18 Amendments of Georgios PAPASTAMKOS related to 2009/2236(INI)
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas as a result of the last EU enlargements (2004 and 2007), an additional 7 million farmers were added to the total agricultural labour force and the area of agricultural land increased by 40%; whereas income per labour unit has been rising considerably less in agriculture than in the economy as a wholereal per capita agricultural income has fallen by 10.7% in the EU-15 for the past 10 years; whereas the average agricultural income in the EU-27 is less than 50% of the average income in the rest of the economy,
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital Η
Recital Η
Η. whereas price volatility in agricultural markets has increased dramatically and is expected to increase further, leading to extreme booms and busts in agricultural commodity prices on European markets; whereas between 2006 and 2008, the prices of several commodities rose considerably, some by as much as 180%, as was the case for grains; whereas dairy prices collapsed in 2009, falling on average by 40%; whereas a serious crisis is effecting other agricultural sectors also such as cereals, fruit and vegetables, olive oil, etc.; whereas extreme fluctuations in prices have had detrimental consequences for producers and have not benefited consumers,
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas, as a result of these reforms, together with international trade arrangements and external trade policy concessions, the EU has become a net importer of agricultural goods with over €78 billion worth of products being imported each year (around 20% of world agricultural imports); whereas in some cases the balance of trade has steadily shifted in favour of third countries (the EU now imports €19 billion worth of agricultural products from Mercosur countries and only exports under €1 billion worth to the region); whereas the EU continues to experience a widening trade deficit in agricultural products,
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N
Recital N
N. whereas high-quality products are essential exports of the European Union and represent a very large share of its international trade; whereas the EU is exporting high-profile products with considerable economic value, and in the case of products with protected origin and geographical indications the net value of these products and foodstuffs is €14 billion a year (excluding wines and spirits, which also account for a significant share of EU exports); whereas, given the lack of effective protection for EU geographical indications and protected origin labels on the part of our third country trading partners, European products suffer as a result of unfair competition on the international markets,
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital Q
Recital Q
Q. whereas producer support estimates (PSE) show that total farm support in the EU has been gradually reducing since 2000 and is now comparable on a per capita basis with the level of support in the EU's major trading partners, such as the United Statewhile other trading partners have maintained and increased trade-distorting subsidies over the last few years,
Amendment 298 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Believes that in the context of the economic crisis it is imperative to preserve jobs in the agricultural sector and that rural unemployment should be tackled by providing opportunities for diversification and new income sources;
Amendment 309 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Points out, most importantly, that in the future European agricultural policy must remain a common policy and that only a harmonised level of support across the EU with a common set of objectives and ruleswhich helps to attenuate the disparities between the EU regions regarding the terms of competition; stresses that a balanced level of support across the EU with a common set of objectives and rules (based on objective criteria such as the structure and category of agricultural holdings, the specific disadvantages facing the regions, the importance of agriculture for the economy and employment, regions which are environmentally vulnerable) can deliver the appropriate level playing field for farmers and a properly functioning Single Market with fair competitive conditions for agricultural products within the EU;
Amendment 347 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Believes that agriculture has a tremendous potential to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change; takes the view that the southern regions of the EU are more vulnerable to the impacts and dangers of climate change, such as drought and desertification, and that greater efforts will be required of farmers in these areas to adapt their activities to the altered environment;
Amendment 380 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)
Paragraph 32 a (new)
32α. Stresses that food safety is immediately linked to the security of food supply, the quality of agricultural products and foodstuffs and consumer protection; calls therefore for the adoption of measures to guarantee the full traceability of products and comprehensive information regarding technical specifications for imported products of the same kind, including the compulsory indication of the place of origin, together with the socioeconomic conditions of production (environmental protection, animal diseases, animal welfare, social conditions at the workplace and protection levels);
Amendment 381 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 b (new)
Paragraph 32 b (new)
32b. Calls on the Commission to uphold the interests of European farmers in the context of multilateral and bilateral trade agreements negotiated on behalf of the EU;
Amendment 407 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
36. Believes that there hasve to be a minimumflexible and effective market regulatory measures in order to ensure a genuine safety net within the future framework of the CAP in order to manage extreme market price volatility and provide rapid and efficient responses to economic crises arising in the sector;
Amendment 428 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
37. Calls for a fairer distribution of CAP payments and insists that it should be fair to farmers in both new and old Member States; considers that, to this end, a redistribution of payments is necessary, taking account of not only size but also the actual terms of competition applicable to the various types of holding, for example small multifunctional holdings contributing to employment and rural development and large-scale holdings better able to adapt to the requirements of not only the market but the CAP itself;.
Amendment 542 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47
Paragraph 47
47. Insists that the CAP should not be renationalised and therefore believes that core direct supportaid and resources under the first pillar should remain fully financed by the EU budget, hence rejecting any further co- financing which could harm fair competition within the EU Single Market;
Amendment 564 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48 – point 1
Paragraph 48 – point 1
(1) Believes that in order to reduce the disparities in the distribution of direct support funds between agricultural holdings and between Member States, the hectare basis alone will not be sufficient and, therefore, calls for additional objective criteria such as a purchasing power coefficient to be used to achieve an overall balanced distribution;
Amendment 606 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 53
Paragraph 53
53. Notes that the move away from the historical basis may create particular challenges for Member States or regions with a relatively large amount of so-called 'naked land' (unclaimed eligible land); calls for the specific needs of such regions to be given full consideration when designing the future support; stresses that the move away from the historical basis must not lead to a radical redistribution of earnings, which would have a harmful social impact, and that any change should therefore be progressive allowing sufficient time for adjustment;
Amendment 737 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61
Paragraph 61
61. Believes that to underpin the five key building blocks of the CAP, a minimumflexible and effective market regulatory measures designed to provide a genuine safety net against extreme price volatility should still be available as a rapid reaction crisis tools; to that end, considers that a special reserve budget line should be made available in the EU budget which could be activated rapidly to respond to crises which arise, and that new innovative financial tools should also be considered such as risk insurance schemes and futures markets to help reduce market volatility;
Amendment 750 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 62
Paragraph 62
62. Insists that, to complement market measures, there is an urgent need to strengthen producers' position in the food chain through a range of actions to address transparency, contractual relationships and commercial practices, and encourage the formation of farmers' organisations and the regulation of interprofessional relationships between the various links in the food supply chain, thereby creating better conditions for the supply of agricultural products; takes the view that possible adjustments to competition rules should also be investigated to allow producer organisations to grow in scale and size, equipping them with the power to stand up to major retailers and processors;
Amendment 764 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63
Paragraph 63
63. Recalls that, amongst the current set of market tools, export refunds should continue to be phased out according to WTO agreementse commitment of the WTO Members during the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference to achieving the parallel elimination of all forms of export subsidies and disciplines on all export measures with equivalent effect;