EAGGF, implementation of the budget. Special reports 1/1999, 2/1999, 1/2000, 8/2000, Court of Auditors

The report by Mr John Joseph McCARTIN (EPP/ED, IRL) has been adopted by the European Parliament. However, in relation to the Special Report on skimmed milk, it deplores the Council's inability to take the necessary steps either in 1989 or in 1993 to address a number of loopholes, including the lack of proper guarantees against the falsification of skimmed-milk powder, which had given rise to numerous irregularities detrimental to Community finances. The Commission is requested to ensure that the level of aid granted for skimmed milk and skimmed-milk powder is closely linked to the quality of the product, with particular reference to the minimum protein content. The Parliament also requests the Commission to consider the possibility of introducing a tender procedure for the fixing of the aid level for the use of skimmed-milk powder, as it does already in connection with the sales of that product from public storage under Commission Regulation 2799/1999. With regard to the Special Report on butterfat, the Parliament regrets the persistent surplus in the milk sector due, in part, to a reduction in consumption. Therefore, it asks that measures should be taken at Community and national level to promote demand for milk and various milk products. It also asks the Commission to ensure that Member States introduce improvements to the administration of the disposal measures with particular emphasis on control and monitoring mechanisms. Lastly, it asks the Commission to ensure that subsidies for butterfat are not subject to VAT throughout the Union and to indicate a timetable of the future action aimed at simplifying the VAT system. As far as the Special Report on cereals is concerned, the Parliament shares the Court of Auditors' view that the global production trend in cereals, as well as the divergent trends in Member States, make it unlikely that the reform will have any lasting effects on production levels. According to the Parliament, future proposals for the sector should : address the need to improve the position of smaller producers by differentiating support according to farm size or yield; explore the possibilities of cofinancing certain income support; tackle the present situation according to which support for the cereals sector is concentrated in the more prosperous regions of the Union and; endeavour to redress the uneven distribution of incomes. Lastly, as regards the Special report on classical swine fever, the Parliament attaches great importance to the speedy conclusion of the procedure for amending Council Directive 80/217/EEC on the control of classical swine fever. The Commission is also askes to ensure that the Animal Movement System (ANIMO) is managed and developed under the full control of the Commission. �