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.
Με την ερώτησή του προς την Κομισιόν, ο ευρωβουλευτής του ΠΑΣΟΚ ζητά να διευκρινιστεί αν η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή παρακολουθεί την ορθή και έγκαιρη υλοποίηση των προγραμμάτων ΟΕΦ στην Ελλάδα, ιδίως ως προς την καταβολή των προβλεπόμενων ενισχύσεων.
Παράλληλα, ρωτά αν προτίθεται να ζητήσει από τις ελληνικές αρχές σαφές χρονοδιάγραμμα αποπληρωμής προς τις Οργανώσεις και ποια μέτρα μπορεί να λάβει ώστε οι καθυστερήσεις να μη θέσουν σε κίνδυνο τη λειτουργία των ΟΕΦ και τη στήριξη των ελαιοπαραγωγών.
Στην δήλωσή του, ο Σάκης Αρναούτογλου τονίζει: «Η ελληνική ελαιοκομία δεν μπορεί να αντιμετωπίζεται με προχειρότητα και καθυστερήσεις. Οι Οργανώσεις Ελαιοκομικών Φορέων έκαναν αυτό που έπρεπε: υλοποίησαν εγκεκριμένες δράσεις, στήριξαν τους παραγωγούς, επένδυσαν στην ποιότητα, στην εκπαίδευση, στην καινοτομία και στη βιωσιμότητα. Η Κυβέρνηση, όμως, δεν μπορεί να αφήνει 65 Οργανώσεις και περισσότερους από 20.000 ελαιοπαραγωγούς χωρίς σαφές χρονοδιάγραμμα πληρωμής.
Δεν μιλάμε για πολυτέλεια. Μιλάμε για τη ρευστότητα, την επιβίωση και την αξιοπιστία ενός ολόκληρου παραγωγικού τομέα. Όταν οι παραγωγοί και οι οργανώσεις τους τηρούν τις υποχρεώσεις τους, το κράτος οφείλει να τηρεί τις δικές του. Η καθυστέρηση των πληρωμών υπονομεύει την εμπιστοσύνη, διαλύει τον προγραμματισμό και στέλνει λάθος μήνυμα στους ανθρώπους της παραγωγής.
Η Κυβέρνηση οφείλει να δώσει άμεσα καθαρές απαντήσεις: πότε θα πληρωθούν οι Οργανώσεις; Ποιο είναι το χρονοδιάγραμμα; Πώς θα διασφαλιστεί ότι δεν θα χαθούν δράσεις, θέσεις εργασίας και πολύτιμη στήριξη για τους ελαιοπαραγωγούς;
Ο ελαιοκομικός τομέας είναι στρατηγικό πλεονέκτημα για την Ελλάδα. Δεν μπορεί να στηρίζεται στα λόγια και να εγκαταλείπεται στην πράξη. Θα συνεχίσουμε να πιέζουμε σε ευρωπαϊκό επίπεδο, ώστε να υπάρξει διαφάνεια, λογοδοσία και άμεση αποπληρωμή των προβλεπόμενων ενισχύσεων».
