92002E2839

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2839/02

by Salvador Garriga Polledo (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(9 October 2002)

Subject: Assistance towards promoting greater liberalisation of agricultural leaseholds

Both EU public administrations and farmers themselves have pointed out that the number of farmers directly involved in working their own land is on the decrease. Thus ever-increasing numbers of farmers are leasing their land.

However many landowners fear that by leasing their land they will lose control of it, and the sector believes the issue of liberalising agricultural leaseholds merits proper discussion in order to stimulate the rural economy.

Given the current situation of farms, does the Commission agree that it is necessary to open a debate which would provide the basis for realigning national legislation on agricultural leaseholds in order to allow the leaseholder to concentrate on farming, and provide the landlord with sufficient guarantees that he can recover his land at almost any moment?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(31 October 2002)

The Commission agrees with the Honourable Member that it is vitally important for the future of agriculture, notably for the establishment of young people in the sector, that there continues to be an adequate supply of land for renting.

The terms agreed between landlords and tenants are however governed by national legal provisions that are often extremely different from one Member State to another, for reasons both historical and cultural. Further, the contractual provisions, sometimes of a derogating character, that apply to rural leases are closely linked to other bodies of law for which the Member States hold exclusive responsibility, such as inheritance and tax law, many provisions of which also exhibit fundamental differences within the Union.

Thus it would be impracticable to think of proposing a Community-level adjustment of national legislative provisions on rural leases.

The Commission will continue to bear this diversity in mind and to ensure that measures proposed at Community level can fulfil their aims without prejudice to these areas of national competence.