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| Horticultural & Tropical Products Division | Return to the H&TP Home Page |
EU CAP Enlargement: The Commissions Proposal
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In 2004, ten countries are expected to join the
fifteen countries currently comprising the European Union. The ten candidates are Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia,
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.
Key points in the Commission’s proposal include a ten-year
transition period for direct payments combined with a substantial amount of
funding for rural development measures.
New member countries, which are already providing direct aids to
farmers, will be able to supplement EU payments with national funds.
For the new member countries, the payment would be phased in over ten
years, starting at 25 percent of the EU level in the first year, 2004/05.
The payment would then increase five percent per year for the next
three years. The payment would
increase gradually for the next six years.
The Commission's proposal will be debated in the
Council, which is expected to decide on a Common Position by June 2002.
Only then can negotiations with the candidate countries begin.
Due to the highly political nature of the budgetary questions, the
negotiations on agriculture are expected to last into December. Once negotiations are complete, the European Parliament has
the right to assent or dissent to the accession treaty as a whole (they may
not propose amendments) and member states as well as accession candidates
must also ratify the treaty according to their procedures. If negotiations are completed by the end of 2002, accession
could likely take place by 2004, as currently anticipated.
The Commission proposes to use data from
1995‑1999 to establish supply management instruments such as
production quotas, arable crop base areas and beef premium ceilings.
The most appropriate reference period for each type of scheme would
be chosen within this framework. While
the Commission proposal includes specific quota amounts, and other
instruments per accession candidate, the final negotiated amounts are
expected to be highly controversial and political and are not likely to be
decided until the end of the negotiations in December 2002.
The Commission proposal suggests
increasing current Community Thresholds for aid for processing to account
for the new member states.
Current Community thresholds
for the products in question are as follows (in tons):
|
|
Tomatoes |
Peaches |
Pears |
Oranges |
Lemons |
Sm.
Citrus |
Grapefruit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Threshold |
8,251,455 |
539,006 |
104,378 |
1,500,236 |
510,600 |
384,000 |
6,000 |
Proposed increase for Community
thresholds (** means insufficient/unsuitable data provided)
|
Country/product |
Requested increase |
Average Historical Production ‘97-‘99 |
Proposed increase |
|---|---|---|---|
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Cyprus |
|
|
|
|
-Tomatoes |
10,000 |
4,641 |
4,770 |
|
-Peaches |
500 |
** |
** |
|
-Pears |
500 |
0 |
0 |
|
-Lemons |
5,000 |
3,548 |
2,986 |
|
-Grapefruit |
30,000 |
9,069 |
10,812 |
|
-Oranges |
21,000 |
15,438 |
14,969 |
|
-Small citrus |
10,000 |
1,007 |
937 |
|
Czech Republic |
|
|
|
|
-Tomatoes |
26,000 |
** |
** |
|
-Peaches |
4,000 |
** |
** |
|
-Pears |
500 |
** |
** |
|
Hungary |
|
|
|
|
-Tomatoes |
321,442 |
127,265 |
130,790 |
|
-Peaches |
1,000 |
11,692 |
13,808 |
|
-Pears |
1,000 |
** |
** |
|
Malta |
|
|
|
|
-Tomatoes |
50,000 |
** |
** |
|
Slovakia |
|
|
|
|
-Tomatoes |
36,000 |
** |
** |
Information for this report was prepared by Christine Strossman, USEU Brussels, 011-32-2508-2760 and Robert Knapp, Horticultural and Tropical Products Division, 202-720-4620. For further information download Report #22014 dated 2/5/02 from the FAS.
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