Two crucial issues of the table olive sector require immediate and effective interventions from the responsible Ministry of Rural Development & Food and the state. One is the problems faced by the Olive Registry and the other is the attitude of payments of the Olive Organizations (OEFs). This is reported by the National Interprofessional Olive Table Organization (DOEPEL).
Stop payments of Olive Oil Organisations (OEFs)
The situation surrounding the implementation of OEF programmes has now exceeded all limits. With decisions, delays and manipulations that have essentially pulled the "hull under the feet" of the OEFs, the Ministry of Rural Development & Food leads dozens of Oil Producer Organizations to economic asphyxiation and collapse.
The programmes concern about 65 Organizations of Olive Producers and OEFs and more than 20,000 olive producers across the country. These are projects financed from resources derived from retentions of olive producers and returned to them through actions that enhance the competitiveness, quality, education, innovation and sustainability of the Greek olive sector.
Today, however, these organizations, having implemented approved actions and fully meeting their obligations, are faced with an unprecedented reality because of the attitude of payments and the failure to pay the subsidy.
Specifically:
- economic asphyxiation,
- failure to plan and continue subsequent actions; and
- serious risk of their closure.
Obligations run (pays, insurance, tax obligations etc.), employees struggle, partnerships collapse and olive producers desperately watch one of the most important tools of support lost in the industry.
The responsibility is specific and can no longer hide behind bureaucratic excuses. When 65 organisations are taken to the edge of the cliff and 20,000 olive producers are left without support, we are not talking about a mere administrative malfunction. We are talking about a political choice with disastrous consequences for the olive sector.
The FDAs are transmitting a distress signal. If there are no immediate solutions and clear decisions, the Organizations of olive producers will suspend or even cease their operation. The cost will not only be paid by the Organizations. It will be paid by the thousands of families living from the olive tree, the local economies and finally the Greek olive oil industry itself.
The National IOCEL once again calls for immediate intervention and final resolution of the problem, as time has run out. Each passing day brings the table olive branch closer to a crisis with economic and social consequences.
The agony has turned into despair. Patience is exhausted. The Ministry of Rural Development & Food must take responsibility now.
Direct Answers for the Oil Registry
The situation surrounding the implementation and operation of the Olive Oil Register is reminiscent of Babel and causes great inconvenience to the industry, IOCEL stresses.
Olive producers are invited to comply, under the threat of high fines, with requirements and procedures without clear instructions and without a stable framework for implementation.
Different interpretations, unanswered questions and lack of timely information have created a climate of complete uncertainty throughout the country.
It is inconceivable that such a critical sector for the Greek agricultural economy will operate in an environment of uncertainty and administrative ambiguity. HPAT has an obligation to provide clear instructions.
Olive farming can't afford any more experiments, no more rough approaches. Oil producers ask for the self-evident:
- clear rules,
- reliable tools and
- responsible information.
Olive farming and the table olive sector need support and guidance, not uncertainty and administrative chaos.
Producers cannot continue to operate in the dark.
Government leaves 20,000 oil producers waiting – Direct repayment of OEF projects
The European Commission's direct intervention in the major delays in the payment of aid to the Oil Corporations in Greece is requested by the MEP of PASOK and a member of the Committee on Agriculture of the European Parliament, Sakis Arnautoglu.
In his question, the MEP highlights the serious disruption that has been caused in the Greek olive sector, as, according to representatives of the industry, around 65 Oil Producers' Organizations and Oil Corporations, representing more than 20,000 olive producers throughout the country, have already implemented approved actions, have fulfilled their obligations, but have still not received the planned funding.
As he points out, these programmes are of particular importance for the Greek olive-growing sector, as they support actions for the quality, competitiveness, education, innovation, sustainability and organised operation of producers. This money is not a mere subsidy that can be delayed indefinitely. They come from resources related to the olive producers themselves and return to the industry through specific actions approved and implemented.
Delays, as Sakis Arnautoglu points out, are not a technical or bureaucratic issue. They create real conditions of economic asphyxiation for Organizations, the inability to plan new actions, the risk of their closure, but also serious effects on workers, producers and local economies, especially in areas where olive oil and olive oil are a key pillar of income and development.
With his question to the Commission, the PASOK MEP asks that it be clarified whether the European Commission is monitoring the correct and timely implementation of the OEF programmes in Greece, in particular as regards the payment of the planned aid.
At the same time, it asks whether it intends to ask the Greek authorities for a clear repayment schedule to the Organizations and what measures it can take to avoid jeopardising the operation of the OEFs and the support of olive producers.
In his statement, Sakis Arnautoglu points out: «Greek olive cultivation cannot be treated with roughness and delays. The Olive Oil Organizations did what they had to: they implemented approved actions, supported producers, invested in quality, education, innovation and sustainability. The Government, however, cannot leave 65 Organizations and more than 20,000 oil producers without a clear payment schedule.
We're not talking about luxury. We are talking about the liquidity, survival and reliability of an entire productive sector. Where producers and their organisations comply with their obligations, the State must comply with its own obligations. Delaying payments undermines confidence, dissolves programming and sends the wrong message to production people.
The Government must give immediate clear answers: when will the Organizations be paid? What's the timeline? How will it be ensured that actions, jobs and valuable support for olive producers are not lost?
The olive sector is a strategic advantage for Greece. It cannot rely on words and be abandoned in practice. We will continue to press at European level to ensure transparency, accountability and immediate repayment of planned aid».
