WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1610/97 by José VALVERDE LÓPEZ to the Commission. New olive groves in EU Member States
C 45/58 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 10. 2. 98 The Council has given the Commission instructions to negotiate fisheries agreements with Namibia, South Africa and Mozambique but formal negotiations have not yet begun. There have, however, been contacts of a technical and exploratory nature with the authorities of these three countries. The Commission would note that, with regard to South Africa, the Council has insisted on a close link between the negotiation of a fishing agreement and a trade agreement. All the protocols to the fisheries agreements with Cape Verde, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, the Comoros Islands, Cote díIvoire, and Guinea-Bissau expire during 1997. The Commission intends to negotiate their renewal. An initial round of negotiations with Guinea-Bissau has already taken place and a second round is planned for the beginning of June. Negotiations with the other countries have not yet started but are expected to begin during the coming months before each protocol expires. The Community has held two rounds of negotiations with Venezuela, most recently in June 1996, but no negotiations have taken place with Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia or Uruguay. However, the Commission has met the authorities of those countries for exploratory talks. Following exploratory talks with New Zealand, the Commission has proposed negotiating instructions which are being discussed by the Council. A negotiating mandate permitting the Commission to negotiate fishing agreements with the United Kingdom on behalf of some of its overseas territories is under discussion in the Council. (98/C 45/69) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1610/97 by Jose· Valverde Lo·pez (PPE) to the Commission (7 May 1997) Subject: New olive groves in EU Member States In the current debate on the reform of the COM in olive oil, various points on which the Commission has yet to state its position require clarification. Among these points is the immediate future of new olive groves. How many hectares of olive trees have been planted in the last five years? Since there is no ban on planting new olive trees, does the Commission have any plans for increases in production quotas and hence in total funding? Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (13 June 1997) The latest information on new olive-tree plantings given by the Member States is as follows: › Greece: no new olive trees plantations have been established lately; however, Greece is currently rebuilding its damaged olive groves under the appropriate Community programmes; › Spain: around 166 000 hectares of new trees have been planted, which could produce around 50 000 tonnes in 2002; › France: old olive-trees are to be restructured, which could bring production up to an average of around 5 000 to 6 000 tonnes; › Italy: no significant increase in production levels is envisaged; › Portugal: the Portuguese authorities predict that average production will increase by around 10 000 tonnes by the year 2002 and by almost 50 000 tonnes in ten years’ time. Despite the average increase in production, the Commission does not plan to increase the support budget for this product