SECOND REPORT on the proposal for a Council Regulation on the common organisation of the market in beef and veal (COM(98)0158 - C4-0294/98 - 98/0109(CNS))
23 April 1999
Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development
Rapporteur: Georges Garot
PROCEDURAL PAGE
By letter of 19 May 1998 the Council consulted Parliament, pursuant to Article 43 of the EC Treaty, on the proposal for a Council Regulation on the common organisation of the market in beef and veal.
At the sitting of 15 June 1998 the President of Parliament announced that he had referred this proposal to the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development as the committee responsible and the Committee on Budgets and the Committee on Budgetary Control for their opinions.
At its meeting of 7/8 July 1997 the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development had appointed Mr Garot rapporteur.
It considered the Commission proposal and the draft report at its meetings of 27/28 April, 22/23 September, 9/10 November and 7/8 December 1998.
At the last meeting it adopted the draft legislative resolution by 23 votes to 12, with 3 abstentions.
The following took part in the vote: Colino Salamanca, chairman; Cunha and Graefe zu Baringdorf, vice-chairmen; Garot, rapporteur; Anttila, Barthet-Mayer, Böge (for Trakatellis), Cabezón Alonso (for Campos), Campoy Zueco (for Gillis), Corbett (for Wilson pursuant to Rule 138(2)), van Dam (for Nicholson), Ebner, Fantuzzi, Filippi, Fraga Estévez, Funk, Garcia Arias (for Görlach pursuant to Rule 138(2)), Goepel, Guinebertière (for Hyland), Hallam, Hardstaff, Iversen, Jové Peres, Lambraki, Lulling (for Keppelhoff-Wiechert), P. Martin, Mayer, Mulder, des Places, Poisson (for Chesa), Querbes, Read (for Rehder pursuant to Rule 138(2)), Redondo Jiménez, Rosado Fernandes, Santini, Schierhuber, Sonneveld, Sturdy, Thomas, Trizza (for Parigi) and Watts.
The Committee on Budgets decided on 12 October not to deliver an opinion. The Committee on Budgetary Control decided on 23 September not to deliver an opinion.
The report was tabled on 9 December 1998 (A4-0494/98).
At its sitting of 28 January 1999 Parliament referred the report back to committee pursuant to Rule 60(2) of the Rules of Procedure.
As the Committee on Agriculture was unable to meet the deadline provided for in Rule 60(2), the report was referred back on 11 March 1999, pursuant to Rule 129(1).
At its meeting of 12 April 1999 the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development confirmed Mr Garot as rapporteur.
At that meeting and at the meeting of 20/21 April the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development reconsidered the Commission proposal and the conclusions of the European Council of 24 to 26 March 1999.
At the latter meeting it adopted the draft legislative resolution by 31 votes to 2.
The following took part in the vote: Colino Salamanca, chairman, Cunha and Graefe zu Baringdorf, vice-chairmen; Garot, rapporteur; Arias Cañete (for Ebner), Barthet-Mayer, van Dam (for Chesa), Filippi, Fraga Estévez, Funk, Goepel, Görlach, Hallam, Hardstaff, Hyland, Iversen, Jové Peres, Kindermann, Klass (for Gillis), Kofoed, P. Martin, Mayer, Mulder, des Places, Pohjamo, Querbes, Redondo Jiménez, Rehder, Santini, Schierhuber, Sonneveld, Sturdy and Wilson.
The second report was tabled on 23 April 1999.
The deadline for tabling amendments will be indicated in the draft agenda for the relevant partsession.
A LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL - DRAFT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION
Proposal for a Council Regulation on the common organisation of the market in beef and veal (COM(98)0158 - C4-0294/98 - 98/0109(CNS))
The proposal is approved with the following amendments:
(The amendments adopted on 28 January 1999 are confirmed with the following modifications) |
(Amendment 1)
(replaces Ams. 92, 93, 114 and 118 - Minutes of Sitting 28.1.1999)
Article 24a (new)
Article 24a1. The intervention measures taken to avoid or cushion a substantial fall in prices shall consist in buying-in operations by the intervention agencies. | |
Such intervention measures may be taken in respect of adult bovine animals and in respect of fresh or chilled meat from such animals presented as carcases, half carcases, compensated quarters, forequarters or hindquarters, classified in accordance with the Community grading scale laid down in Regulation (EEC) No 1208/81. | |
2. Where the conditions laid down in paragraph 3 are met, buying-in by intervention agencies in one or more Member States or in a region of a Member State of one or more categories, qualities or quality groups, to be determined, of fresh or chilled meat falling within CN codes 0201 10 00 and 0201 20 20 to 0201 20 50 originating in the Community may be organised under tender procedures arranged with a view to ensuring reasonable support of the market, having regard to seasonal developments as regards slaughterings. | |
Such buying-in may not cover more than 350 000 tonnes per year and for the Community as a whole. | |
The Council may amend this quantity, acting by a qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission. | |
3. For each quality or quality group that may be bought in, the tender procedures may be opened as provided in paragraph 8 whenever, in a Member State or in a region of a Member State, the following two conditions are both met for a period of two consecutive weeks: | |
- the average Community market price recorded on the basis of the Community grading scale for the carcases of adult bovine animals is less than 84 % of the intervention price, | |
- the average market price recorded on the basis of the said scale in the Member State or States or regions of a Member State is less than 80 % of the intervention price. | |
The intervention price shall be set at:- ECU 3475 per tonne for the period from 1 January until 30 June 2000,- ECU 3301.25 per tonne for the period from 1 July 2000 until 30 June 2002. | |
4. Tender arrangements for one or more qualities or quality groups shall be suspended in any one of the following two situations: | |
- where, for two consecutive weeks, the two conditions referred to in paragraph 3 are no longer both met, | |
- where buying-in is no longer appropriate in view of the criteria set out in paragraph 2. | |
5. Intervention shall also be opened if, for a period of two consecutive weeks, the average Community market price of young uncastrated male animals less than two years old or castrated male animals, recorded on the basis of the Community grading scale for carcases of adult bovine animals, falls short of 78 % of the intervention price, and if in a Member State or regions of a Member State, the average market price of young uncastrated male animals less than two years old or castrated male animals, recorded on the basis of the Community grading scale for carcases of adult bovine animals, falls short of 60 % of the intervention price; in this case, buying-in shall take place for the categories concerned in the Member States or regions of a Member State where the price level is below that limit. | |
For this buying-in, and without prejudice to paragraph 6, all offers shall be accepted. | |
The quantities bought in pursuant to this paragraph shall not be taken into account for the purposes of applying the buying-in ceiling referred to in paragraph 2. | |
6. Only offers equal to or less than the average market price recorded in a Member State or a region of a Member State and increased by an amount to be determined on the basis of objective criteria may be accepted under the buying-in systems referred to in paragraphs 2 and 5. | |
7. For each quality or quality group eligible for intervention, the buying-in prices and the quantities accepted for intervention shall be determined under tender procedures and may, in special circumstances, be fixed per Member State or per region of a Member State on the basis of recorded average market prices. The tender procedures must ensure equality of access for all persons concerned. They shall be opened on the basis of specifications to be determined taking commercial structures into account, where necessary. | |
8. Under the procedure provided for in Article 39:- the categories, qualities or quality groups of products eligible for intervention shall be determined, | |
- the opening or reopening of tender procedures and their suspension in the case referred to in the last indent of paragraph 4 shall be decided, | |
- the buying-in prices and the quantities accepted for intervention shall be fixed, | |
- the amount of the increase referred to in paragraph 6 shall be determined, | |
- the procedures implementing this Article, and in particular those designed to prevent market prices spiralling downward, shall be adopted, | |
- any transitional provisions necessary for the implementation of these arrangements shall be adopted. | |
The Commission shall decide on:- opening intervention as referred to in paragraph 5 and suspending it where one or more conditions laid down in that paragraph no longer apply, | |
- suspending buying-in as referred to in the first indent of paragraph 4. | |
With effect from 1 July 2002 an automatic 'security net' intervention system shall be established. If the average market price for bulls and steers in a Member State (or in a region of a Member State) is less than EUR 2000/tonne, calls for tender for buying shall be organised by the Commission in this Member State using the management committee procedure. |
Legislative resolution embodying Parliament's opinion on the proposal for a Council Regulation on the common organisation of the market in beef and veal (COM(98)0158
- C4-0294/98 - 98/0109(CNS))
(Consultation procedure)
The European Parliament,
- having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council, COM(98)0158 - 98/0109(CNS)[2],
- having been consulted by the Council pursuant to Article 43 of the EC Treaty (C4-0294/98),
- having regard to Rule 58 of its Rules of Procedure,
- having regard to the report of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (A40494/98),
- having regard to the second report of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (A4-0212/99),
1. Approves the Commission proposal, subject to Parliament's amendments;
. Notes the amendments made to the Commission proposal by the European Council of 24 to 26 March 1999;
3. Instructs its President to forward this opinion to the Council and Commission.