The Committee
on Agriculture and Rural Development adopted by a large majority the report
drafted by Katerina BATZELI (PES, EL) on the proposal for a Council
regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 318/2006 on the common organisation of
the markets in the sugar sector. It adopted a number of amendments designed
chiefly to increase the compensation to producers and to the regions. The
main amendments are as follows:
- if a linear
reduction of national quotas is needed in 2010, the Agriculture
Committee believes this should be carried out in two stages. The
first stage should concern only Member States or undertakings which, for
2008/09, would not have made a voluntary renunciation or would have
renounced less than 13.5% of their quota. In a second stage, the
formula proposed by the Commission would be used, although the Committee
states that returned quotas for 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 should be
excluded, since they have already benefited from the backdated increase
in the structural premium;
- during the
first two marketing years (2006/2007 and 2007/2008) the Committee stated
that some Member States had sought to use the provisions of Article 11 in order to obstruct those undertakings which declared themselves prepared to take part in the
restructuring regime, and accordingly, it inserted a clause aimed at
ensuring that this would not continue;
- given the
full implementation and entry into force from 2010 of the 'Everything
But Arms' initiative (which will allow developing countries to export
sugar duty-free to the EU), MEPs believe it is essential to extend up to
2015 the application of the scheme allowing preventive withdrawal of a
part of production if there is a surplus on the European market;
- in addition,
the Committee wants the Commission to take any decision on withdrawals
for 2008/09 by 4 February 2008 (instead of 16 March, as in other years)
so that beet growers can act accordingly before the sowing season;
- restructuring
should be stimulated by making it easier to deduct withdrawals from the
final cut, so that undertakings which renounce a percentage of their
quota in excess of the percentage applied to their Member State when the
cut is made, benefit from their voluntary decision. A new provision
states that, during the2008/2009 marketing year, if a Member State
renounces a percentage of the quota in excess of the withdrawal
percentage set on 16 March 2007 in Article 1(1) or Article 1(2) of Regulation EC No 290/2007, the quota tonnage corresponding to the difference
between the percentage renounced in 2008/2009 and the percentage of
withdrawal shall be deducted in full from the final cut. Within a Member State, this provision shall apply in the same way to the benefit of undertakings which
have renounced a percentage of their quota in excess of the withdrawal
percentage set on 16 March 2007 in Article 1(1) or Article 1(2) of Regulation (EC) No 290/2007 for their Member State.
Lastly, it
should be noted that this report is closely linked to the report on the
proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 320/2006
establishing a temporary scheme for the restructuring of the sugar industry
in the Community (CNS/2007/0085).