Brussels, 21/12/2000 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday, the European Commission adopted a report on "the quality strategy for olive oil" and a proposal aimed at prolonging, by two marketing years, the current aid regime for olive oil which should normally expire on 31 October 2001. The Commission chose this path because it considers that not all Member States have met some of the essential conditions for a reform, notably regarding the collection of reliable data concerning the production of olive oil and the number of olive groves. In its report, the Commission places emphasis on Member States setting up the Geographic Information System (GIS) which is essential for showing olive groves declared by producers on aerial photographs, and to proceed with a precise count of the groves. In 2002, on a commission proposal, the Council should decide on the new shape to give the market organisation from 1 November 2003. Any aid granted after that date will be dependent on the existence of a GIS.
The proposal for a regulation, which aims to prolong the current system for two years, also provides for:
A new classification for olive oil: the Commission proposes reducing the acidity of several categories of olive oil. The denomination "extra virgin" shall be reserved to the best of the oils. It has therefore, proposed reducing the acidity of "extra virgin" oil from the current 1 to 0.8.
A clear label for consumers: the mandatory use of the designation "olive oil" for blends of refined olive oil and virgin olive oil has proved to be a problem, because it both misleads consumers to the detriment of oils coming directly from olives and alleviates efforts by the producers to offer the highest quality. One of the following indications has to be indicated on the label: - extra virgin olive oil; - virgin olive oil; - standard olive oil; - olive-pomace oil.
Support for the creation of operators' organisations. To pursue a pro-active quality policy, the proposal provides for the establishment of operators' organisations. For this, the Commission will specify the conditions under which operators' organisations and their programmes of activities will be eligible for co-financing by the EU. On that basis, operators will be able to organise themselves and prepare work programmes for selection by Member States. They will be able to set aside a limited portion of aid intended for olive oil producers to co-finance the work programmes drawn up by approved operators' organisations. The new aid scheme is proposed to be in force from November 2003.