ThereasonthatthenumberofsuccessfulcandidateswaslowerthanthatlaiddownintheOfficialJournal
wasthatfollowingcorrectionofthewrittentestonly125candidatesobtainedthepassmark.Thenoticeofcompetitionstipulatedthatinordertobeadmittedtotheoraltestthecandidatesmusthavethe150highestmarksandatleastthepassmark.Attheearlierstageofthecompetitiononly277candidatescompletedthewrittentestsoutofatotalof300whowereinvited.
ConcerningcompetitionCOM/A/6/01Amongthecandidatesadmittedtotheoralexamination,forfield1:16andforfield2:86werealreadyor
previouslyundercontractandworkingfortheCommissionasauxiliaries,temporarystafforofficials.
ForthiscompetitionthenumberofsuccessfulcandidatesaslaiddownintheOfficialJournalwasreached.
Withregardtothe3rdquestionputtotheCommissionbytheHonourableMember,itshouldfirstofall
benotedthatSelectionBoardsmayexercisetheirdiscretion,notonlyintheywaytheyorganiseinterviews,butalsoindeterminingthenumberandnatureofquestionstobeputtothecandidates.AsindicatedbytheHonourableMember,SelectionBoardsmustensureequalityoftreatmentbetweencandidates.However,theyarenotrequired todrawupafixedlistofquestions.Theymustsimplyensurecommonalityofstandardsbypreparingtheirquestionsinadvancetoreflectthesamelevelofdifficulty.Thisrequirementwas met in full by the Selection Boards for the two competitions in questionCOM/B/2/01 andCOM/A/6/01.
Clearlytheuseofalistofquestionswouldnot,initself,guaranteeequalityoftreatment,sinceoralsare
veryoftenheldoverseveraldaysandcommunicationbetweencandidatescannotbeprevented.
(2004/C58E/164) WRITTENQUESTIONE-2264/03
byErikMeijer(GUE/NGL)totheCommission
(9July2003)
Subject:Contaminationoffrozenchickenintendedforexportbyaddingwaterandporcineandbovine
proteinandbyhandlingthemeatwithbarehands
1. IstheCommissionawarethattheproteinplantProwicoinNordhorn,Germany,whichisnearthe
Dutch border, producesa powdercalled‘Surplus601’which consistsofrelatively cheaply obtainablebovineorporcineproteinsfromwhichtheDNAcodehasbeenremovedsothatitisnolongerpossibletoascertainfromwhatanimalstheproteinshavebeenderived?
2. IstheCommissionawarethatatleasttwelvebusinessesareusingthesespecialuntraceableproteins,
including the Dutch chickenmeat plant Slegtenhorst in the village of Zevenhuizen, which add theseproteins to chickenmeat by injecting it or rinsing the meat for 90 minutes in tumblers (large metalcontainers),inordertomakethemeatretainmorewater,thussubstantiallyincreasingitsweightandaccordinglyraisingitsprice?
3. Is the Commission aware that this work is often performed by people who do not speak the
languageofthecountryconcerned,arecompelledtoworkextremelylongdaysandarepermittedtocutawaybone,blood,fatandtendonsfromchickenbreastwithoutwearingplasticgloves,therebymaximisingopportunitiesforcontaminationofthemeat?
4. ArethepracticesdescribedinthepreviousthreeparagraphsnotyetillegalintheEUprovidedat
leastthatalabelinconspicuouslyindicatesthatwaterandsomeformofproteinmayhavebeenadded?
5. IstheCommissionawareofothercasesofsuchpractices,includinginotherMemberStates?6.3.2004EN C58E/149 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanUnion
6. Aresuchproductsmainlyusedintheformofdeep-frozenproductsandforexporttoanEUMember
Stateotherthanthatofproduction,makingitmoredifficultforconsumerstoascertaintheirorigin?
7. WhatwilltheCommissiondotoprotectconsumersadequatelyagainstsuchcontaminationoffood
infuture?
Source:NieuweRevu(Dutchperiodical),4June2003.
AnswergivenbyMrByrneonbehalfoftheCommission
(16September2003)
TheHonourableMemberwillbeawarethatcurrentCommunitylegislationgoverningtheproductionof
freshpoultrymeatandpoultrymeatpreparationscoverstheproductionandmarketingofthesefoodstuffsontheCommunitymarket.LegislationalsocoversfoodstuffsofthisnatureimportedfromthirdcountriesintotheCommunity.ExportsofsuchfoodstuffstocountriesoutsidetheCommunity,however,fallwithinthecompetenceoftheMemberStates.TheHonourableMemberwillknowthatthelegislationdoesnotprescribetheuseofglovesandthatstaffengagedinworkingorhandlingfreshpoultrymeatmust,among
otherthings,washanddisinfecttheirhandsseveraltimesduringtheworkingdayandeachtimeworkis
resumed.Thewearingofglovesbyworkersisnotgenerallyacceptableinslaughterrooms,cuttingroomsandchillersexceptwhereitcanbeshownthattheydonotposeahygienerisktothemeat.Whereglovesarewornwhenhandlingexposedfreshpoultrymeat,theymustbemadeofmaterials,whichcanbecleanedanddisinfectedduringwork,andmustbecleanedanddisinfectedduringtheworkingdayandeachtimeworkisresumed.
Inadditiontotheforegoing,theanswerstothesub-questionsareasfollows:
1. TheCommissionhasbeeninformedoftheresultsofaninvestigation,publishedin2002and2003by
the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, concerning poultry meat prepared in the Netherlands andmarketedinIrelandtothecateringtrade.ThisfollowedasimilarinvestigationbytheUnitedKingdomFoodStandardsAgency,whichhadledtoidenticalconclusions.TheCommissionisawarethroughitsenquiriesoftheexistenceoftheestablishment‘Prowico’.Inadditiontotheforegoing,theyarealsoaware,throughnewspaperandtelevisionreports,suchastheBBC‘Panorama’programmeentitled‘TheChickenRun’broadcaston22May2003,oftheexistenceof‘Surplus601’.
2. TheCommissionhasnopreciseinformationonthenumberofestablishmentsusingthe‘untraceable
proteins’ but are aware of the Dutch establishment ‘Slegtenhorst’, which is listed by the Dutchcompetentauthoritiesasacuttingplantandmeatpreparationsestablishment,andofthemethodused.
3. Knowledgeoftheworkconditionsobtaininginindividualestablishmentsfallswithintheprovinceof
thecompetentauthoritiesintheMemberStates.Asexplainedabove,thewearingofplasticglovesisnotcompulsory,orinherentlyanymorehygienicthanusingbarehands,butwhereworntheyaresubjecttocertainconstraints.
4. Asregardslabelling,theindicationofallingredientsusedinthemanufactureofanyfoodstuffandstill
presentinthefinishedproductiscompulsoryaccordingtoDirective2000/13/ECoftheParliamentand of the Council of 20March 2000 relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising offoodstuffs(
1).Moreover,theCommissionisstudyingthewayofemphasisingthewatercontentonthe
labellingofmeatpreparations.
5. EnquiriesweremadebytheCommission,duringthemeetinginJuly2002oftheStandingCommittee
ontheFoodChainandAnimalHealth,andbymailinthesamemonth,inrelationtoestablishmentsinGermany andSpainproducinghydrolysedproteins.TheresponsesfromthecentralcompetentauthoritiesinAugustandSeptember2002indicatedthattheywereproducedinaccordancewithcurrentCommunitylegislationonhygiene,transmissiblespongiformencephalopathiesandgelatineintendedforhumanconsumption.Theydonot,therefore, inthemselvesposeathreattohumanhealthsubstantiallydifferentfromthethreatderivedfromtheconsumptionofthefreshmeatfromwhichthesehydrolysedproteinsareobtained.C58E/150 EN6.3.2004 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanUnion
6. PoultrymeatpreparationsproducedinCommunityapprovedestablishmentsmaybeplacedanywhere
ontheCommunitymarket.ThesemeatpreparationsmustmeettherelevantCommunityhygienicproduction,labellingandmarketingstandardsandmaybecommercialisedchilledorfrozen.
7. The additionofwater or ofproteins does not,by itself or necessarily, contaminate the product,
particularlyiftheprescriptionsoftherelevantCommunitylegislationareadheredto.
Notwithstandingtheforegoing,theCommissionisconcernedlestconsumersintheEuropeanUnionbe
misled or misinformed about the content of meat or meat products. The Commission has thereforeorderedareviewoftheapplicablelegislationtoseewhatimprovementscanbemadeintheinterestsofconsumers.
(1) OJL109,6.5.2000.
(2004/C58E/165) WRITTENQUESTIONE-2274/03
byErikMeijer(GUE/NGL)totheCommission
(9July2003)
Subject:Global warming, freshwater shortages, flooding of tourist destinations on Southern European
coastlinesandimpactofdisplacementofholiday-makerstodifferenttimesandareas
1. Isthe Commissionaware that modelsforthe prediction ofclimate change in the 21stcentury
suggestthatwarmingwillbe40%greaterinSouthernEuropethan,onaverage,intheworldasawhole,i.e.thetemperaturewillriseby5°Casagainst3,5°C,whichwillbereflected,aboveall,inhighersummertemperaturesandreducedprecipitation?
2. IstheCommissionawarethatthemassesoftouristsfromfurthernorthinEuropewhospendtheir
summerholidaysonthecoastoftheMediterraneanhavebeenfoundtoconsidertemperaturesabove28°unpleasant,sothattheymightstayawayifsystematicallyhighertemperaturesareexpected?
3. IstheCommissionawarethatthepresenceofholiday-makersintheMediterraneanregionduringthe
peaksummerperiodresultsintheconsumptionofvastquantitiesoffreshwaterforpurposesofswimming,showering,keepinggolfcoursesgreenandextinguishingforestfireswhichbreakoutpartlyonaccountof
recreation,whilelessandlessfreshwaterisavailable?
4. DoestheCommissionregarditasinevitablethatcoastswhicharecurrentlypopularwithholiday-
makerswillincreasinglybecomeunusableasthesealevelrisesandthattheadjacentlandwillbecomedrier,inview,interalia,oftheon-goingwarming(againexemplifiedbythehotJunein2003),thefactthatEUMemberStatesarenotprovingsufficientlycapableofcomplyingwiththeirKyotoobligations,thealoofnessofthemajoroilconsumer/dashtheUS/dashfromattemptstocombatthegreenhouseeffect,theon-going burning downoftropical rainforestsandthe melting ofthe ice-caps atthe polesandin highmountainregions?
5. Inviewofthesedevelopments,isitlikelythatoverthenextfewdecadestheannualsummerexodus
fromnorthtosouthinEuropewilleithershifttodifferentseasonsoftheyearordiverttocooleranddampercoastssuchasthoseoftheNorthSeaandtheBaltic?IstheCommissionalreadymakingplansfor
cushioningtheresultantfar-reachingimpactontheenvironment,transportandregionaleconomies?Ifso,
how?
Source:Volkskrant,26June2003.
AnswergivenbyMrsWallströmonbehalfoftheCommission
(19September2003)
1. The Third AssessmentReport (TAR) ofthe Inter-Governmental Panel onClimate Change (IPCC)
recognisesthatprojectedclimatechangesduringthe21stcenturyhavethepotentialtoleadtofuturelarge-scaleandpossibleirreversiblechangesinEarthsystemsresultinginimpactsatcontinentalandglobalscale.Ifthesechangesweretooccur,theirimpactswouldbewidespreadandsustained.6.3.2004EN C58E/151 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanUnion