Agenda 2000: oils and fats; common organisation of the markets COM, olive oil, aid for the production (amend. regul. 136/66/EEC, 2261/84/EEC)

The Committee has voted for the request to use the urgent procedure for the reform of the common organisation of the market (COM) in olive oil. The result of the vote was 25 for, 17 against and 1 abstention. The rapporteur, Salvador JOVÉ PERES (EUL/NGL, E), had argued against the request for the urgent procedure, which he said was unprecedented and should, for reasons of consistency, be rejected by Parliament. He said that, while there was a need for an urgent overhaul of the COM, this was something which should not be done hastily, let alone on the basis of unreliable data. He claimed that the committee, by its vote, had given in to the Council, which wished to prevent any fundamental debate on the issue, and as a result Parliament would end up overlooking some important data. Since the olive oil season only started in November, Mr Jové Peres believed time ought to be found for a proper, detailed debate. Giacomo SANTINI (UFE, I), by contrast, was in favour of the urgent procedure, on the ground that producers needed to be able to operate on the basis of the new regulation in time for the new season. He said it was important to forestall the trend in production observed over the last two years and emphasised that surpluses of around 1.1m tonnes had already been forecast by Spanish producers. A swift decision would enable the situation to be clarified before the start of the season.