Composition of interbranch organisations under Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013

20.1.2016

Question for written answer E-000383-16
to the Commission
Rule 130
Mara Bizzotto (ENF)

Under Article 157 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, interbranch organisations may be made up of ‘representatives of economic activities linked to the production and to at least one of the following stages of the supply chain: the processing of or trade in, including distribution of, products in one or more sectors’. It is therefore safe to say that this does not include trade unions.

In Italy, Article 3 of Law No 91 of 2 July 2015, which makes a general reference to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, lays down the conditions for the establishment of interbranch organisations but contains no stipulations as to their composition.

In view of the uncertainty this creates, which producer associations say is making it difficult to set up interbranch organisations in Italy, and of the fact that it would be counter-productive for trade unions to be involved in discussions on subjects such as launching promotion campaigns to increase the added value of products and thereby raise earnings in the sectors concerned, as there could well be clashes between opposing trade unions, will the Commission say precisely who may form an interbranch organisation?