ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
WRITTEN QUESTION E-3810/02

by Albert Maat (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(9 January 2003)

Subject: Transport of animals

The Commission's report on the implementation of the Transport Directive (91/628/EEC(1)) clearly demonstrated that most Member States do not properly enforce transport rules and as a consequence many animals suffer unnecessarily, particularly those which travel long distances for slaughter. The Parliament in its report of November 2001 proposed several major changes to the Transport Directive, one of which

would limit long road journeys to eight hours or 500 km. Such a change would eliminate a great deal of animal suffering and should be discussed in the context of a Commission proposal for an amended directive.

Can the Commission explain why this proposal has not yet been published even though it was promised several months ago?

(1) OJ L 340, 11.12.1991, p. 17.

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(5 February 2003)

The Commission is aware of the Parliament resolution of 13 November 2001(1) and shares the opinion of the Honourable Member of the priority given to this subject.

Before adopting its proposal the Commission needed to be updated on the latest scientific data concerning the transport of animals. The Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare (Scahaw) adopted a report on the welfare of animals during transport on March 2002. It provided a comprehensive scientific review of issues related to animal transport.

The question of animal transport and in particular the maximum duration of the journey was also debated at the Agriculture Council of September 2002. On travelling times the debate was contentious and the Commission considered that further consultation was necessary.

Therefore the Commission consulted both the European citizens and the relevant organisations on the issue. Both initiatives have proved to be successful. Over the Web, more than 4,000 citizens from all over Europe expressed their agreement to the broad measures that the Commission intends to propose.

Several measures supported in this consultation have been expressed in the resolution of the Parliament of November 2001, such as better vehicles' standards, training certificates for drivers or improved communication between competent authorities.

The Commission foresees the adoption of its proposal on the protection of animals during transport during the first semester 2003.

(1) A5-0347/2001.
EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 84/88

(2004/C 84 E/0104)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3709/03

by Roberta Angelilli (UEN) to the Commission

(10 December 2003)

Subject: Update concerning the funds for the Altener II programme for the municipality of Macerata

With reference to question E-0965/03 (1), in which the Commission was asked whether the municipality of Macerata (Italy) had submitted projects and obtained funds under the Altener II programme, the Commission replied to the effect that no proposal had been submitted.

Can the Commission provide information on any projects submitted since the date of its reply (25 April 2003)?

(1) OJ C 268 E, 7.11.2003, p. 169.
EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 78/545

(2004/C 78 E/0575)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3427/03

by Mario Borghezio (NI) to the Commission

(18 November 2003)

Subject: Eurostat scandal — unanswered questions

To what extent was the Commission informed about the contents of the second van Buitenen report, submitted at the end of August 2001, in particular the problems encountered in Eurostat? What was its response?
No C 288/28 Official  Journal  of the European  Communities 6. II. 80 
CORRIGENDA 
Corrigendum  to Written  Question  No 581/80  by Mr Flanagan  to the Commission  of the European 
* Communities 
(Official  Journal  of the European  Communities  No C 275 of 23 October  1980) 
Page  10: 
for: 'Answer  given  by Mr Vredeling  on behalf  of the Commission', 
read:  'Answer  given  by Mr Gundelach  on behalf  of the Commission'.
No C 292/44 Official Journal of the European Communities 2. 11. 87 
CORRIGENDA 
Corrigendum to the answer given by Mr Delors on behalf of the Commission to Written Question No 1715 / 86 of 
Mrs Ursula Braun-Moser 
(Official Journal of the European Communities No C 143 of 1 June 1987) 
Page 22, right-hand column: 
The first sentence of paragraph 1 of the reply should read as follows: 
'Apart from Italy, six other Member States (Belgium, France, Greece, Portugal, Spain and the United 
Kingdom) charge withholding tax on interest on government bonds.'
5. 12. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 315/45 
CORRIGENDA 
Corrigendum to Written Question No 340/91 by Mr Jaak Vandemeulebrouke (ARC) to the Commission of the 
European Communities 
(Official Journal of the European Communities No C 210 of12 August 1991) 
(91/C 315/88) 
On page 25 in the answer given by Mrs Scrivener on behalf of the Commission, in the second paragraph: 
for: '. . . Article 5, paragraph 1 or paragraph 2 of Directive 77/388/EEC . . .', 
read: '. . . Article 15, paragraph 1 or paragraph 2 of Directive 77/388/EEC . . .'.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-3175/95 by Cristiana Muscardini (NI) to the Commission (29 November 1995)

Subject: Movement of goldsmith's ware, jewellery, and silverware

The need for rules to govern worked precious metals (for use in goldsmith's ware, jewellery, and silverware), with a view to removing the technical barriers existing on the European market, and the necessity of increasing transparency in the sector, thereby protecting consumers more effectively, have been clearly recognized in proposal for a Directive COM(93)0322 ((OJ C 318, 25.11.1993, p. 5 )).

Owing to unyielding opposition on the part of countries whose combined output does not amount to a tenth of Italian production (as far as the working of precious metals is concerned, Italy occupies the leading position, with 29 000 firms employing a labour force of 119 000 and spin-off industries accounting for a further 80 000 people), it has so far proved impossible to adopt the above-mentioned Directive.

Given that the proposal for a Directive has already been amended by Parliament at first reading and that the CIBJO Executive Committee (International Confederation of Jewellery, Silverware, Diamonds, Pearls and Stones), meeting in Athens in May of this year, adopted recommendations which will do much to bolster the sector, will the Commission render the existing Directive operative as a matter of urgency and thus regulate the goldsmith's trade in the Community?

Answer given by Mr Bangemann on behalf of the Commission (19 January 1996)

Aware of the need to ensure the free movement of articles of precious metal, the Commission proposed the directive referred to by the Honourable Member to the Council and Parliament.

However, the Commission cannot implement the directive until it has been adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189b of the EC Treaty. Parliament has already examined the proposal at first reading, but the Council has not yet adopted a common position owing to differences in opinion between the Member States on certain aspects, including a certification procedure (manufacturer's declaration) and the symbol of the assay offices.

In these circumstances the Commission can do no more than continue its efforts to resolve these differences of opinion so that the directive can be adopted.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-1885/95 by Caroline Jackson (PPE) to the Council (29 June 1995)

Subject: Undermining of the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons

Could the Council state what action it is taking to ensure that the words and the spirit of the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons are not undermined by countries imposing customs fines, over and above a custodial sentence, the amount and terms of which frequently prevent prisoners from being able to exit the country and transfer to prisons in their country of origin?

Joint Reply to Written Questions E-1378/95, E-1819/95 and E-1885/95 (10 October 1996)

1. The Council would remind the Honourable Member that the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, established by the Council of Europe on 21 March 1983, has been signed and ratified by all the Member States of the European Union.

2. The practical operation of Council of Europe Conventions on judicial cooperation in criminal matters, including the Convention of 21 March 1983, is being examined at the Council of Europe by a standing group of experts, which is able to make proposals to the Committee of Ministers.

The Council of the European Union is thus apprised of Recommendation No R(92) 18, adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 19 October 1992, concerning the practical application of the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons.

In the recommendation, the governments of Member States of the Council of Europe are invited, among other things, to take steps enabling them not to have to refuse a transfer on the sole grounds that fines imposed on the sentenced person in connection with his sentence have not been paid or that 'contrainte par corps' has been imposed.

3. The Council has not been called upon to ensure the application by the Member States of those provisions of the Conventions concerning the transfer of sentenced persons.

4. The Council is, however, considering the possibility of examining and adjusting the instruments that exist with regard to judicial cooperation in criminal matters, including those concerning the enforcement of foreign judgments.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-2900/95 by Salvador Garriga Polledo (PPE) to the Commission (26 October 1995)

Subject: 1989-1993 structural funds

What is the percentage of payment appropriations under the 1989-1993 structural funds that have not yet been implemented to date in Spain and Germany?

Additional answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (10 May 1996)

The Honourable Member is referred to the table below for details of the percentage of structural fund payment appropriations which have not yet been implemented. It should be noted that for a number of the programmes, requests for payment may be submitted until the end of June 1996. Definitive data for the period 1989-93 will be available towards the end of 1996.

Structural Funds Programming Period 1989-93

Percentage of payment appropriations not yet implemented

>TABLE>

(*) ERDF - European Regional Development Fund ESF - European Social Fund EAGGF - European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund - Guidance Section
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0682/95 by Peter Crampton (PSE) to the Commission (10 March 1995)

Subject: Commission proposals in the field of employment and social affairs, 1994

How many proposals for legislation and regulations in the field of employment and social affairs were put forward by the Commission in 1994?

Supplementary joint answer to Written Questions E-0662/95, E-0663/95, E-0664/95, E-0665/95, E-0666/95 E-0667/95, E-0668/95, E-0669/95, E-0670/95, E-0671/95, E-0672/95, E-0673/95, E-0674/95, E-0675/95, E-0676/95, E-0677/95, E-0678/95, E-0679/95, E-0680/95, E-0681/95, E-0682/95, E-0683/95, E-0684/95, E-0685/95, E-0686/95, E-0687/95, E-0688/95, E-0689/95, E-0690/95 and E-0691/95 given by Mr Santer on behalf of the Commission (15 November 1996)

Further to its answer of 10 April 1995, the Commission can now give the following information.

The table below gives the number of proposals for legislation transmitted by the Commission in 1994 for adoption in the various areas to which the Honourable Member's questions relate.

Some were designed to implement new measures and others to update earlier legislation. They may also relate to the management of certain common policies (for example, commercial policy, common agricultural policy, fisheries, customs union).

Consolidation proposals are also included. Proposals amending proposals transmitted earlier are not included.

The statistics and list are taken from the Commission's APC database, to which Members of the European Parliament can have access, like the other institutions and the public.

>TABLE>
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0691/95 by Peter Crampton (PSE) to the Commission (10 March 1995)

Subject: Commission proposals in the field of credit and investments, 1994

How many proposals for legislation and regulations in the field of credit and investments were put forward by the Commission in 1994?

Supplementary joint answer to Written Questions E-0662/95, E-0663/95, E-0664/95, E-0665/95, E-0666/95 E-0667/95, E-0668/95, E-0669/95, E-0670/95, E-0671/95, E-0672/95, E-0673/95, E-0674/95, E-0675/95, E-0676/95, E-0677/95, E-0678/95, E-0679/95, E-0680/95, E-0681/95, E-0682/95, E-0683/95, E-0684/95, E-0685/95, E-0686/95, E-0687/95, E-0688/95, E-0689/95, E-0690/95 and E-0691/95 given by Mr Santer on behalf of the Commission (15 November 1996)

Further to its answer of 10 April 1995, the Commission can now give the following information.

The table below gives the number of proposals for legislation transmitted by the Commission in 1994 for adoption in the various areas to which the Honourable Member's questions relate.

Some were designed to implement new measures and others to update earlier legislation. They may also relate to the management of certain common policies (for example, commercial policy, common agricultural policy, fisheries, customs union).

Consolidation proposals are also included. Proposals amending proposals transmitted earlier are not included.

The statistics and list are taken from the Commission's APC database, to which Members of the European Parliament can have access, like the other institutions and the public.

>TABLE>
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0662/95 by Peter Crampton (PSE) to the Commission (10 March 1995)

Subject: Commission proposals in the field of direct taxation, 1994

How many proposals for legislation and regulations in the field of direct taxation were put forward by the Commission in 1994?

Supplementary joint answer to Written Questions E-0662/95, E-0663/95, E-0664/95, E-0665/95, E-0666/95 E-0667/95, E-0668/95, E-0669/95, E-0670/95, E-0671/95, E-0672/95, E-0673/95, E-0674/95, E-0675/95, E-0676/95, E-0677/95, E-0678/95, E-0679/95, E-0680/95, E-0681/95, E-0682/95, E-0683/95, E-0684/95, E-0685/95, E-0686/95, E-0687/95, E-0688/95, E-0689/95, E-0690/95 and E-0691/95 given by Mr Santer on behalf of the Commission (15 November 1996)

Further to its answer of 10 April 1995, the Commission can now give the following information.

The table below gives the number of proposals for legislation transmitted by the Commission in 1994 for adoption in the various areas to which the Honourable Member's questions relate.

Some were designed to implement new measures and others to update earlier legislation. They may also relate to the management of certain common policies (for example, commercial policy, common agricultural policy, fisheries, customs union).

Consolidation proposals are also included. Proposals amending proposals transmitted earlier are not included.

The statistics and list are taken from the Commission's APC database, to which Members of the European Parliament can have access, like the other institutions and the public.

>TABLE>
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0368/96 by Luciano Vecchi (PSE) to the Commission (22 February 1996)

Subject: Israeli harassment of the Palestinian Association for Vocational Training

In December 1995 the Israeli police conducted several searches of the headquarters of the PAVT (Palestinian Association for Vocational Training) in Jerusalem and arrested some of its employees, who were accused of having links with the Palestinian National Authority.

What steps has the Commission taken to support the normal operation of the PAVT and all associations working to ensure respect for human rights and social and economic development in Palestine?

Answer given by Mr Marín on behalf of the Commission (20 March 1996)

The major part of the Community programme of assistance to the West Bank and Gaza Strip has been channelled through the Palestinian authority (PA) since it was established in May 1994. This is the most effective way to develop the capacity of the Palestinian population to govern and administer its own affairs.

However, apart from assistance through the PA, and support for the United Nations relief and works agency for Palestine refugees, the Community is currently supporting 42 Palestinian municipalities, universities and non-governmental organisations, which operate in the interests of the economic and social development of the Palestinian population. The list of recipients is forwarded direct to the Honourable Member and to the Secretariat General of the Parliament.

The Community supports five Palestinian organisations which work for the respect of human rights in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (Al-Haq, Association of Israeli-Palestinian Physicians for Human Rights, Hamoked, Mandela Institute, Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens' Rights). Although the Commission has contributed in the past to vocational education programmes, it is not currently supporting the Palestinian association for vocational training. However, the Commission does envisage further involvement in the vocational education sector in the near or medium term.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0570/96 by José Apolinário (PSE) to the Commission (11 March 1996)

Subject: Union support for European town twinning involving Portuguese localities

Can the Commission say what support it has granted for town twinning and which Portuguese localities benefited in 1994 and 1995? What was the percentage rate of the aid?

Answer given by Mr Santer on behalf of the Commission (11 April 1996)

In 1994 and 1995, over 5 000 towns in the Community and central and eastern Europe (2 520 in 1994 and 2 630 in 1995) received Community aid in support of exchanges under town-twinning arrangements.

The Commission is sending the Honourable Member and Parliament's Secretariat a list of the Portuguese localities which received a grant in 1994 and 1995, either for the organization of events in Portugal with their twin towns, or for participation in exchanges organized by their twin towns in another Member State.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0344/96 by Thomas Megahy (PSE) to the Commission (22 February 1996)

Subject: ECU-denominated bonds

The ECU as currently constituted is based on a basket of currencies which, according to Article 109g of the Treaty on European Union, 'shall not be changed'. The Euro, however, will be the product of a narrower range of currencies.

How does the Commission envisage the management of the relationship between the new currency and the ECU, particularly as it may affect the value of bonds, issued by Member States and denominated in ECUs, whose maturity date falls after 1 January 1999?

Answer given by Mr de Silguy on behalf of the Commission (28 March 1996)

The Treaty on European Union stipulates that at the starting date of the third stage of economic and monetary union (EMU) the conversion rates of the currencies of participating Member States will be fixed irrevocably but that this measure will not modify the external value of the ecu. The euro will therefore replace the ecu basket at the rate of 1:1.

The Commission has already adopted a Recommendation (94/284/EC) ((OJ L 121, 12.5.1994. )) on the legal status of the ecu and of contracts denominated in ecus which establishes the 1:1 conversion principle and the continuity of contracts.

The Madrid European Council (December 1995) confirmed that the starting date for the third stage of EMU will be 1 January 1999. Before that date, a Council regulation will provide the legal framework for the use of the euro, which will then become a currency in its own right, while the ecu basket will cease to exist.

In its conclusions, the European Council reasserted that: 'The substitution of the euro for national currencies should not in itself alter the continuity of contracts... unless otherwise provided in the contract. In the case of contracts denominated by reference to the official ecu basket of the European Community, in accordance with the Treaty, substitution by the euro will be at the 1:1 rate, subject to the particular terms of individual contracts.'

The continuity of contracts denominated in ecus will therefore be ensured in the changeover to the euro.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0265/96 by Ursula Schleicher (PPE) to the Commission (9 February 1996)

Subject: Drawing up environmental criteria for the award of the Community eco-label for certain products

Environmental criteria for the award of the Community eco-label have already been fixed for a good number of products in accordance with Council Regulation (EEC) No 880/92 ((OJ L 99, 11.4.1992, p. 1. )) on a Community eco-label award scheme.

1. Who monitors practical implementation in the member countries?

2. Has the Commission any information concerning difficulties of practical implementation in the Member States?

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (8 March 1996)

1. In terms of the award of the label the practical implementation of Regulation (EEC) No 880/92, Article 10, is the responsibility of the national bodies designated by the Member States (Article 9 of that Regulation).

2. Hitherto the Commission has not identified any particular difficulties as regards this aspect of the implementation of the regulation. It must, however, be pointed out that the experience acquired in this area is still very limited given the restricted number of products to which the Ecolabel has been awarded.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0438/96 by Amedeo Amadeo (NI) to the Commission (29 February 1996)

Subject: SMU

In the light of the grave economic and employment problems affecting all Member States of the European Community without exception, the only feasible way of achieving an upturn in the economic and social situation is to give special emphasis to the needs of small and medium-sized undertakings. With this in view, will the Commission say whether it intends to take the following measures in the context of the 1996 Intergovernmental Conference:

1. Including policy on SMU and craft industries in Article B of the Treaty (objectives of the EU);

2. Extending Article 130 of the Treaty in order to bring together all references to SMU;

3. Strengthening the right of SMU and craft industries to express their views and take part in the EU's decision-making process?

Answer given by Mr Papoutsis on behalf of the Commission (15 March 1996)

The Commission has noted with great interest the suggestions made by the Honourable Member regarding amendments to the Treaty with regard to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Some of the suggestions set out by the Commission in its notice on the organisation of the Intergovernmental Conference, particularly those regarding simplification of the decision-making system, will certainly have a beneficial effect on small and medium-sized enterprises.

In addition, the Commission has also come out in favour of interested parties being more involved in the activities of the Commission and has stressed the important role to be played by enterprises in combatting unemployment. It has, moreover, confirmed its continued commitment to the strategy proposed in its White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and Employment ((COM(93)700. )), the success of which depends very much upon the contribution made by small and medium-sized enterprises.