether to continue to encourage this consensual approach or, in the absence of a satisfactory agreement between the parties, it reserves the right to weigh up possible legislative action. At the moment, the Commission does not have a preferred option, and considers all alternatives valid, including the one suggested in the report by Mr Bové.
Finally, as already announced in the communication ‘A Better Functioning Food Supply Chain in Europe’, the Commission has put forward legislative proposals to improve the transparency of the raw materials derivative markets, including agricultural commodities. These proposals specifically concern over-the-counter derivatives, financial instruments markets and market abuse.
As you are well aware, the proposals are currently being debated by Parliament and the Council. Thank you for your attention, and I apologise once more to the President if my speech has been longer than planned.
Volatility in basic agricultural commodity prices is also increasingly reflected in farm revenues, and has accentuated farmers’ loss of negotiating power in the food supply chain. Farmers therefore have to deal with a growing number of difficulties relating to the rise in input costs, as well as to improving their environmental and agronomic efficiency.
What is AGRI doing to help farmers deal with these difficulties? Our work has concentrated on these problems, which are dealt with, on the one hand, within the framework of the proposals for reform of the common agricultural policy (CAP) presented in October, and, on the other, in the High-Level Forum for a better functioning of the food supply chain that we launched a year ago with Mr Cioloş, Mr Dalli and Mr Barnier.
The recent proposal for the CAP reform after 2013 introduces innovations aiming to increase cooperation between farmers and to clarify the scope of competition rules. The proposals also aim to facilitate the creation of producers’ organisations and associations, as well as of inter-professional organisations.
The mandatory recognition of producer organisations is a key element of the European Union. The Commission’s proposals also include cofinancing for their creation in all Member States, regardless of the type of farming, through the second pillar of rural development.
In addition, economies of scale will help sales by increasing the number of distribution channels and reducing risks and this, in turn, will also foster a better division of added value within the supply chain. Furthermore, our proposal with regard to contractual relations in the dairy industry aims to strengthen the position of dairy producers.
The issue of crop diversity, which was raised in the report, is also dealt with in the proposal for reform of the CAP as part of the commitment to help the environment. The European Innovation Partnership for agricultural productivity and sustainability and awards for innovative local cooperation in rural areas will help to promote innovative measures throughout the food supply chain. The partnership could include projects for rationalising the use of resources, precision agriculture and so on.
The CAP reform will also involve boosting the agricultural consultancy system, which will bring about better exchange of good practices and information campaigns targeting farmers and consumers. Another important topic is seeds, and an action plan is currently being developed as a follow-up to the legislation assessment carried out in 2010-2011 on the sale of seeds and reproduction materials. Adoption of a Commission proposal is scheduled for the third quarter of this year."@en1
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