WTO and Spanish olives

22.11.2018

Question for written answer E-005885-18
to the Commission
Rule 130
Eric Andrieu (S&D)

On 15 October 2018, Commissioner Hogan announced that he was planning to ask the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to set up a panel to consider the impact of US anti-dumping duties on Spanish olive growers.

Is the Commissioner aware that the procedure is almost certain to fail, given that the very idea of the neutrality of decoupled aid is open to challenge?

At a time when the priority should be to reform the WTO in order to safeguard multilateralism, should the Commission not rather be conducting a critical assessment of the principle of decoupling with a view to updating its position in international forums and taking a new approach to the overhaul of the common agricultural policy?