Honey: application of measures to improve the production and marketing

This document presents the report from the Commission on the implementation of Council Regulation 1221/97/EC laying down general rules for the application of measures to improve the production and marketing of honey. In June 1997 the Council adopted Regulation 1221/97/EC with a view to improving the production and marketing of honey in the European Union. Under this Regulation, the Member States may draw up annual national programmes in close collaboration with representative organisations and beekeeping cooperatives, comprising measures relating to one or more of the following five priorities: technical assistance, control of varroasis, rationalisation of transhumance, measures to suppoort laboratories carrying out analyses on honey, and applied research to improve the quality of honey. In November 1997, Commission Regulation 2300/97/EC laid down detailed rules implementing the Council Regulation. Among other things, the implementing rules specify the items that must be included in the national programmes, the date on which programmes must be notified, the apportionment formula for Community contributions to the financing of the programmes, and details of the studies of the structure of the sector. The Member States have carried out studies on the structure of the sector with a view to providing full statistical data on beekeeping. The studies relate to production structures, marketing and price formation. Under Article 6 of Regulation 1221/97/EC, the Commission must represent a report to the European Parliament and the Council every three years on the application of the Regulation. This is the first such report. �