Joint answer given by Mr Hogan on behalf of the European Commission
Written questions: E-003103/18 , P-002961/18 , E-003068/18 , E-003243/18

5.12.2018

The duty free tariff quota (TRQ) for olive oil under the EU-Tunisia Association Agreement has a low impact on the market situation in the EU. Over a period of the last five harvests Tunisia's total exports of olive oil directed to the EU, corresponded to 4.8% of the average EU production during the same period. Even after the exhaustion of the TRQ, the Tunisian olive oil is purchased by the EU olive oil industry under the inward processing regime.

The exceptional Autonomous Trade Measures (ATMs)[1], which granted Tunisia an additional, temporary duty free tariff rate quota (TRQ) of 35 000 tonnes/year for 2016 and 2017, expired definitively at the end of 2017.

The announcement made by the President of the Commission on 24 April 2018 does not aim to extend the abovementioned ATM. It refers to a possible bilateral and reciprocal agreement based on Article 18 of the EU-Tunisia Association Agreement, which includes the possibility of granting each other further trade concessions, with a timetable and format to be determined.

Any such subsequent agreement would be subject to the approval of both the Member States, in the Council of the European Union, and the European Parliament.

The Commission closely monitors the situation of the olive oil sector and regularly discusses it, among others, at meetings of the Committee for the Common Organisation of the Agricultural Markets and of the Civil Dialogue Group on horticulture, olives and spirits.

• [1] Only 5 055 tonnes of 10 352 tonnes, which were allocated in 2016 under the ATM quota, were imported in the EU.