WRITTEN QUESTION E-0051/00 by Paulo Casaca (PSE) to the Commission. Cologne process: implementation of the Poseima programme in the smaller islands of the Azores.
24. 10. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 303 E/133 (2000/C 303 E/142) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0051/00 by Paulo Casaca (PSE) to the Commission (20 January 2000) Subject: Cologne process: implementation of the Poseima programme in the smaller islands of the Azores Supplementary subsidies for cattle farmers in the Azores have proved to be one of the most important instruments of the Poseima programme, considerably reducing the exodus from the countryside and, indeed, helping stem emigration from the Azores Autonomous Region. The smallest and remotest of the archipelagoís nine islands, however, face greater problems of distance, remoteness and size than do their larger neighbours. The effects of these factors are particularly glaring with regard to agriculture, resulting in lower producer prices and higher costs in terms of materials and input for milk and beef producers on the smaller islands. The highest milk price on the largest island, for example, is c. 25,5 cØntimos, while on the Ilha das Flores, the price of 3,7 % fat content milk is 18,4 cØntimos. The seven smaller islands account for 18 % of the archipelagoís total dairy herd. Does the Commission not think that the Poseima programme should be adjusted for these islands, and the existing agricultural subsidies increased? (2000/C 303 E/143) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0052/00 by Paulo Casaca (PSE) to the Commission (20 January 2000) Subject: Tobacco cultivation in the Azores and revision of the Poseima programme The Commission, via Commission Regulation (EC) No 2848/98 (1), has regulated the conditions for redeeming the tobacco quota defined in Regulation (EEC) No 2075/92 (2). The Commissionís rules make no explicit reference of any kind to the circumstances of the most remote regions, including those of the Autonomous Region of the Azores. In the Azores, there are virtually no producers of tobacco alone, as a rotation system prevails. The basic agricultural infrastructures, like those for curing, are owned and managed by local undertakings, which purchase and process Azorean tobacco. The application of occasionally reaches the quota on the rotation system is entitled to full compensation. the Commissionís rules on redeeming quotas can mean that a producer who In addition, the continued operation of the system of redeeming quotas in the Azores is seriously jeopardising the future existence of tobacco production there. Tobacco production is only possible if buyers exist, and buyers will only continue to purchase tobacco from farmers and retain ownership of the primary processing apparatus for tobacco leaf (e. g. for curing) if there is a certain minimum production level. Otherwise, the buyers will lose their viability, and with them will disappear the entire tobacco production sector. In these circumstances, does the Commission not consider that the rules on tobacco should be included among the regulations which need to be adapted in the wake of the Cologne process? (1) OJ L 358, 31. 12. 1998, p. 17. (2) OJ L 215, 30. 7. 1992, p. 70