23 Amendments of Irène TOLLERET related to 2019/2131(INI)
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas Article 42 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union grants special status to the sector in respect of competition law in order to attain the objectives set out in Article 39;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the fragmentation of the agricultural sector contrasts with the high level of concentration among other operators in the food industry chain, particularly large retailers, and whereas the fact that farmers are smaller economically than other operators in the chain should be taken into account when applying competition rules;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
A a. whereas the Regulation establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products contains certain derogations from the application of Article 101(1) TFEU either generally for all sectors or specifically for certain agricultural sectors;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas agricultural prices are extremely volatile now that European market management mechanisms are weaker, and farmers are having to cope with production costs that are higher than those of their competitors in third countries, and whereas there is therefore a need to strengthen producer organisations and associations of producer organisations, and make the competition rules that apply to the agricultural sector more flexible as part of the next reform of the common agricultural policy;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
A b. whereas EU farmers continue to suffer from a lack of integration into producers’ organizations making their position within the food supply chain highly vulnerable and decreasing their bargaining power;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Recital A d (new)
Recital A d (new)
A d. whereas unforeseeable natural disasters and events are likely to make the market for agricultural products even more volatile and subject to crisis; notes, in this regard, the importance of access to exceptional measures which aim to preserve the market stability;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the study on producer organisations and their activities in the olive oil, beef and veal, and arable crops sectors, which reaffirms the importance of these organisations and their associations in strengthening the position of primary producers in the food chain; notes that the study highlighted that in these sectors there are overall five times more unrecognised producer organisations/associations of producer organisations than those formally recognised; calls, in this regard, on the Commission to raise awareness of the benefits of having producers' organizations recognized under the CMO Regulation;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Also welcomes the study carried out for the Commission on ‘the best ways to set up producer organisations, carry out their activities and support them’, which recognises the contribution that producer organisations (POs) and associations of producer organisations (APOs) make to the economic, technical and social development of their members;
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Considers ithat, as part of the next CAP reform, it is essential to clarify and strengthen the provisions governing producer organisations and their associations, and interbranch organisations, in Regulation (EU) No 1308/20131, particularly as regards competition policy, and to consolidateso as to build on the progress made by Regulation (EU) No 2017/23932 (the ‘Omnibus Regulation’), supplemented by the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 14 November 2017 (‘the Endives Case’)3, thereby providing greater legal certainty and improving the position of farmers in the food chain; _________________ 1 OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 671. 2 OJ L 350, 29.12.2017, p. 15. 3Judgment of the Court of Justice of 14 November 2017, President de l’Autorité de la concurrence v Association des producteurs vendeurs d’endives (APVE) and Others.
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Points out that the Court of Justice of the European Union confirmed in the Endives judgment of 14 November 2017 that the CAP takes precedence over competition rules, and that the responsibilities and objectives of the organisations defined by the CAP are necessarily exempt from the application of competition rules, and in particular Article 101 TFEU;
Amendment 64 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. WelcomesTakes the view that the adoption of the Directive on unfair trade practices4 in the agricultural and food supply chain4 is a very important step towards promoting balanced relations among the various operators in the food chain and improving the positioning of the primary sector, and calls on the Commission to monitor closely progress on transposition thereof; _________________ 4Directive (EU) 2019/633 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain (OJ L 111, 25.4.2019, p. 59).
Amendment 71 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Regrets, however, that the scope of the Directive on unfair practices in the food supply chain does not cover all suppliers, as it excludes those that are not SMEs, and also regrets that selling at a loss is not on the list of practices that are prohibited at EU level;
Amendment 74 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Calls for the role of interbranch organisations to be strengthened in order to promote more balanced relationships in the food chain, and supports the extension of the value-sharing clause to cover all operators rather than just the first purchaser, in line with the draft report adopted in April 2019 by Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development on the new common organisation of the market in agricultural products as part of the next CAP reform;
Amendment 75 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Welcomes the success of the supply management measures introduced for quality cheese and ham at the request of producer organisations, interbranch organisations and groups of operators as referred to in Regulation 1151/2012, following the CAP reform of 2013, and calls for it to be made possible for the measure to be extended to cover all products with a protected designation of origin or geographical indication, in line with the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development’s draft report adopted in April 2019 on the new common organisation of the market in agricultural products;
Amendment 83 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Underscores the need to provide more clarity to POs and APOs with regard to the application of competition rules, with appropriate guidelines on authorised exemptions and derogations from competition rules, and, with that in mind, calls on the Commission to broaden the scope of the guidelines published for olive oil, arable crops and beef to cover other sectors;
Amendment 92 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Considers that the public demand for more sustainable food systems needs to be addressed, and calls on the Commission to clarify the conditions under which sustainable agreements can be exempted from competition law, namely in the framework of the current review of the Horizontal Block Exemption Regulations and related guidelines; Reaffirms its view that the Commission should issue general guidelines to clarify under which conditions the private sector can come together to agree on collectively increasing sustainability in a sector without breaching competition law; considers that such guidelines are particularly relevant to the agricultural sector due to the environmental challenges it must face and the sustainability requirements it must meet;
Amendment 119 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Welcomes the proposal for the Single Market Programme, and, more specifically, the food chain actions supported under the proposed Programme, such as veterinary and phytosanitary measures to address animal and plant health crises; urges the Council and the Parliament to swiftly conclude the negotiations and adopt the Regulation;
Amendment 120 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6 b. Underlines the importance of timely conclusions on the two proposals for Transition Regulations, which have been put forward by the Commission, in order to avoid delays and complications that could lead to market instability;
Amendment 121 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6 c. Welcomes the ongoing Fitness Check of the 2012 state aid modernisation package and, more specifically, the ongoing revision of the Agricultural Block Exemption Regulation (ABER) and European Union Guidelines for State aid in the agriculture and forestry sector (GL) which will cease to apply on 31 December2020;
Amendment 122 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 d (new)
Paragraph 6 d (new)
6 d. Welcomes the completion of the Agricultural de minimis Regulation review; points out that the increase of the maximum aid amount per single undertaking and of the national cap combined with the application of a sector cap will help farms to cope with climatic challenges while preventing any market distortions;
Amendment 125 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 g (new)
Paragraph 6 g (new)
Amendment 126 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 h (new)
Paragraph 6 h (new)
6 h. Draws attention to the growing amount of protests by farmers organized as a result of concerns over the impact of the introduction of stricter environmental and animal welfare standards at EU level coupled with the proposed cuts of the CAP budget; notes that the impact of trade deals on the agriculture sector is also a cause for concern for these farmers and calls on the Commission to present, as soon as possible, its latest report on the cumulative impact of ongoing and future trade deals;
Amendment 127 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 i (new)
Paragraph 6 i (new)
6 i. Urges the Commission to set up a permanent EU-level information platform on risk management tools to help farmers cope with the uncertainty of climate, market volatility and other risks where stakeholders can exchange best practices, as communicated in its Communication on the future of food and farming from November 2017;