WRITTEN QUESTION E-1224/00 by Antonios Trakatellis (PPE-DE) and Ioannis Averoff (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Commission decision to recover illegal aid payments from the Greek Cotton Board.
C 53 E/106 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 20. 2. 2001 (2001/C 53 E/136) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1224/00 by Antonios Trakatellis (PPE-DE) and Ioannis Averoff (PPE-DE) to the Commission (14 April 2000) Subject: Commission decision to recover illegal aid payments from the Greek Cotton Board By Commission decision of July 1999, published in the Official Journal of the European Communities on 10 March 2000 (1), Greece is required to recover the aid received by Greek cotton-growers by way of compulsory contributions collected from 1992 to the present time by the Greek Cotton Board. This aid was financed by parafiscal charges unduly imposed on products imported from other Member States of the European Union, amounting to 1 % of the price of ginned cotton. 1. As the notification of the Commissionís decision makes no reference to the total sum of the aid concerned, will the Commission state the amount of the illegal aid together with interest which Greece must recover from cotton-growers? Could Greece, in agreement with the Commission, have taken measures to ensure that aid for 2. technical assistance, dissemination of know-how, training and research did not contravene the common market rules and were consistent with the rules on State aid? 3. Why did the Commission delay taking its decision for so long, despite the fact that Greece did not invoke the exemptions from application of the rules on State aid provided in Article 87(3) of the EC Treaty such as áaid to facilitate the development of certain economic areasí so that such aid could be considered to be consistent with the common market? (1) OJ L 63, 10. 3. 2000, p. 27. Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (31 May 2000) 1. A brief communication by the Greek authorities dated 21 March 2000 put the total amount of levies paid to the Greek cotton organisation under Article 30(3) of Law No 2040/92 between 1992 and 1998 at GRD 366,3 million. The final Commission Decision requires interest on this amount to be calculated as from the date of the levies. 2. Although the state aid measures referred to could by their nature be considered compatible with the common market, they are financed by means of the collection of parafiscal charges also imposed on products imported from other Member States, which is not compatible with the Commissionís policy on parafiscal charges. Moreover, the charges contravene the Act of Accession of Greece, which prohibits any restrictive measure on cotton imports from third countries. This incompatibility could be remedied by amending the system of financing the Greek cotton organisation and by refunding the charges wrongly collected. 3. The fact that Greece did not invoke the exception provided for in Article 87 (ex-Article 92) (3)(c) of the EC treaty has no connection with the time required to take a final decision on the case. It should be noted that this matter was also the subject of an infringement procedure (Article 226 (ex-Article 169) of the EC Treaty) concerning the compatibility of the levies with the common organisation of the cotton market. Only after this matter had been concluded was it possible for the Commission to close the file from the point of view of the state aid