Activities of José BOVÉ related to 2016/2100(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the annual report on EU competition policy
Amendments (17)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2
Citation 2
– having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), in particular Articles 39, 42 and 101 to 109 thereof,
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas Article 39(1)(b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) sets as one of the objectives of the common agricultural policy (CAP) that of ensuring a fair standard of living for the agricultural community, in particular by increasing the individual earnings of persons engaged in agriculture;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Emphasises that competition policy must attach the same importance to defending the interests of agricultural producers as it does to defending consumers’ interests, ensuring that the conditions for competition are fair so as to foster investment, employment and innovation in agricultural markets; emphasises that, with that aim in view, fixing a floor price which effectively bans below-cost selling by farmers is one of the options which shoud be considered and implemented;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission to broaden its approach in terms of criteria for determining whether an agricultural undertaking, or a number of such undertakings linked by a horizontal agreement, is deemed to be in a ‘dominant position’, taking into consideration the degree of concentration in sectors downstream and on world markets;
Amendment 79 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls for simplification of the rules on farmers’ organising collectively, so as to strengthen their negotiating capacity, in particular vis-à-vis large-scale retailers, while safeguarding the principles set out in Article 39 TFEU;
Amendment 94 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
Amendment 103 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Considers that the implementation of the ‘Milk Package’ demonstrates the ineffectiveness of public intervention when it focuses solely on disincentives to production in a deregulated market; points out that structural overproduction in the milk sector calls for the rapid establishment of binding public rules governing the management of milk production in the single market;
Amendment 114 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission and the national competition authorities to address the concerns raised by the cumulative impact – particularly at the upper end of the food supply chain – of, on the one hand, national-level concentration in the distribution sector and, on the other, the development of European- and international-level alliances of major distributors.
Amendment 338 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 5 a (new)
Subheading 5 a (new)
Agriculture and the Agri-food sector
Amendment 339 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Emphasizes that Article 42 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) accords a special status to the agricultural sector with regard to the application of competition law;
Amendment 342 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 b (new)
Paragraph 20 b (new)
20b. Recalls that the most recent reform of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) sought to strengthen the position of farmers in the food supply chain through a series of derogations and exemptions from the provisions of Article 101 TFEU;
Amendment 346 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 c (new)
Paragraph 20 c (new)
20c. Believes that the current crisis situation in farming worsens the already weak position of farmers in the food supply chain and calls for fresh initiatives to ensure that competition policy takes better account of the specific nature of agriculture;
Amendment 347 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 d (new)
Paragraph 20 d (new)
20d. Finds it regrettable that, despite the publication of guidelines on the application of the specific rules set out in Articles 169, 170 and 171 of the Single CMO regulation1b , the scope of the current derogations remains unclear, difficult to implement and unevenly applied by national competition authorities; __________________ 1bRegulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007.
Amendment 350 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 e (new)
Paragraph 20 e (new)
20e. Calls on the Commission to broaden its approach in terms of criteria for determining whether an agricultural undertaking, or a number of such undertakings linked by a horizontal agreement, is deemed to be in a 'dominant position', taking into consideration the degree of concentration and the constraints resulting from bargaining power from upstream and downstream sectors;
Amendment 352 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 f (new)
Paragraph 20 f (new)
20f. Considers that the collective activities of producer organisations and their associations, such as production planning and sales negotiation, are necessary for achieving the aims of the CAP and that they should benefit from a presumption of compatibility with Articles 39 and 101 TFEU;
Amendment 354 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 h (new)
Paragraph 20 h (new)
20h. Calls on the Commission and the national competition authorities to address the concerns raised by the cumulative impact – particularly at the upper end of the food supply chain – of, on the one hand, national-level concentration in the retail sector and, on the other, the development of European- level alliances of major distributors;
Amendment 355 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 i (new)
Paragraph 20 i (new)
20i. Takes note of the conclusions of the study "Economic impact of modern retail on choice and innovation in the EU food sector" of the Directorate General Competition, including the existence of a negative relationship that may exists between innovation and penetration of products under private labels on the food market; calls on the Commission to submit to Parliament the extent of the on- going discussions to determine whether this negative relationship does reduce innovation and variety of products available to consumers and what would be their long-term consequences for the supply chain and on the situation of farmers;