Brussel, 15/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission decided on Thursday 15 January to open a public consultation, which will run until 5 May, on new draft guidelines on EU rules on cartels and abuses of dominant position in the agricultural sector.
The new EU agricultural policy introduces a specific competition regime for certain agricultural products. In particular, the reform allows producers jointly to commercialise olive oil, beef and veal livestock and arable crops via producer organisations or associations of producer organisations, provided that: - such organisations should make farmers significantly more efficient by providing supporting services, such as storage, distribution or transport services; - the quantity marketed by the organisation does not exceed certain thresholds.
The Commission is providing guidance on how these new rules can be best used to boost investment and growth, while maintaining a level playing field for all operators in the single market. The draft guidelines set out: - examples of how producer organisations can provide services that generate significant efficiencies for farmers; - guidance on how to check that the volumes marketed by producer organisations do not exceed certain production volume limits; - an indication of the situations in which competition authorities may apply a safeguard clause and have joint commercialisation contracts by a producer organisation re-opened or cancelled. (LC)