(2004/C 78 E/0653)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3645/03

by Salvador Jové Peres (GUE/NGL) and Pedro Marset Campos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(9 December 2003)

Subject:   European Union/Morocco agreement

At a conference held in Almeria on 24 October 2003, a Commission official acknowledged that the fruit and vegetables imported from Morocco to European markets had on a number of occasions exceeded the quotas laid down by the association agreement. He specifically acknowledged that Morocco had imported into Europe quantities of tomatoes and courgettes in excess of the authorised quotas. According to press reports, he explained that the new courgette quota negotiated with Morocco was nothing new and posed no threat to producers in south-eastern Spain, since Morocco had previously been importing similar quantities illegally, and the impact on the market would go unnoticed.

If the Commission was aware that import quotas were being exceeded, why did it take no action? Following the renewal of the EU/Morocco association agreement, how will it monitor compliance with these quotas? What action will it take if the quotas are exceeded?