Brussels, 21/10/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 20 October in Strasbourg, the European Parliament voted in favour of Danuta Hübna's report (EPP, Poland) on reducing excise taxes in the autonomous regions of Madera and Azores on rum, liqueurs and eaux de vie produced and consumed on these territories (579 votes for, 13 against, with 12 abstentions). In so doing, Parliament approves the “extremely technical” position of the European Commission and calls on the Council to state whether it is significantly at odds with the text approved by the EP. It calls on the Council to inform the EP about its position in this connection and to consult it further.
Parliament points out that by way of two requests dated 16 and 20 June 2008 respectively, Portugal asked for an extension to the authorisation accorded the country in decision 2002/167/EC of the Council on 18 February 2002, which applies reduced excise taxes in Madeira and the Azores for the products mentioned above. Parliament notes that a similar derogation applies to the production of traditional rum produced in French overseas departments, as well as in the Canaries.
In its statement of reasons, the European Commission informed the EP that: - the sector employs around 130 people at a local level in Madeira and around 90 in the Azores; - in Madera, sugar cane and fruit cultivation and processing provides jobs to around one thousand family-based farms; - in 2007, market share for products benefiting from reduced excise taxes was lower than that for similar imported or delivered products from the rest of the Community which therefore constitute powerful competition (20.3% for Madeira and 38,9% for the Azores); - the main handicaps suffered by rum, liqueurs or eaux de vie producers are linked to the surcharges caused by their remoteness, island make-up, low surface area, land and difficult climate conditions; - agricultural based raw materials (sugar cane, fruit, plants, honey, milk, various wines) are dearer than those produced in normal conditions; - the Azores has a two-fold island make up because its islands are spread out over 600 km, which leads to additional surcharges linked to inter-island transport.
The Commission has stated to the EP that in connection with the impact analysis, the economic impact of the proposal is mainly linked to rum and liqueur producers in Madeira and eaux de vie producers in the Azores, and is likely to be minimal. The Commission states that although producers have recently lost excise duty reduction benefits, the corresponding increase in wholesale prices could endanger the livelihoods and survival of the economic sectors concerned, as well as jobs directly and indirectly connected to these sectors. (G.B./transl.rh)