InrelationtotheProtocolonanimalwelfareintheAmsterdamTreatythereisnosuggestionbythe
HonourableMemberthatUnionpoliciesareafactorinfluencingthepracticecomplainedofandthereforetheProtocolwouldnotappeartoberelevantinthiscase.
TheCommissionisnotawareoftheexactconditionsunderwhichwildharesaretransportedtocoursing
eventsinIreland.
Council Directive 91/628/EEC of 18November 1991 on the protection of animals during transport
(amending Directives 90/425/EEC and 91/496/EEC), as amended by Council Directive 95/29/EC of29June1995,doesnotapplytotransportofanimalsonjourneysoflessthan50kms,transportwhichisnotofacommercialnatureortotransportofanyindividualanimalaccompaniedbyapersonwhohasresponsibilityforitduringtransport.Withtheseexceptions,transportofwildhareswouldbecoveredbytherelevantprovisionsoftheDirectiverelatingto‘othermammalsandbirds’.
(2004/C58E/120) WRITTENQUESTIONE-1863/03
byBerndLange(PSE)totheCommission
(6June2003)
Subject:Problemsintheimplementationofthesixthresearchframeworkprogrammeowingtoauditing
costs
Inordertobeeligibleforreimbursementunderthesixthresearchframeworkprogramme,thecostsof
integratedprojectsandnetworksofexcellencemustbecertifiedeachyearbyanindependentauditor.Theresultisthatauditingcostsareextremelyhigh,andmuchofthefundingprovidedisnotusedforactualresearch.
Moreover,thewayinwhichpublicbodiesarerequiredtoconductauditsisstillnotsufficientlyclear.
Whyarepartnerswithsmallsharesinprojectsnotrequiredsimplytoconductanauditofthetotalcosts
oftheprojectinsteadofobtaininganannualcertificate,soastoreduceauditingcosts?
Can public bodies be exempted from the external certification requirement, or is verification by an
independentexpertrequiredheretoo?
AnswergivenbyMrBusquinonbehalfoftheCommission
(25July2003)
TheCommissionfullysharestheconcernoftheHonourableMembertokeeptheauditcertificatecostsas
lowaspossible.Certificationbyanexternalauditorofactualexpensesincurred,asaconditionfortheirreimbursement,isaprincipleestablishedinArticle14ofRegulation(EC)2321/2002oftheParliamentandofthe Councilof16December 2002concerning the rulesforthe participation ofundertakings,researchcentresanduniversitiesin,andforthedisseminationofresearchresultsfor,theimplementationoftheEuropeanCommunitySixthFrameworkProgramme(2002-2006)(
1).Therequirementofannual
audit certificates for Networks of Excellence (NoE’s) and Integrated Projects (IP’s) results from thecharacteristicsofthesenewinstruments,whichwillinvolvesignificantCommunitycontributionsandwilllastoveranumberofyears.
Ontheotherhand,forotherinstruments,althoughanauditcertificatewillberequiredatsomepoint,itis
notnecessarilyannual.ThisisanissuetobedeterminedinthenegotiationbetweentheCommissionandthecontractors,dependingonthedurationoftheproject,itsnatureandestimatedbudgetandinrespectoftheprovisionsoftheFinancialRegulationanditsimplementingmodalitiesrequiringauditcertificatesincertaincases.6.3.2004EN C58E/105 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanUnion
TheHonourableMemberwillunderstandthatforreasonsofnon-discrimination,entitiesfromboththe
privateandthepublicsectorhavetosubmitauditcertificates.However,publicentitiescanhavetheirauditcertificatesdeliveredeitherbyanexternalauditororbyapubliccompetentofficer(seealsoArticle14oftheabovementionedRegulation).Thelatterwillcertainlyreducethecostsrelatedtotheauditcertificatesforpublicbodies.
ItshouldalsobenotedthatthecostsofauditcertificatesarefullycoveredbytheCommunityfunding
contributionunderthemanagementactivityforeseenineachprojectandrepresentonlyaminorportionofthetotalcostsoftheprojects,thegreatbulkofwhichisdevotedtocarryingouttheresearchwork.
(1) OJL355,30.12.2002.
(2004/C58E/121) WRITTENQUESTIONE-1883/03
byChristopherHuhne(ELDR)totheCommission
(6June2003)
Subject:Tradeimpactofeuro
WilltheCommissionsummarisetheconclusionsofanymajorstudies,includingitsown,ontheimpactof
theeuroontradewithintheeuro-area?Willitestimatethesizeofanyincreaseintradeasaresultoftheintroductionoftheeuro?
AnswergivenbyMrSolbesMiraonbehalfoftheCommission
(14July2003)
Severalstudieshavebeenmadeontheimpactoftheeuroontradewithintheeuro-area,althoughthe
periodsincetheintroductionofthesinglecurrencyisstillshortandthetotaleffecthasprobablynotyetoccurred.Thesestudiesfindasignificantincreaseoftradeasaresultoftheeuro-introduction.
Looking at the euro-area Barr, Breedon and Miles(
1) come to the conclusion that the Economic and
MonetaryUnion(EMU)hasalreadyledtoa29%increaseintheleveloftradebetweeneuromembers.AlsousingdatafromEuropeancountriesMicco,SteinandOrdonez(
2)findasizeableeffectforthebilateral
tradebetweenthemembersoftheEurozone:theEMUeffectisestimatedtohaveincreasedtradebetween
12and19%.Finally,BunandKlaassen(3)concludeintheirstudyontheeffectontradeanincreaseof4%
inthefirstyearandaprojectedlongruneffectofabout40%.
Recently the United Kingdom Treasury has published several background EMU-studies to inform the
assessmentofthefiveeconomictestsonUK-membershipofthesinglecurrency.Inoneofthesestudies,EMUandtrade,anoverviewofstudiesontheeffectsofcurrency-unionsontradeandspecificallyofEMUontradecanbefound.
(1) BarrD.,F.BreedonandD.Miles,Lifeontheoutside:economicconditionsandprospectsoutsideEurolandin
EconomicPolicy,2003,forthcoming.
(2) MiccoA.,E.SteinandG.Ordonez,Thecurrencyunioneffectontrade:earlyevidencefromtheEuropeanUnion,
InterAmericanDevelopmentBank2002.
(3) Bun M. and F. Klaassen, Has the euro increased trade?, Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper No 02-108/2,
UniversityofAmsterdam2002.C58E/106 EN6.3.2004 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanUnion