WRITTEN QUESTION E-2756/99 by Concepció Ferrer (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Regulation of the poultry sector.
26. 1. 2001 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 26 E/9 3. Will the Commission advise the Cypriot authorities to designate these areas, should the Cypriot authorities omit to propose their inclusion in the Natura 2000 network? Has Cyprus received funds from other Community programmes? If so, under what 4. funding programmes have these funds been provided, and what steps have been taken to integrate environmental aspects into the activities funded, as required by the Treaty? Can the Commission guarantee that no Community funds are being allocated to projects that may 5. result in further damage to the situation in the above mentioned areas? 6. What instruments will the Commission use in order to protect the loggerhead turtle (caretta caretta) and the green turtle (Chelinia mydas) in the above mentioned areas? (1) OJ L 206, 22. 7. 1992, p. 7. (2) OJ L 103, 25. 4. 1979, p. 1. Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behal of the Commission (27 January 2000) The Commission has followed with interest the issue of the Akamas Peninsula in Cyprus as an 1. important nesting ground for two rare species of sea turtle. The Cypriot authorities have informed the Commission that there is legislation in Cyprus affording environmental protection to the Akamas Peninsula, and that there has not been recent hotel development in the protected area. The Commission is not aware of new measures awaiting approval by the Cabinet of Ministers. As part of 2. and 3. the preparations for accession, and as recalled in the negotiations on the environment chapter, the Commission is awaiting the proposed list of sites to be designated as special areas of conservation (SAC) for inclusion in the Natura 2000 network as foreseen by Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (Habitats Directive). An ongoing project under the LIFE programme is assisting the Cypriot authorities in this task. The Commission, fully aware of the sensitivity of the Akamas Peninsula, will examine these proposals in accordance with the relevant criteria of the Directive. 4. and 5. In the early 1990s the Commission funded a turtle conservation project under the Medspa programme. There have been a number of other Community-supported projects in Cyprus with an environmental content, e. g. in the areas of controlling industrial pollution, and sewerage. The Commission does not finance projects that to the best of its knowledge run contrary to the environmental acquis. The candidate countries have also been reminded of the Council conclusions of 24 September 1998 on accession strategies for the environment, in which it was stated that all new investment should comply with the environmental acquis. Once Cyprus becomes a Member State, the relevant legal instrument will be the Habitats Directive, as 6. both species of turtle appear in its annexes. In the meantime the Commission will monitor Cyprusí commitment to the progressive introduction and implementation of the acquis, and the strengthening of the relevant administrative structures. This will be achieved through the various instruments of the pre- accession strategy. (2001/C 26 E/011) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2756/99 by Concepció Ferrer (PPE-DE) to the Commission (18 January 2000) Subject: Regulation of the poultry sector The problems which have affected the poultry sector in some regions of the Union over the past year have brought about a change in the publicís pattern of consumption, and the resulting surplus supply has C 26 E/10 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 26. 1. 2001 brought the price of chicken down to a level below production costs, which is damaging production areas which had nothing to do with recent scandals. In view of the consequent losses confronting the sector and the calls made by poultry producers for the sector to be reorganised in such a way as to restrict numbers of breeding hens, has the Commission taken or will it take action to respond to this request and mitigate the crisis which this situation has caused? Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (24 February 2000) The difficulties encountered by the Spanish poultry sector in 1999 do not appear to be the direct result of the fall in consumption caused by the dioxin crisis. The difficulties have instead been caused by the increase in poultry meat production in Spain in 1999 compared to 1998. Indeed, the Spanish poultry industry estimates that production increased between 1998 and 1999 by about 15 % because the profitable results recorded at the end of 1998 brought about a drop in prices from the beginning of 1999, well before the dioxin crisis. That crisis then had an additional effect on the Spanish market for poultry meat from June 1999 on. As regards the issue of production surpluses since early 1999, the common organisation of the market in poultry meat excludes stabilisation measures, such as public intervention on the market. The poultry sector itself must match supply to demand while complying with the Community rules on competition. The Commission can only support the Community market through export aids intended to bring it into balance. These measures are subject to the restrictions laid down by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Despite these restrictions, however, the Commission introduced export refunds in the summer of 1999 for destinations other than the ones usually laid down, in order to facilitate exports from all Community regions. (2001/C 26 E/012) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2798/99 by Michl Ebner (PPE-DE) to the Commission (18 January 2000) Subject: Extension of the lorry depot at the customs post of S. Andrea, in the province of Gorizia (Italy), despite the Sloveniaís forthcoming entry into the EU The local government of Gorizia intends to carry out further work to extend the lorry depot facilities at the Italian customs post in the district of S. Andrea, on the border with Slovenia, despite the unfavourable opinion of all the parties involved (the neighbourhood council, various organisations and the population, which is in favour of breaking away from the commune of Gorizia) and despite Sloveniaís imminent entry into the European Union. The city council has signed an agreement with the communes of Nova Gorica and Vrtojba on the other side of the border, which makes provision for projects and funding for alternative facilities; The customs formalities and facilities will therefore have to be abolished; The lorry depot facilities are already underused, despite the occasional demand for back-up facilities; The area concerned ü which has been invaded for some years by the mass of concrete structures involved in the lorry depot ü is the historic site of a Slovenian-speaking community, which has seen its territory reduced by more than half,