Vol. 520 No. 5
109 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the steps he will take to ensure that the rural development plan is put on the fast track for consideration with other countries like Austria, Finland and Germany, so that the measures will be implemented as soon as possible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16263/00]
The CAP rural development plan, which includes four measures viz. REPS, early retirement, compensatory allowances and forestry, was submitted to the European Commission at the end of December 1999. Negotiations have taken place since then with the commission and other bodies involved, related mainly to environmental aspects and also the new area based compensatory allowances scheme.
Additional information has now been submitted to the commission and further negotiations are due to take place in the near future.
There is a standard formal procedure for the approval of all plans through the committee on agricultural structures and rural development and by its nature this exercise involves a considerable amount of detail and documentation. It is my objective to ensure that approval is forthcoming in the shortest possible time.
