Brussels, 23/06/2010 (Agence Europe) - On 21 June, Stéphane Le Foll welcomed the first changes to the draft implementing regulation on the arrangements for calculating operational funds in the fruit and vegetable sector, made by the European Commission last week. The operational fund is a financial instrument which allows producer organisations in the fruit and veg sector to receive support from the EU agricultural budget. “After putting pressure on the Commission, the European Parliament has succeeded in getting two major changes from the fruit and vegetable management committee: firstly, the new measures for calculating support will not be retroactive, meaning that producer organisations' projects will not be compromised; secondly, promotion of the value of vacuum-packed fresh produce, which for a time was rejected, has ultimately been retained,” the MEP says in a press release.
“The battle has not yet been won, however,” he said. The percentages to be used for calculating aid for producer organisations will satisfy neither these organisations nor their competitors in private industries. “We have doubts, then, about the reliability of the figures used by the Commission. This point is very important, because as well as affecting aid to producer organisations, the method of calculation will also have an impact on the price of raw materials bought from producers,” he said. (L.C./transl.rt)