# CE2004070EN.01016901.xml

| 20.3.2004 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | CE 70/169 |
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20.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 70/169

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(2004/C 70 E/177)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2933/03

by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission

(6 October 2003)

Subject:   Limits on total concentration of DDT in fish

Subject:

As the Commission will certainly know, the DDT emergency in Lago Maggiore has resulted in all commercial fishing being banned since 1996, causing severe damage to the fishing trade and the tourist economy in the area. The closure of the insecticide manufacturing plants in the second half of 1996 failed to solve the problem, since the ban on fishing in the Italian part of the lake has continued. The total DDT levels found in some species of fish, some of which command extremely high prices, exceed the maximum concentrations provided for in Italian law. In the Swiss part of the lake, on the other hand, these species may be caught and sold, since the legal thresholds are 10 to 20 times higher than in Italy. The same disparity is to be found with all the EU countries which have set total DDT permissible content limits. This means that fish that may be caught and eaten in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands cannot be caught and eaten in Italy.

Given the above, can the Commission state:

| 1. | whether it would agree that this situation constitutes a distortion of free trade in and production of a foodstuff that is available over wide area? |
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1.

whether it would agree that this situation constitutes a distortion of free trade in and production of a foodstuff that is available over wide area?

| 2. | whether it would agree that it should propose that the Member States set uniform threshold values for DDT in fish, possibly based on the permissible doses for humans set by the WHO (the method used by Switzerland when it set its own limits in 1995)? |
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2.

whether it would agree that it should propose that the Member States set uniform threshold values for DDT in fish, possibly based on the permissible doses for humans set by the WHO (the method used by Switzerland when it set its own limits in 1995)?

| 3. | whether a request has been made in this connection by the Italian Government? |
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3.

whether a request has been made in this connection by the Italian Government?

| 4. | what stage has been reached in the procedure, if such a request has been made? |
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4.

what stage has been reached in the procedure, if such a request has been made?

| 5. | whether, if such a request has not been made, it is prepared to submit appropriate proposals? |
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5.

whether, if such a request has not been made, it is prepared to submit appropriate proposals?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(17 November 2003)

(17 November 2003)

The Commission has no evidence to support the hypothesis that the situation in Lago Maggiore described by the Honourable Member constitutes a distortion to intra-community trade.

The Commission agrees that it would be desirable that Member States use similar methodology when setting permissible residue limits at national level for undesirable substances in fish. This could be based on the methodology described by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The Commission is not aware of any request from the Italian Government in this regard.

The Commission has no plans at this time to submit proposals.

Moreover, the Commission would like to refer the Honourable Member to the answer given to the written question E-1460/98 from Umberto Bossi (1).

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(1)  OJ C 13, 20.1.1999.

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