Esther de Lange, author. – (NL) Mr President, Commissioner, the two largest groups in this House, the Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) and the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, have jointly taken the initiative to organise this debate with you, the European Commission, on the future of the potato starch sector in Europe. The financial crisis has placed the future of this sector in such jeopardy that it could be completely wiped off the face of our continent. Yet, this sector could ultimately play an important role in the implementation of our own EU 2020 objectives. As you are aware Commissioner, payments to this sector as part of the health check are partly coupled and partly uncoupled. This situation will come to an end in 2012 with full decoupling. Let me be clear: this is a process which I support, but in the current situation, it calls for an appropriate approach. If it is going to survive and compete with other starch sectors, the potato starch sector will need to tap new markets after full decoupling and there is vast potential for that, especially in the bio-based economy, which is certainly one of the spearheads of the European Union’s 2020 strategy. Take, for example, plastics based on potato starch instead of oil, or chemical elements for industry. However, the financial crisis has jeopardised preparations for this transition and the tapping of new markets because, unfortunately, potential investors and innovators have had no choice but to stay away. In 2012, therefore, we will face the threat of this sector crash-landing and, should that happen, surveys suggest that 40% of the European Union market could be wiped out. We are talking about 6 000 direct jobs, at least as many indirect jobs, and some 15 000 farmers who will be directly affected because they supply to this sector. We are going to witness this, not only in my region, the Northern Netherlands, but also in countries such as Denmark, Germany, Poland and France. This is why, Commissioner, we are sounding the alarm bells tonight and asking the Commission to ensure that this sector has a soft, rather than a crash, landing.

My questions to you are: is the European Commission prepared to take temporary measures, for example, for a period of two years and without these affecting the budget, by making use of unused potato starch funds or agricultural funds? Is the European Commission, for example, prepared to set up a voluntary restructuring fund that will support producers who wish to curtail production of their own volition?

Commissioner, I will conclude with what is, of course, the main issue behind this whole debate: does the European Commission share our view that the potato starch sector could play an important role in a bio-based economy and that it would therefore be worth our while temporarily helping this sector to make this transition?