REPORT on the proposal for a Council regulation on the measures to be undertaken by the Commission in 2008-13 making use of the remote-sensing applications developed within the framework of the common agricultural policy

20.12.2007 - (COM(2007)0383 – C6‑0273/2007 – 2007/0132(CNS)) - *

Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development
Rapporteur: Friedrich-Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

on the proposal for a Council regulation on the measures to be undertaken by the Commission in 2008-13 making use of the remote-sensing applications developed within the framework of the common agricultural policy

(COM(2007)0383 – C6‑0273/2007 – 2007/0132(CNS))

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2007)0383),

–   having regard to Article 37(2), third subparagraph, of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C6‑0273/2007),

–   having regard to Rule 51 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (A6‑0508/2007),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2.  Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty,

3.  Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

4.  Asks the Council to consult Parliament again if it intends to amend the Commission proposal substantially;

5.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and the Commission.

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendments by Parliament
Amendment 1 Recital 2
(2) Experience gained in 2004-07, within the framework of Decision No 1445/2000/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2000 on the application of aerial-survey and remote-sensing techniques to the agricultural statistics for 1999 to 2003, as amended, and the decisions which preceded it, has enabled the agro-meteorological system for forecasting yields and monitoring land and crop conditions to achieve an advanced operational and development stage and to demonstrate its effectiveness.	(2) Experience gained in 2004-07, within the framework of Decision No 1445/2000/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2000 on the application of aerial-survey and remote-sensing techniques to the agricultural statistics for 1999 to 2003, as amended, and the decisions which preceded it, has both provided enhanced knowledge on monitoring land use, land cover and environmental parameters (LUCAS project), and generated an operational and development stage of the agro-meteorological system for monitoring crops and forecasting yields (MARS project).
Justification
The knowledge gained from each pilot project should be considered separately, so as to maintain clarity. Also, there is still no consensus as to whether the use of remote-sensing in agriculture would in fact be significant and effective.
Amendment 2 Recital 2 a (new)
	(2a) Only the MARS pilot project, which falls within the scope of Decision No 2066/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 November 2003 on the continued application of aerial-survey and remote-sensing techniques to the agricultural statistics for 2004 to 20071 falls within the scope of the present Regulation. More specifically, only the operational measures undertaken by the Commission which make use of remote-sensing applications within the framework of the common agricultural policy fall within the scope of the present Regulation. __________ 1 OJ L 309, 26.11.2003, p. 9.
Justification
The scope of the proposal should be clearly described. Only the MARS project is subject to this proposal. LUCAS does not fall within the scope of this regulation. Furthermore it should be stressed that only the operational measures of remote sensing fall within the scope of this regulation.
Amendment 3 Recital 5
(5) It should also be laid down that the information and estimates which result from the measures undertaken and are held by the Commission should be made available to the Member States, and the European Parliament and the Council should be informed by means of an interim and a final report of the conditions for implementation of the remote-sensing measures undertaken and on the use of the resources made available to the Commission, accompanied, where appropriate, by a proposal to continue these measures beyond the period laid down in this Regulation.	(5) It should also be laid down that the information and estimates which result from the measures undertaken are held by the Commission and are used solely for estimating yields and not for control purposes. The information and the estimates should be made available to the Member States, and the European Parliament and the Council should be informed by means of an interim and a final report of the conditions for implementation of the remote-sensing measures undertaken and on the use of the resources made available to the Commission, accompanied, where appropriate, by a proposal to continue these measures beyond the period laid down in this Regulation.
Justification
This point should be made clear as it increases transparency with regard to the use of data collected within the scope this regulation.
Amendment 4 Article 1, paragraph 1, introductory part
1. From 1 January 2008, for a six-year period, the measures undertaken by the Commission making use of remote-sensing applications within the framework of the common agricultural policy may be financed by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund, pursuant to Article 3(2)(e) of Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005, where their aim is to give the Commission the means to:	1. The financial framework for the implementation of this programme for the period 2008 to 2013 is hereby set at EUR 9.2 million. The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the budgetary authority within the ceilings of the budget headings in the financial framework, where their aim is to give the Commission the means to:
Justification
The remote-sensing activities should be financed by a proper budget instead of the agriculture guarantee fund.
Amendment 5 Article 1, paragraph 1, point (a)
(a) manage agricultural markets;	(a) help manage agricultural markets;
Justification
The purpose of the remote-sensing applications is to provide digital information to improve the tools for managing and monitoring the common agricultural policy. However, farm surveys will remain necessary and these applications thus do not suffice for the full management of agricultural markets.
Amendment 6 Article 1, paragraph 1, point (c)
(c) promote access to the information referred to in point (b);	(c) promote access to the information referred to in point (b) by the bodies so authorised in accordance with this Regulation only;
Justification
It should be made clear that only remote-sensing applications related to the MARS project are concerned and that recipients of the information should thus not extend beyond the scope of the particular project.
Amendment 7 Article 1, paragraph 2, point (b)
(b) creation of a spatial data infrastructure and a website;	(b) improvement of the JRC Agriculture Unit website making all relevant research data freely available to the public;
Justification
The JRC already has a website specifically for the Agriculture Unit, where there is ample information surrounding the MARS project. There are however many different satellite imaging companies that provide agricultural information (e.g. on the Vegetation Index), which is used for MARS. The JRC website should therefore be updated so as to provide a list of these other company websites.
Amendment 8 Article 1, paragraph 2, point (b a) (new)
	(ba) creation of an inventory of all spatial data, remote-sensing and agro-meteorological projects and consolidation of existing spatial data infrastructure and websites;
Justification
There exists at present a skeleton of spatial data infrastructure through the INSPIRE initiative, ESDI (European Spatial Data Infrastructure), GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) and GEOSS (Global Earth Observing System of System). Consolidations should eliminate costly repetitions of information purchase or collection. Furthermore, the draftsman proposes to set up an inventory of all space, remote-sensing and agro-meteorological projects and initiatives that can be related to the agricultural context, even when this relationship does not, at first hand, seem obvious, so as to allow for a general overview.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Introduction

In order to provide a response to Common Agricultural Policy management needs, there is considerable need for information on land use, land conditions and crop conditions. Remote sensing offers a method to search for easier access to information which feed in traditional agricultural statistics and forecasting systems.

Between 2000 and 2007, a pilot project on remote-sensing techniques was initiated, under the auspices of Council Decision No 1445/2000/EC. This project has enabled the agro-meteorological system for forecasting yields and monitoring land and crop conditions (MARS) to reach an advanced stage.

European Commission proposal

The Commission proposes the continued application of remote-sensing techniques in agriculture for the period 2008-13, in the field of monitoring agricultural markets. The project would apply from 1^st January 2008 for a six-year period. The remote-sensing applications would thus constitute a tool for the Commission to: (a) help manage agricultural markets; (b) allow for agro-economic monitoring such as crop condition in order to estimate yields; (c) promote access to information regarding agricultural land and crop yield estimations; and (d) ensure technological follow-up of the agro-meteorological system.

The system would also collect, or purchase, data needed to implement and monitor the CAP (in particular satellite data and meteorological data); create a spatial data infrastructure and website; promote the carrying out of studies a number of issues surrounding the issue of remote-sensing, such as climatic conditions; and update agro-meteorological and econometric models.

All information will be made available to the Member States electronically and the Commission is expected to work closely with national bodies and laboratories.

Position of the draftsman

In general terms the draftsman points out that there is still no consensus as to whether the use of remote-sensing in agriculture would in fact be significant and effective. The frequency of surveys in the different member states seems to have been different, so that data is not fully comparable. An evaluating report by the commission, clearly evaluating the benefit of the system for the farmers and the common agricultural policy is needed in order to ensure transparency of spending also in this field of the common agricultural policy. In addition, it must be ensured that these technologies and data are used to the benefit also of small holdings, regions with less intensified agriculture and in favour of maintaining the EU’s diverse regions.

In the context of the MARS project, the technologies linked to aerial remote-sensing are from industries not traditionally associated with agriculture and also the satellite images collected or purchased by the EC are privately owned by companies whose clients are substantially from the oil and gas industry and which also serve national and international defence companies and intelligence.

The draftsman considers the change of finance sources in this draft regulation compared to the predecessing measures surprising. In decisions 1445/2000/EC as well as 2066/2003/EC, a proper budget line was established for the remote sensing. Now, the Commission wants to take the agricultural guarantee fund as source, which needs to be further discussed.

The draftsman finds the scope of the draft regulation imperfectly defined. The presentation of the proposal for regulation seems very confusing as the link to the origin of the proposal, decision No 2066/2003/EC and further references are not clearly indicated.

The draftsman stresses that it should be made clear through out the proposal that only remote-sensing applications related to the MARS pilot project are concerned.

In order to avoid confusion, the draftsman proposes several amendments aimed at distinguishing between the different types of remote-sensing techniques and also between the two pilot projects LUCAS and MARS originating out of the proposal, decision No 2066/2003/EC and conducted until 2007.

Furthermore the draftsman proposes to set up an inventory of all space, remote-sensing and agro-meteorological projects and initiatives that can be related to the agricultural context, even when this relationship does not, at first hand, seem obvious for reasons of general understanding and clarity.

Furthermore, and in view of proper budgetary management, the draftsman proposes to intensify the Commission's reporting to Parliament and Council on this regulation.

The draftsman disagrees with the proposed procedure for the implementation of this regulation and therefore proposes to insert the regulatory procedure with scrutiny.

PROCEDURE

Title	Measures making use of the remote-sensing applications developed within the framework of the CAP
References	COM(2007)0383 - C6-0273/2007 - 2007/0132(CNS)
Date of consulting Parliament	5.9.2007
Committee responsible        Date announced in plenary	AGRI 24.9.2007
Rapporteur(s)        Date appointed	Friedrich-Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf 12.9.2007
Discussed in committee	9.10.2007		20.11.2007		18.12.2007
Date adopted	18.12.2007
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:	26 1
Members present for the final vote	Sergio Berlato, Bernadette Bourzai, Niels Busk, Luis Manuel Capoulas Santos, Giuseppe Castiglione, Albert Deß, Gintaras Didžiokas, Carmen Fraga Estévez, Duarte Freitas, Ioannis Gklavakis, Lutz Goepel, Friedrich-Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf, Esther Herranz García, Lily Jacobs, Elisabeth Jeggle, Heinz Kindermann, Neil Parish, María Isabel Salinas García, Agnes Schierhuber, Willem Schuth, Czesław Adam Siekierski, Alyn Smith, Dimitar Stoyanov, Donato Tommaso Veraldi
Substitute(s) present for the final vote	Pilar Ayuso, Katerina Batzeli, Esther De Lange