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Agriculture : EC could approve funding for investment program devoted to irrigation infrastructure
The European Commission could approve the funding for an investment program devoted to the irrigation infrastructure and water source and this was also confirmed by European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Dacian Ciolos, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Daniel Constantin told Agerpres.
'Commissioner Dacian Ciolos confirmed that my objectives for this irrigation program are feasible from the point of view of the European Commission. It is for the first time that we shall have a special program devoted to the irrigation infrastructure and water source in Romania. No other EU member state has so far made this request, although there is a sort of precedent in Portugal, ' Daniel Constantin said.
He said that the funding of this program through EU funds will be an extremely important aid for Romania's agricultural sector.
'If Romania has access to this program that I want to request from the EC, it will be an extremely important aid for Romania's agricultural sector. Over the past 22 years, everybody considered the agriculture as a priority, but no one came up with this kind of project,' the MADR head pointed out.
Dacian Ciolos said in Bucharest on Monday that Romania must design big projects to support the development of agriculture in the upcoming years.
'I think about the irrigation sector, about big infrastructure projects and also regional and local projects of irrigation systems adapted to a sectoral specific. These projects can be financed not only through the Common Agricultural Policy, but also through structural funds,' Dacian Ciolos said.
He gave the example of the Siret-Baragan Channel (east), its infrastructure can be funded through cohesion funds, while the connection of the farms to these systems could be financed through the CAP funds.
'If Romania thinks up an irrigation project, the Siret-Baragan Channel, for example, it will also be able to negotiate that the infrastructure part to be funded through cohesion and structural funds and the connection of the farms to these systems through the CAP funds. Romania should draw up the plans as soon as possible in order for the projects to be ready and coherent starting 2014,' the EU commissioner stressed.
In his turn, Minister of European Affairs Leonard Orban said he supports the allotment of significant amounts out of structural funds to investments in irrigation infrastructures
European Commission wants to avoid suspending payments under Fisheries Operational Programme
The wish of the European Commission is to avoid suspending payments under the Fisheries Operational Programme provided that the Romanian authorities take the necessary measures, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Dacian Ciolos told a news conference on Tuesday in Bucharest.
'There is currently no suspension of payments under the Fisheries Operational Programme, but a programme the Romanian authorities have to implement in the following weeks, particularly in relation to the projects for which payments were wrong. At the same time, the wrongfully paid money has to be retrieved and measures will have to be taken to strengthen the efficiency of controls to avoid such situations on a wider scale in the future,' said Ciolos.
He added that he hopes the decision to suspend payments will be avoided because he has repeatedly submitted the measures that the Romanian authorities should take. 'I made sure in my conversations with the agriculture minister that such instances will be avoided,' Ciolos added.
State Secretary with Romania's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Achim Irimescu last week said the ministry will present to the European Commission the measures to be taken to rectify the situation recorded at the Management Authority of the Fisheries Operational Programme, in two weeks' time, at the longest.
In a letter sent by the European Commission, the commission says there are some errors and irregularities in the selection of projects submitted in Romania, as well as deficiencies in separating the offices and tasks inside the Management Authority.
Payments under the Fisheries Operational Programme were interrupted on January 13. 2012 for six months, pending the rectification of the deficiencies, with Romania risking a suspension of payments under the same programme unless it does the rectification by July 13, 2012. If the rectification fails, the Romanian Government risks being penalised.
Under the Fisheries Operational Programme, national payments worth 60 million euros have so far been made, an amount that has yet to be refunded by the European Commission.
Commissioner Ciolos recommends Romanian Gov't to analyse impact of cutting VAT on food
European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Dacian Ciolos has recommended the Romanian Government to analyse the impact of cutting the Value-Added Tax (VAT) on food for consumers and producers, as well as the taxation of the income of agricultural producers, so that the final measures may sustain higher fiscalisation of agriculture.
'I have recommended the Romanian Government on the one hand to analyse the impact on producers and consumers of the solution contemplated by the Government to cut the VAT on food and how such decision can be sustained by the Budget. On the other hand, the implementation of taxation on the income of agricultural producers of various sizes should be analysed, as that could be another way in which agricultural producers may be stimulated to state their production, and also the policy of the Romanian Government in relation to the associations of producers for trade purposes. I believe the producers may not state the production individually, but if they want to trade on the market and decide to do so through a cooperative or in a group of producers, then there must be some facilities in this respect,' Ciolos told a news conference in Bucharest.
Ciolos also argued that untaxed agriculture in Romania is in a vicious circle that has to be broken.
'This is a vicious circle because there is no fiscalisation in agriculture in order to avoid entering the market, but if there is no market entry there will be no public investment funds and without such funds there is no modernisation. This vicious circle has to be broken,' said Ciolos.
Romania's Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Daniel Constantin has recently told the specialist committees of Parliament that he is considering cutting the VAT to 9 percent, from a current 24 percent, on bakery and wheat milling products throughout the year, as he argued tax evasion reached an alarming 70-percent level after the VAT increased from 19 percent to 24 percent on July 1, 2010.
Commissioner Ciolos recommends Romanian Gov't to analyse impact of cutting VAT on food
European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Dacian Ciolos has recommended the Romanian Government to analyse the impact of cutting the Value-Added Tax (VAT) on food for consumers and producers, as well as the taxation of the income of agricultural producers, so that the final measures may sustain higher fiscalisation of agriculture.
'I have recommended the Romanian Government on the one hand to analyse the impact on producers and consumers of the solution contemplated by the Government to cut the VAT on food and how such decision can be sustained by the Budget. On the other hand, the implementation of taxation on the income of agricultural producers of various sizes should be analysed, as that could be another way in which agricultural producers may be stimulated to state their production, and also the policy of the Romanian Government in relation to the associations of producers for trade purposes. I believe the producers may not state the production individually, but if they want to trade on the market and decide to do so through a cooperative or in a group of producers, then there must be some facilities in this respect,' Ciolos told a news conference in Bucharest.
Ciolos also argued that untaxed agriculture in Romania is in a vicious circle that has to be broken.
'This is a vicious circle because there is no fiscalisation in agriculture in order to avoid entering the market, but if there is no market entry there will be no public investment funds and without such funds there is no modernisation. This vicious circle has to be broken,' said Ciolos.
Romania's Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Daniel Constantin has recently told the specialist committees of Parliament that he is considering cutting the VAT to 9 percent, from a current 24 percent, on bakery and wheat milling products throughout the year, as he argued tax evasion reached an alarming 70-percent level after the VAT increased from 19 percent to 24 percent on July 1, 2010.
Ciolos: Romania must trim to hundreds or even dozens of traditional products registered in Europe
European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Dacian Ciolos believes Romania must have several dozens or hundreds traditional products registered in Europe, as an improvement from the 4,000 registered in Romania at the moment.
'I believe the time has come for an evolution in Romania, from the several thousand traditional products several hundreds or even dozens registered in Europe, with origin name or with geographical indication. A quantity and quality effort must be made,' European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Dacian Ciolos told a press conference on Tuesday, May 22.
He thinks it is not enough to have an amount of traditional products if the consumer cannot identify them or does not understand which is the difference between a traditional product and the other products. 'I think a regulated framework is necessary as a complement, easy to implement for the producer and easy to understand for the consumer to make a difference between a traditional product and the other products which might claim they are traditional but there is nothing to make a difference from those which have features of the traditional. ... I want to watch this matter personally and I will resume these talks in the autumn because there is a potential in Romania on this segment and I would like them to make use of the opportunities Europe enjoys.' Ciolos explained.
The European Commissioner also stressed that he recently held a European conference on the topic of local products and markets from the point of view of the financial support through the common agricultural policy, where the talks were held about the sanitary-veterinary rules.
'I included the sanitary-veterinary rules in the discussion, the food safety regulations and the special rules that can be implemented for these traditional products created at a small scale. We have to underline this aspect with a guideline to show the member states and the sanitary-veterinary services how they can implement these special rules without jeopardizing the consumers, and without leading to an administrative fuss which might trigger expenses incurred by producers,' Dacian Ciolos said.
As regards the matter of small B&B (bed & breakfast) units getting access to local products, the European commissioner said that the European Commission will present a report on the development potential of the local markets with food in the EU and he will decide later on which measures should be taken to encourage consumption of local products in Europe.