Activities of Pilar AYUSO related to 2013/2100(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the future of Europe’s horticulture sector – strategies for growth PDF (203 KB) DOC (102 KB)
Amendments (19)
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the fruit and vegetables (F&V) sector accounts for 18 % of the total value ofotal agricultural production in the EU, represents 3 % of the EU’s cultivatedusable agricultural area and is worth more than EUR 50 billion;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the sector plays an important role in regions that have a high unemployment rate, and which has been made worse by the current economic crisis;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas the Union has opened up its markets considerably to imports from third countries with which it has concluded trade agreements, and has also done so on the basis of multilateral agreements;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas per capita F&V consumption in 2011 for the EU-27 decreased by 3 % compared with the average consumption of the previous five years, in spite of the substantial health benefits which eating F&V brings;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas membership of producer organisations (POs) should be increased by making the system more attractive to individual farmers, in view of the fact that more than half of all EU growers still do not belong to a producer organisation (PO) despite the Commission’s objective of an average rate of 60 % PO membership by 2013; whereas the low rate of organisation has been partly caused by the suspension of POs within Member States, which creates uncertainty among producers, given that POs play a key role in enhancing the negotiating power of F&V organisations and in restoring balance in the food chain;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Emphasises the need to make it easier for producers to gain access to third- country markets, for example by removing phytosanitary barriers that limit the export potential of fruit, vegetables, flowers and ornamental plants;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Encourages the promotion of F&V consumption, and flower and plant sales, in Member States through educational activities such as the Grow Your Own Potato and Cook Your Own Potato industryCommunity F&V promotion schemes in the UKschools;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes the measures in the EU F&V regime which are intended to increase market orientation among EU growers, encourage innovation and, increase growers’ competitiveness, improve marketing, product quality and the environmental aspects of production, and step up prevention and market management measures, through the provision of support to POs, associations of POs and inter- branch organisations;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Stresses that individual and collective investment in physical assets on farms, funded under operational programmes, is taking on greater strategic importance in terms of maintaining the competitiveness on which the economic sustainability of farms and jobs in the sector depends;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the report on the Commission public consultation entitled ‘A Review of the EU Regime for the Fruit and Vegetables Sector’, in particular section 3.8 thereof, which acknowledges the need for simplification of the current rules governing POs, and, in particular, endorses its proposal to strengthen POs and crisis management instruments;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Opposes, however, any transfer of PO support measures to the rural development pillar, as this could lead to a substantial decrease in support for the F&V sector, and calls for the budget for operational programmes to continue without a ceiling so as not to limit the creation of new POs;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Stresses the need to improve the existing instruments used to tackle market crises, and create new ones, given that the existing instruments have been ineffective thus far, as recognised by the Commission in its public consultation document entitled ‘A Review of the EU Regime for the Fruit and Vegetables Sector’;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6c. Expresses its support, in that connection, for the introduction of new crisis management measures, such as income insurance, export credits and mutual-fund contributions, financed from operational funds;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 d (new)
Paragraph 6 d (new)
6d. Supports also the establishment of a Community instrument for managing serious crises affecting a number of Member States, and stresses that it should be open to all producers, irrespective of whether or not they are members of POs;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 e (new)
Paragraph 6 e (new)
6e. Underlines the need to increase consumption of these products in the Union, and, accordingly, to make Community promotion instruments, which can play a key role in times of crisis, more effective;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 f (new)
Paragraph 6 f (new)
6f. Supports the establishment of a Community observatory to improve the monitoring of prices and the quantities produced and marketed, with a view to enhancing crisis prevention and management;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Commission, in its review of the EU F&V regime, to produce clearer practical rules about how POs should be designed and managed, and believes that in order to encourage more growers to join POs it is crucially important that the scheme adapts to fit the market structures that exist in Member States, provided that this does not jeopardise the achievement of the regime’s fundamental objectives and undermine its principles;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses that horticulture is reliant on a variety of plant protection and fertiliser products, and urges the Commission to take a risk-based approach to the regulation of these products that is justified by scientific evidence; emphasises that minor uses are particularly vulnerable owing to the scarcity of the relevant active substances; calls on DG Agri, DG Sanco, DG Environment and DG Competition to work strategically together to take into account the impact of changes to plant protection product regulation from multiple perspectives;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Is deeply concerned that up to a third of edible produce is wasted because of its appearance and calls on the Commission to create possibilities for marketing a wider range of quality specifications of produce, provided that the Community continues to regulate trade standards in such a way as to guarantee the transparency and proper functioning of the market;