28. 7. 86 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 189/15 
made, or where appropriate continued, in such areas as 
caring for and monitoring the progress of pregnant women, 
particularly in the case of high-risk pregnancies, making 
childbirth safer, developing medical care for schoolchil­
dren, preventing accidents (at work, on the road and in the 
home) with particular attention being paid to road traffic 
safety for children, and providing objective information on 
the effects of certain anti-social habits on those who 
practise them and those around them (e.g. nicotinism, 
which causes ill-effects in smokers and any members of 
their families who suffer from respiratory problems). 
2.14. European Road Safety Year should be used to raise 
the safety-consciousness of car and cycle (especially 
powered cycle) manufacturers, those responsible for road 
trafic management, and above all road users — especially 
parents and young people. 
(h) Consulting disabled people and their families 
2.15. The Committee calls on the public authorities, 
together with the medical sector and the social services, to 
develop consultation with the associations representing the 
interests of the disabled, which have day-to-day experience 
of disabled people's needs and aspirations. (i) European aid 
2.16 The Community's Funds — particularly in the 
context of their future restructuring — must be orientated 
to take account of priority measures in favour of the 
disabled, and especially for their vocational and social 
integration. 
2.17 Ensuring free movement of disabled people 
Not only should free movement be guaranteed for the 
disabled as for others; it must also be facilitated by helping 
to reunite families within the Community. 
(j) Before calling for action by others, should one not make an 
effort oneself? 
2.18. So that the advocacy of equal rights and opportu­
nities for the disables is not too vague or aimed solely at 
'others', the Economic and Social Committee is examining 
how much it and the other Community institutions do, 
statutorily or voluntarily, to assist the vocational integ­
ration of disabled people. 
Done at Brussels, 23 April 1986. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Gerd MUHR 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulations (EEC) No 2358/71, 
(EEC) No 2727/75 and (EEC) No 950/68 in respect of seed 
(86/C 189/08) 
On 6 February 1986 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under 
Articles 43 and 198 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the 
abovementioned proposal. 
The Section for Agriculture, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the 
subject, adopted its opinion on 3 April 1986 in the light of the oral report by Mr Schnieders. 
At its 236th plenary session (meeting of 23 April 1986), the Economic and Social Committee 
unanimously adopted the following opinion. 
The proposal seeks to bring sorghum and fodder crop seeds which are of importance to the 
Mediterranean area within the Community system. 
No C 189/16 Official Journal of the European Communities 28. 7. 86 
The Economic and Social Committee endorses the proposal. 
Done at Brussels, 23 April 1986. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Gerd MUHR 
Opinion on the communication from the Commission to the Council — public supply 
contracts — conclusions and perspectives 
(86/C 189/09) 
On 28 March 1985 the Commission decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under 
Article 198 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the communication 
from the Commission to the Council — Public supply contracts — conclusions and perspectives. 
The Committee for Industry, Commerce, Crafts and Services, which was responsible for the 
Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 2 April 1986, in the light of the report by 
Sir George Sharp. 
At its 236th plenary session (meeting of 23 April 1986) the Economic and Social Committee 
adopted the following opinion unanimously, less three abstentions. 
1. The Committee welcomes the candid nature of the 
communication's criticism of the non-functioning of the 
Community's internal market in respect of public purchas­
ing. Notwithstanding the difficulties of changing long-
established practices and the inherent pressures associated 
with implementing a policy which may appear to conflict 
with perceived local, regional and national interests, the 
Committee is strongly of the view that the basic legislation 
governing procurement on a Community scale must be 
respected — contrary to what has hitherto been the case — 
without exception by all parties. In view of the lip-service 
paid to the realization of this goal, by the heads of those 
very governments who have failed to implement the 
Community policies in this area, it is clear that more than 
pious statements of intent are called for. Indeed, the 
Committee feels that the political credibility of the 
Community legislation in this area is at stake if serious 
efforts are not made to make public authorities comply 
with the spirit as well as the letter of the Community 
legislation in this matter. 
1.2. The present communicaton is long overdue; in fact 
the Council in its resolution of 21 December 1976 asked the 
Commission within three years of the adoption of Directive 
77/62/EEC, which is the basic Directive for the Community 
system of public procurement, to present a report on how 
the system worked. 
1.2.1. The delay in the publication of the communi­
cation, however, is apparently due not only to Commission 
tardiness but aslo to negligence on the part of the Member States in carrying out even the 'apparently rudimentary 
statistical requirement' of Directive 77/62/EEC. The 
Committee, faced with the problem of establishing whether 
the statistical information of the present communication is 
sufficiently significant, representative and reliable to draw 
valid conclusions, wishes to impress upon the Commission 
the necessity of laying down more complete and detailed 
statistical requirements. It is extremely important, e.g., to 
establish more clearly the extent to which local subsidiaries 
and agents are securing contracts in the public sector on 
behalf of manufacturers from other Member States. While 
there is evidence to demonstrate that many public 
purchasing organizations are placing their contracts within 
their own countries the actual volume of goods originating 
within other Member States but ordered locally could be 
considerable. 
1.3. The Commission document is divided up into a 
factual, analytical part, describing the system and pointing 
out its deficiencies; and an action part with remedying 
proposals which should also now be seen in conjunction 
with the relevant part of the White Paper on the internal 
market of mid-1985, the object of which is to achieve a 
single, unified internal market by 1992. 
1.4. Public procurement represents a significant pro-
potion of expenditure within each Member State and it is of 
vital importance in the development of a true internal 
market that the Directives designed to achieve this 
objective are observed and implemented. 
1.5. The non-existence of any effective common market 
in the area of public procurement has been estimated to 
result in an annual cost to the taxpayers of some 40 billion