PURPOSE : to adopt specific measures for certain agricultural products for the Azores and Madeira.
CONTENT : this draft Regulation follows the implementation since 1992 of the agricultural sections of the POSEI programmes in the Azores and Madeira which was stated in the communication adopted by the Commission in 2000, together with proposals to amend Council Regulations where justified.
With regard to the agricultural sector of the POSEI programmes, the Council adopted programmes for options specific to the remote and insular nature of certain Community regions (POSEI), in 1991 for the Azores and Madeira.
The Common Agricultural Policy applies fully to the agricultural production of the most remote regions through the common organisations of the market and a substantial package of agricultural measures under Council Regulations 3763/91/EEC (POSEIDOM), 1600/92/EEC (POSEIMA) and 1601/92/EEC (POSEICAN), the goal of which is to adapt the common policies to take account of the specific conditions of those regions.
The Agricultural section of the POSEI programmes addresses the permanent handicaps (difficult terrain, particular climate, distance, small size holdings) and specific constraints (lack of economies of scale, dependency, very high production costs). It is financed by the EAGGF Guarantee Section (around EUR 200 million/year) and provides, in particular for two types of measure: specific supply arrangements and specific measures to assist local agricultural production. It also includes derogations from veterinary, plant health and structural measures, as well as a graphic symbol.
This proposal for a regulation is a recasting of the arrangement currently in force. As in the past, all derogations are to be grouped together in a single regulation for each region. This proposed regulation therefore contains a Title IV dealing with the structural derogations.
That Title contains a provision with wording which is identical to that used in the proposal submitted to the Council for a regulation amending the three abovementioned Regulations. Adoption of the structural derogations is a matter of some urgency because of the deadlines for effective implementation of the programming structural measures. It is therefore essential to propose that the Council adopt these derogations in a preliminary regulation amending the current arrangements, and to include these amendments subsequently in the recasting of the regulations introducing specific measures for certain agricultural products in the Azores and Madeira.
Lastly, Portugal shall present to the Commission an annual report on the implementation of the measures provided for in the Regulation. At the end of the fifth year of application of the system the Commission shall submit to Parliament and the Council a general report showing the impact of the action taken under this Regulation. �