Strasbourg, 24/05/2007 (Agence Europe) - Meeting in Strasbourg on Thursday 24 May, the European Parliament approved, with a few adjustments, the proposal merging 21 existing common market organisations (CMOs) into a single regulation. With the adoption by a large majority (468 for, 14 against and 64 abstentions) of the report by Niels Busk (ALDE, DK), the EP is opposed to the European Commission's wish that this decision should be solely “an act of technical simplification” and that reforms on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) be introduced through the back door.
The European Parliament voted on amendments intended to avoid the abolition, advocated by the Commission, of the public intervention scheme for the pig meat sector. The Commission considers that such aid should no longer exist as the intervention scheme has not been used for 30 years in the pig meat sector. The rapporteur considers that “in so doing”, the Commission “is adventuring onto political ground”. The EP therefore keeps this market management tool that could still be used in the future. With its vote, the EP also ensures that CMOs being negotiated in Council (fruit and vegetables and wine) will not be integrated into the single regulation until after the reforms have had results. The Commission also suggests only foreseeing a single management committee. MEPs above all fear that there will be a loss of quality in the sector-specific expertise required. From now on, the EP will keep four management committees: one for meat, one for dairy products, one for vegetables and one for perennial root-propagated crops. Also, the EP states that the Commission must use procedures and sufficient financing to ensure that experts designated by member states have a high level of competence.
Transfer of competence: For provisions of a solely technical character, the EP agrees to transfer regulatory competence to the Commission. Nonetheless, the EP leaves it up to the Council to enact on the system for carcass classification (beef meat for large bovines, pig meat and sheep- and goat meat). In this context, it also maintains the obligation of issuing import certificates for cereals, sugar, rice, flax and hemp, milk, beef meat and olive oil (with certain possible exemptions, under certain conditions, in the cereals, sugar and rice sectors). According to MEPs, the presence of an import certificate is a key element for ensuring follow-up of agricultural markets and giving effectiveness to Community preference.
Furthermore, the EP clarifies the provisions on contractual relations between sugar beet buyers and sellers. Finally, it refers to the organisations of an “inter-professional nature” rather than to just “inter-professional organisations”, in order to guarantee that all European sector-specific bodies are taken into account, whatever their denomination and status. (lc)