WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2826/98 by Heidi HAUTALA to the Commission. Monitoring of agricultural subsidies
21. 7. 1999 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 207/13 The Commission considers that meat from animals which are usually hunted (stag, fallow and roe deer, 4. etc. ) is still game meat, even if the particular animals in question were reared in captivity. Fresh, chilled or frozen meat of this kind other than from rabbits or hares thus falls under common nomenclature code 0208 90 40 (game meat and edible game offal). 5. Yes. (1) OJ L 221, 8. 8. 1998. (2) OJ L 204, 21. 7. 1998. (3) OJ L 109, 26. 4. 1983. (1999/C 207/016) WRITTEN QUESTION P-2826/98 by Heidi Hautala (V) to the Commission (11 September 1998) Subject: Monitoring of agricultural subsidies According to press reports, the Commission intends to double the level of monitoring of agricultural subsidies in Finland (by monitoring 10 % of farms instead of only 5 % as at present). Clearly the Commission believes that additional monitoring is needed because only a very low level of misuse of aid has been detected in Finland. Since agricultural subsidies cannot be paid out until the monitoring is complete, farmers are worried that the payment of this year’s subsidies will be postponed for several months, just like Siberian miners’ pay. The Finnish monitoring authorities (regional offices for their employment and commerce) may not be able to carry out the additional monitoring required with their current level of resources. On what does the Commission base its view that the exceptionally low level of detected abuses means that additional monitoring is needed? Does the Commission consider it possible that the level of abuses may be low because Finnish farmers are exceptionally honest? Does the Commission propose to guarantee the farmers that this growing season’s subsidies will be paid without undue delays? Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (5 October 1998) Regulation (EEC) 3508/92 establishing an integrated administration and control system for certain Commun- ity aid schemes (1) stipulates that all five elements making up the integrated system have to be operational in the new Member States by January 1998 at the latest. When checks were carried out by the Commission in April 1998, it was found that in Finland problems still remained in particular with the alphanumeric identification of land parcels, which also meant that it was not possible to carry out the prescribed exhaustive cross-checks. It is to make up for these shortcomings that the Commission has asked the Finnish authorities to increase the level of inspections. The same approach has also been followed in the past vis-à-vis other Member States. The Commission remains convinced, moreover, of the need for an effective and uniform control system as an instrument of sound budget management. The Commission does not expect that the additional controls to be carried out by Finland will give rise to undue delays. In any event, the regulations stipulate that the compensatory aid for the 1998 harvest is to be paid to farmers by 31 December 1998 at the latest. (1) OJ L 355, 5. 12. 1992