ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
C 80/46 EN 30.3.2004 Official Journal of the European Union
Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Council
Regulation amending Regulation (EEC) No 1696/71 on the common organisation of the market
in hops’
(COM(2003) 562 final — 2003/0216 (CNS))
(2004/C 80/13)
On 7 October 2003 the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee under
the third paragraph of Article 37(2) of the EC Treaty, on the above-mentioned proposal.
On 28 October 2003, the Committee Bureau instructed the Section for Agriculture, Rural Development
and the Environment to prepare the Committee’s opinion on this matter.
In view of the urgency of the matter, at its 404th plenary session on 10 and 11 December 2003 (meeting
of 11 December) the European Economic and Social Committee appointed Mr Kienle as rapporteur-general and unanimously adopted its opinion.
1. Introduction
1.1. Hops are now grown in eight of the EU Member States;
traditionally this is a crop which is strongly geared to
exports and the world market. A total of approximately
22 700 hectares are under hops cultivation, producing around35 000 tonnes.
1.2. The total world production of hops amounts to
92 000 tonnes, nearly 40 % of which is produced by the EU.Other major producers are the USA, China and the CzechRepublic.
2. Gist of the Commission proposal
2.1. The Commission is proposing an extension to the
arrangements for the 2004 harvest both for the common
organisation of the hops market and the special measuresrelating to temporary set-aside and permanent grubbing-up. Ithas announced at the same time that it will present the future
Brussels, 11 December 2003.
The President
of the European Economic and Social Committee
Roger BRIESCHguidelines for the common organisation of the market in hops
as of 2005 in a report with proposals for regulations.
3. General comments
3.1. The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
welcomes the Commission’s proposal of 25 September 2003
on the extension of the hops market organisation, includingthe special measures for the 2004 harvest.
4. Further comments
4.1. The Commission presented the report and guidelines
for the future hops market organisation on 30 September2003. The report’s assessment of the current common organis-
ation of the hops market is positive. The EESC feels that this
reinforces the points made in its previous opinion on thissubject, and is expecting that a reform — in line with the
agricultural reform of 26 June 2003 (Luxembourg decisions)
— will essentially be based on a partial decoupling, whilemaintaining the provision of aid and taking particular accountof producer groups’ views.
EN Official Journal of the European Union C 112/46

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste (codified version)’

(COM(2003) 731 final – 2003/0283 COD)

(2004/C 112/13)

On 9 December 2003, the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Articles 175 and 251 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on this subject, adopted its opinion on 4 March 2004. The rapporteur was Mr Donnelly.

At its 407th plenary session of 31 March and 1 April 2004 (meeting of 31 March 2004), the European Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 101 votes in favour, with one abstention.

1. Introduction

1.1 The purpose of this proposal is to undertake a codification of Council Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 on waste. The new Directive will supersede the various acts incorporated in it; this proposal fully preserves the content of the acts being codified and hence does no more than bring them together with only such formal amendments as are required by the codification exercise itself.

1.2 The Committee regards it as very useful to have all the texts integrated into one Directive. In the context of a People's Europe, the Committee, like the Commission, attaches great importance to simplifying and clarifying Community law so as to make it clearer and more accessible to ordinary citizens, thus giving them new opportunities and the chance to make use of the specific rights it gives them. It has been ensured that this compilation of provisions contains no changes of substance and serves only the purpose of presenting Community law in a clear and transparent way. The Committee expresses its total support for this objective and, in the light of these guarantees, welcomes the proposal.
EN Official Journal of the European Union C 117/11

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the quality of fresh waters needing protection or improvement in order to support fish life’ (Codified version)

(COM(2004) 19 final – 2004/0002 (COD))

(2004/C 117/04)

On 29 January 2004, the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Articles 175 and 251 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the ‘Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the quality of fresh waters needing protection or improvement in order to support fish life’ (COM(2004) 19 final - 2004/0002 (COD)).

The Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 5 April 2004. The rapporteur was Ms Santiago.

At its 408th plenary session (meeting of 28 April 2004), the European Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion with 102 votes in favour and one abstention.

1. Introduction

The purpose of this proposal is to undertake a codification of Council Directive 78/659/EEC of 18 July 1978 on the quality of fresh waters needing protection or improvement in order to support fish life (1). The new Directive will supersede the various acts incorporated in it (2); the proposal fully preserves the content of the acts being codified and hence does no more than bring them together with only such formal amendments as are required by the codification exercise itself.

2. General comments

The Committee regards it as very useful to have all the texts integrated into one Directive. In the context of a People's Europe, the Committee, like the Commission, attaches great importance to simplifying and clarifying Community law so as to make it clearer and more accessible to ordinary citizens, thus giving them new opportunities and the chance to make use of the specific rights it gives them.

3. It has been ensured that this compilation of provisions contains no changes of substance and serves only the purpose of presenting Community law in a clear and transparent way. The Committee expresses its total support for this objective and, in the light of these guarantees, welcomes the proposal.

Brussels, 28 April 2004. The President of the European Economic and Social Committee Roger BRIESCH

(1) Carried out pursuant to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council – Codification of the Acquis communautaire, COM(2001) 645 final.

(2) See Annex III, Part A of the proposal.
4.1.6

Even though there is an awareness of the possibilities of e-business and many SMEs are at the forefront in using e-commerce, there are some problems that still prohibit the full participation of the majority of SMEs in ‘the e-business society’. These problems are of a more general nature, and do not specifically limit themselves to electronic trading. Nevertheless, these problems are also relevant for this area. — SMEs tend to be more focused on the immediate problems. They hesitate to invest in technology and procedures that do not have an immediate pay back. — A lack of solutions, designed and developed particularly for SMEs. SMEs do not have the same requirements as larger companies and worse, consultants tend often to be too expensive for SMEs, so they cannot easily use existing solutions. — SMEs often do not have the specialists required for many of the software packages, nor for developing their own interfaces to standard software. — Many large enterprises demand from their suppliers that they implement specific software as a condition for them to become or stay as suppliers. This creates a lock in situation, as a SME often can't afford, nor handle the complex technical situation created if several of their customers each require specific solutions. This could also be seen as a problem, due to a lack of general standards. — eBusiness introduces an economy of scale factor for the benefit of larger companies, — or even with a regressional effect as indicated above. The SME cannot set its own rules; the cost for implementing support is more or less regardless of size. So the SME might have to implement several different solutions, whereas the larger company has one.
3.15

Lastly, the EESC considers that work on risk prevention must be encouraged at all levels to mitigate or nullify the consequences of such situations, by forecasting events of this nature, preventing disasters, and preparing and setting in motion early response mechanisms in order to safeguard human life and wellbeing and to prevent the destruction of infrastructure and of material and immaterial assets. The EESC would not, therefore, object to the inclusion in the Regulation of a restrictive clause which, in order to encourage prevention, would limit, reduce or eliminate EUSF support in proven cases of negligence on the part of the public authorities of the State in question, provided that the State is able to cope financially with the event's aftermath. The EUSF could nevertheless still provide assistance in such cases, in the form of a loan rather than a grant, because it is the populations affected by the disaster that the support is ultimately intended to benefit. Giving EU grants to States which have been negligent creates a climate of slackness and irresponsibility and increases the risk of certain types of disaster which could in some cases be prevented.
4.2

Article 55 states that a customs debt is incurred even in the case of smuggled or illegally-trafficked goods (defined as ‘goods which are subject to measures of prohibition or restriction on importation or exportation of any kind’): customs duties are due in any event, without prejudice to the application of other criminal or administrative measures. However, counterfeit currency and narcotic drugs which do not enter the authorised circuits are exempt from the customs debt; these kinds of trafficking are clearly viewed purely as criminal offences, except in cases where a Member State's legislation requires customs duties to serve as the basis for determining financial penalties. Despite an opinion to the contrary from the European Court of Justice, the EESC does not believe that customs authorities should be deprived of the legitimate income they would have gained from establishing a customs debt — administrative and criminal penalties apart — at least in the case of narcotic drugs, whose value could be set at the respective market price. The fact that a drug is imported illegally does not change the fact that it is still an import. In other words, while the reason for exempting counterfeit currency is clear, the reason for exempting narcotic drugs is not.
EN Official Journal of the European Union C 318/122

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Proposal for a Council Regulation on glucose and lactose (codified version)

COM(2006) 116 final — 2006/0038 CNS

(2006/C 318/22)

On 2 May 2006, the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Article 308 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the abovementioned proposal.

The Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, which was responsible for the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 11 July 2006. The rapporteur was Mr Donnelly.

At its 429th plenary session held on 13 and 14 September 2006 (meeting of 13 September), the European Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 187 votes to one and seven abstentions.

1. Introduction

1.1 The purpose of this proposal is to undertake a codification of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2730/75 of 29 October 1975 on glucose and lactose. The new Regulation will supersede the various acts incorporated in it; this proposal fully preserves the content of the acts being codified and hence does no more than bringing them together with only such formal amendments as are required by the codification exercise itself.

2. General comments

2.1 In the context of a people's Europe, the European Economic and Social Committee supports the Commission in simplifying and clarifying Community law so as to make it clearer and more accessible to ordinary citizens, thus giving them new opportunities and the chance to make use of the specific rights it gives them.

2.2 The Committee believes that codification must be undertaken in full compliance with the normal Community legislative procedure.
EN Official Journal of the European Union C 161/37

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the maximum design speed of and load platforms for wheeled agricultural or forestry tractors (Codified version)

COM(2006) 667 final — 2006/0219 (COD)

(2007/C 161/09)

On 22 November 2006, the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Article 95 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for the Single Market, Production and Consumption, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 7 February 2007. The rapporteur was Mr Burns.

At its 434th plenary session, held on 14 and 15 March 2007 (meeting of 14 March), the European Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 151 votes with 6 abstentions.

1. The purpose of the proposal is to undertake the codification of Council Directive 74/152/EEC of 4 March 1974 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the maximum design speed of and load platforms for wheeled agricultural or forestry tractors.

2. The Committee considers the codification of all texts in a single directive to be very useful. It has been assured that this codification contains no substantial change and its sole purpose is to render Community legislation clear and transparent. The Committee fully endorses this objective and, having received the above-mentioned assurance, welcomes the proposal.
EN Official Journal of the European Union C 97/13

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Proposal for a Council Directive on pure-bred breeding animals of the bovine species (codified version)

COM(2006) 749 final — 2006/0250 (CNS)

(2007/C 97/05)

On 22 December 2006 the European Commission decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Articles 37 and 94 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the abovementioned proposal.

The Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 25 January 2007. The rapporteur was Mr Bros.

At its 433rd plenary session, held on 15 and 16 February 2007 (meeting of 15 February), the European Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 184 votes to 1, with 16 abstentions:

1. Introduction

1.1 The purpose of this proposal is to undertake a codification of Council Directive 77/504/EEC of 25 July 1977 on pure-bred breeding animals of the bovine species. The new Directive will supersede the various acts incorporated in it; this proposal fully preserves the content of the acts being codified and hence does no more than bring them together with only such formal amendments as are required by the codification exercise itself.

2. General comments

2.1 The Committee regards it as very useful to have all the texts integrated into one Directive. In the context of a People's Europe, the Committee, like the Commission, attaches great importance to simplifying and clarifying Community law so as to make it clearer and more accessible to ordinary citizens, thus giving them new opportunities and the chance to make use of the specific rights it gives them.

2.2 It has been ensured that this compilation of provisions contains no changes of substance and serves only the purpose of presenting Community law in a clear and transparent way. The Committee expresses its total support for this objective and, in the light of these guarantees, welcomes the proposal.
EN Official Journal of the European Union C 175/13

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS) by reason of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union’

COM(2007) 95 final — 2007/0038 (COD)

(2007/C 175/04)

On 25 April 2007 the Council of the European Union decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Article 262 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the abovementioned proposal.

The Committee Bureau instructed the Section for Economic and Monetary Union and Economic and Social Cohesion to prepare the Committee's work on the subject.

Given the urgent nature of the work, the European Economic and Social Committee appointed Mr Burani as rapporteur-general at its 436th plenary session, held on 30 and 31 May 2007 (meeting of 30 May 2007), and adopted the following opinion unanimously.

1. Introduction

1.1 Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council established a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS) for the Member States.

1.2 An initial amendment was made in 2005 following the accession of 10 new Member States. A further amendment has become necessary following the accession of Bulgaria and Romania, in order to insert tables concerning these new Member States into the annex to the regulation.

2. Comments and conclusions

2.1 The EESC takes note of the Commission's proposal. Given that the need for the proposal has arisen following the accession of new Member States, and that it is of a purely technical nature, the Committee gives its full agreement.
2.7

However, the agreement on transport by inland waterway is currently at the ratification stage and is expected to come into effect by 2009 at the latest. Taking this into account, the Committee agrees with the Commission's assertion that it makes sense to introduce transport by inland waterway into EU legislation, if only for the sake of harmonisation. Equally, this represents an opportunity to update and standardise the existing legislation. In addition, one must not allow the development of two separate legal systems: one for international transport, the other for domestic transport. Yet another reason for revising the legislation is that the existing EU legislation on the transport of dangerous goods is already quite complex. The legislative acts for certain modes of transport contain a number of inconsistencies whilst other regulations are or will soon be obsolete. For example, two directives may currently be considered to be redundant following the incorporation of their provisions into ADR, RID and ADN. A technical problem also exists regarding the current structure of the existing directives; according to the treaties, full translations must be made of the extensive technical appendices once every two years, whenever an international agreement or treaty is amended. This has proven to be a highly difficult and expensive process.
EN Official Journal of the European Union C 120/14

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 80/181/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to units of measurement’

COM(2007) 510 final — 2007/0187 (COD)

(2008/C 120/02)

On 26 September 2007 the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Article 95 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the

Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 80/181/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to units of measurement.

The Section for the Single Market, Production and Consumption, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 21 November 2007. The rapporteur was Mr Cassidy.

At its 440th plenary session, held on 12 and 13 December 2007 (meeting of 12 December), the European Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 114 votes, with two abstentions.

1. Conclusions and recommendations

1.1 The EESC approves the present proposal without reservation.

1.2 The Directive mentions end 2009 as the deadline for using ‘supplementary indications’ i.e. non-metric indications. Maintaining this deadline would be a cost for all EU enterprises involved in trans-Atlantic trade.

1.3 The Directive also requires the UK and Ireland to fix a deadline concerning the exemptions to use the pint, mile and troy ounces.

1.4 The Commission's proposal is to get rid of these deadlines not replacing them with new ones.

1.5 The Directive defines as the legal units of measurement in the EU the metric units or SI units meaning Système International, which is the worldwide system adopted by the Conférence générale des poids et mesures (CGPM) in 1960. Though the European Union itself is not a signatory, all Member States are. The regular updating of SI units for technical progress leads to the Commission proposing to adopt as the ‘katal’ symbol as the SI unit for catalytic activity.

1.6 The EESC welcomes this Commission proposal as part of the drive to simplify and improve legislation and welcomes the Commission's sensitivity in acknowledging the importance of ‘subsidiarity’ for Ireland and the UK.
EN Official Journal of the European Union C 162/87

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the exploitation and marketing of natural mineral waters (Recast)

COM(2007) 858 final — 2007/0292 (COD)

(2008/C 162/21)

On 30 January 2008 the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Article 95 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the

Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the exploitation and marketing of natural mineral waters (Recast)

Since the Committee unreservedly endorses the contents of the proposal and has already set out its views on the subject in its earlier opinion, adopted on 24 February 1971 (1), and in the opinion CESE 196/1995, adopted on 23 February 1995 (2), it decided, at its 442nd plenary session, held on 13 and 14 February 2008 (meeting of 13 February), by 133 votes to 2 with 2 abstentions to issue an opinion endorsing the proposal and to refer to the position it had taken in the above-mentioned documents.

Brussels, 13 February 2008. The President of the European Economic and Social Committee Dimitris DIMITRIADIS

(1) Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the proposal for a Council Directive on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the exploitation and marketing of natural mineral waters (OJ C 36 of 19.4.1971, p. 14).

(2) Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive amending Council Directive 80/777/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the exploitation and marketing of natural mineral waters — COM(1994) 423 final (OJ C 110 of 2.5.1995, p. 55).