European Parliament 7 February 2003, WRITTEN QUESTION E-0296/03 by Gabriele Stauner (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Mrs Cresson.

As far as the budget is concerned, the figures proposed reflect the will to ensure budget neutrality with the current Community expenditure on improvement plans: the Community spent EUR 970 million in 12 years. It is foreseen to cover a large part of the productive area, which has been estimated at 800 000 hectares (ha). This explains the level of EUR 100/ha.