6865 24 September 2001
Special Session of the Committee on Agriculture
Informal Meeting; 24-26 September 2001
Green Box

1. Green box measures have facilitated the reform process, Not only have they helped Members to move away from price support towards more transparent and less trade-distorting policies but they have also contributed to the achievement of a number of important societal goals in both developed and developing countries, The role of agriculture is not only to produce agricultural goods at the lowest possible cost, Agriculture encompasses other functions such as the preservation, management and enhancement of the rural landscape, the protection of the environment, including against natural hazards, and a contribution to the viability of the rural areas, The current green box provisions have contributed to implement policies to pursue these societal goals.
2. As regards specifically rural development, the EC believe that all the countries have the right to choose to preserve or develop the economic and social environment necessary to maintain rural population. Agricultural activities, in particular in remote or peripheral areas where there are few other possibilities of employment, can help to prevent depopulation, the social, economic and environmental cost of which is high for society. More generally, agricultural activities and farm diversification can contribute to the economic and social viability of rural areas and thus to a balanced territorial development. In most of the world, especially in developing countries, farming is the fabric of rural society and its main economic activity. Social and political stability depend on the continued economic health of the farm sector.
3. The EC believe that the current provisions provided for in the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) represent in general the right disciplines for addressing these issues and should therefore be maintained.
4. Having said that, the EC would like first to stress the requirement that green box measures have no, or at most minimal, trade-distorting effects, This reinforces the need to retain the provision that measures which are counter-cyclical (i.e. decided in response to price fluctuations) or which are determined by production, prices or inputs levels, should not be considered as green.
5. Secondly, coverage of new measures relating to increasingly important issues should also be adequately guaranteed. One of these issues is animal welfare. Legislation aimed at protecting animals may increase costs to producers. As producers from other countries are not confronted with similar additional cost, this can lead to unequal conditions of competition, and even drive down welfare standards world-wide. The EC is ready to engage in fruitful discussion with the membership to find appropriate ways to address this issue. In this context, the EC believe that it is legitimate that compensation for additional costs be exempted from reduction commitments whenever it can be clearly shown that these additional costs stem directly from the higher standards in question and thus have no, or at most minimal, trade-distorting effects.
6. The EC highlight the importance of according Special and differential treatment to developing countries, The EC believe that domestic support measures that promote the sustainable vitality of rural areas and the food security concerns of developing countries, in particular through means targeted at poverty alleviation, are of great relevance. Therefore, the EC propose that these measures where appropriate be exempted from any reduction commitment.