It is not feasible that the European Union should depend long-term on imports – some 75% of its requirements – of a family of products as important, vital and strategic as oilseed proteins.

It is equally crucial to demand the immediate resumption, in the framework of the WTO, of the talks on the provisions of the Marrakech agreement relating to oilseed, an agreement which goes very much against European producers, so as to prevent the ban on meat-and-bone meal from resulting in mass imports of oilseed that may contain genetically modified organisms.

An analysis of the sectoral proposals set out under Agenda 2000 has prompted the Committee to conclude that the proposals designed to reduce cereal and beef prices, abolish aid for silage maize, and introduce new measures for oilseeds and protein crops, go too far.

The aim is to adapt the fruit and vegetables and wine-growing sectors to the new conditions of competition and to diversify out of these sectors into products for which there are markets : maize, sorghum, seeds, oil and protein crops, rice, aromatic and medicinal plants, ornamental plants, etc.

Data sheet 4 IMP FOR THE ARDECHE Development Themes The development priorities for the Ardeche are as follows : To improve the competitiveness of products directly threatened by enlargement, by modernizing Mediterranean agricultural production structures and by diversifying into products with assured outlets (forest industries, aromatic and medicinal plants, seeds, soft fruit and oil and protein crops) ; To develop the tourist potential, including spas, while protecting and improving the environment with the aims of providing additional income to farming households and revitalizing the economy of areas with strong tourist potential ; T ...[+++]o secure the industrial future of the Ardeche by strengthening the conditions for small business creation and expansion.