Agricultural statistics: permanent crops
The European Parliament adopted by 610 votes to 15, with 9 abstentions, a resolution in the first reading of the ordinary legislative procedure and amended the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning European statistics on permanent crops.
The amendments are the result of a compromise agreement between Parliament and Council. The main amendments to the Commission proposal are as follows:
List of permanent crops: the Regulation establishes a common framework for the systematic production of European statistics on the following permanent crops: (i) dessert apple trees; (ii) apple trees for industrial processing (optional); (iii) dessert pear trees ; (iv) pear trees for industrial processing (optional) ; (v) apricot trees; (vi) dessert peach trees; (vii) peach trees for industrial processing (optional); (viii) orange trees; (ix) small citrus fruit trees (optional); (x) lemon trees; (xi) olive trees; (xii) vines intended for the production of table grapes; (xiii) vines intended for other purposes.
Coverage: Member States may exclude holdings below a threshold of 0.2 ha of each permanent crop producing entirely or mainly for the market in each Member State. If the area covered by such holdings is less than 5% of the total planted area of the individual crop, Member States may increase that threshold provided that this does not lead to the exclusion of more than an additional 5 % of the total planted area of the individual crop.
Data production: save where the option referred to above has been exercised, only Member States with a minimum planted area of 1000 ha of each individual crop shall produce, during 2012 and every five years thereafter, the data referred to in the text.
Member States with a minimum planted area of 500 ha of vines for other purposes shall produce, during 2015 and every five years thereafter, the data referred to in Annex II.
Delegated acts: in order to take into account economic and technical developments, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts concerning the amendment of: (a) the breakdowns of species by groups, density classes and age classes set out in Annex I, and (b) the variables/characteristics, size classes, degree of specialisation and vine varieties set out in Annex II, except in respect of the optional nature of the required information
In exercising this power, the Commission must ensure that the delegated acts do not impose a significant additional administrative burden on the Member States and on the respondents.
Regional statistics: data with regard to statistics on permanent crops referred to above save vines for other purposes and further specified in Annex I to this Regulation, shall be broken down by NUTS 1 territorial units, save where a less detailed breakdown is specified in the Regulation. Data with regard to vines for other purposes shall be broken down by NUTS 2 territorial units.
Derogation: where the application of the Regulation to the national statistical system of a Member State requires major adaptations and is likely to cause significant practical problems with regard to the permanent, the Commission may adopt implementing acts granting a derogation from its application to that Member State until 31 December 2012. Those Member States benefiting from a derogation shall continue to apply Directive 2001/109/EC.
Review: the Commission will review the functioning of the Regulation by 31 December 2018 and every five years thereafter, and shall also assess whether it is necessary to produce all the data referred to in the text. Where the Commission considers that some of those data are no longer required, it shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts that delete certain data from Annexes I and II.