Brussels, 25/08/2004 (Agence Europe) - On 10 August, the European Commission tabled a report on simplification for the fruit and vegetable market. The report describes the great efforts made by the Commission in 2003 and 2004 to improve the fruit and vegetable aid scheme in line with the requests made by the Council in 2002 under the Spanish presidency. It also reveals that the Commission is open to an in-depth debate on the future of the fruit and vegetable market.
The Commission includes a list of open questions for Member States, such as whether there is a need to reform the basics of the CMO (common market organisation) and how to simplify the functioning of the CMO for producer organisations. Other questions concern improving the organisation of supply in the new Member States, managing crises better and whether to hold an in-depth review of processed products and the citrus sector.
Depending on the outcome of this debate, "the report could be followed by legislative proposal in due course" notes the Commission, adding that it will soon be publishing a working document on statistics (supply and demand and trade in both the EU and the world, how production is structured and the revenue situation across the EU), implementing one of the CMO pillars, namely producer organisations and operating funds for these organisations, and the budget questions that have arisen in recent years.