ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
WRITTEN QUESTION E-1526/00

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(12 May 2000)

Subject: World-wide acceleration of the liberalisation of the textile sector

In view of reports that bilateral and multilateral negotiations are to be launched to speed up the world-wide liberalisation of the trade in textiles and clothing, so that this objective is attained before the expiry in 2005 of the quotas provided for in the Marrakech accords of April 1994,

Will the Commission say:

1. What stage have these negotiations reached?

2. What steps are being taken to safeguard the interests of countries such as Portugal in which the textile and clothing industries are very important, notably as regards employment and regional development?

3. What studies exist on the impact of the liberalisation of the textile trade in the European Union and Portugal, notably as regards employment, the protection of small and medium-sized undertakings, regional development, etc.?

Answer given by Mr Lamy on behalf of the Commission

(15 June 2000)

1. At a discussion between the Commissioner responsible for trade and representatives of Euratex on 14 April 2000 in Brussels on the Community's policy in the textiles and clothing sector, the Commission agreed to explore the possibilities of achieving improved market access through bilateral negotiations, in view of the expiry of quantitative restrictions under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Marrakech agreements. These negotiations would seek improved and tangible market access for exports, in exchange for possible quota increases or their elimination for certain supplier countries, and should be mutually beneficial for both supplier countries and the Community. In this context, the Commission will be putting forward a proposal for a mandate for negotiations to enable it to enter into discussions with certain third countries.

2. These negotiations will aim at improving export opportunities to third countries from which European industry including Portugal's industry should benefit. Improved market access for Community exports aims at outweighing any adverse impact of increased import possibilities to the Community market for a limited number of countries. All quotas will be eliminated by the year 2005, and any improvement that could be obtained from third countries as a result of such negotiations will be permanent even after the expiry of the quotas.

3. In 1995 an examination by the Commission of the impact of trade liberalisation after the Marrakech agreements concluded that the impact of liberalisation at that stage was fairly limited. For a detailed analysis of the impact of trade liberalisation, the Honourable Member may refer to the Commission's communication on the impact of international developments on the Community's textile and clothing sector(1).

(1) COM(95) 447 final.
WRITTEN QUESTION P-2039/00

by Christa Randzio-Plath (PSE) to the Commission

(16 June 2000)

Subject: Amendment of Directive 77/388/EEC in respect of VAT on certain electronically delivered services

In the Commission's estimation, how high is the turnover on paid services delivered by an entrepreneur located in a third country to a commercial customer in the EU? How high is the turnover on paid services delivered by an entrepreneur located in a third country to a private individual in the EU?

Is it likely that the decision that business players from non-EU countries engaged in e-commerce must register in only one Member State, will lead to an inflow of tax revenue in the EU Member States concerned that it is incommensurate with their economic activity?

Can it be ruled out that through the above arrangements, the intended Directive will lead to tax discrimination against businesses with fiscal residence?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(17 July 2000)

With respect to its impact on VAT revenues, it is necessary to stress that electronic commerce is still at a very early stage and the tax revenues involved are not really significant today, although this is likely to change in the near future. Business to business transactions, which represent by far the greatest portion of electronic commerce, will be accounted for under the reverse charge mechanism. Business to consumer transactions, where the level of activity is as yet low, will be dealt with by a system of vendor registration.

Accordingly, the Commission's proposal(1) in respect of VAT on electronic commerce is not driven by revenue considerations. The primary focus of the proposal is to remove the existing inequality in tax treatment which works to the disadvantage of Community business. The aim is to ensure that competition between Community operators and third country operators is fair and equitable, and that a clear and certain taxation framework is in place to accommodate future growth.

The Commission has not therefore sought to quantify the historical level of taxable activity. All of the data from reliable external sources, notably the Organisation for economic cooperation and development (OECD), confirms that the categories of on-line electronically delivered services which the Commission's proposal covers are only now beginning to take off to any significant degree.

The Commission believes that a single place of registration for third country operators is the only sustainable option, particularly in the context of World Trade Organisation (WTO) obligations. This will of course highlight the disparity in existing VAT rates across the Community and in the Commission's view only serves to highlight the need for greater alignment of rates.

(1) OJ C 30, 5.2.1999.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-1655/00

by Adriana Poli Bortone (UEN) to the Commission

(29 May 2000)

Subject: LIFE project

Could the Commission make provision in the LIFE project for financial assistance for small and medium-sized firms engaging in environment-friendly activities, in particular those SMUs that are already established and that intend to operate within protected areas (local organisations, parks) where unauthorised settlements destined for redevelopment have been built?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(4 July 2000)

Irrespective of whether small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) carry out their activities within protected areas, financial support is available from Life-Nature for actions concerning the conservation of natural habitats and species of Community importance and, in particular, the implementation of the Natura 2000 network.

SMEs also have access to Life-Environment, whose purpose is to contribute to the development of innovative and integrated techniques and methods and to the further development of the Community's environment policy.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-1171/00

by Hiltrud Breyer (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(12 April 2000)

Subject: Support for nuclear energy and renewable energies

The Commission is requested to answer the question that was asked (Question E-2635/99(1)). In particular, the Commission is requested to list in table form the money provided in support each year since the establishment of the Community.

The original wording of the questions was:

1. Can the Commission provide details of all financial support received, firstly, by nuclear energy (including fusion) and, secondly, by renewable energies (solar and wind power) from the relevant budget titles of the general budget of the European Communities since the Communities were established?

2. If not, why not?

(1) OJ C 225 E, 8.8.2000, p. 187.

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(15 June 2000)

As already stated in its answer to PQ E-2635/99(1) by the Honourable Member, the Commission is able to provide the Honourable Member with the information requested for the period 1990-1999. The information is hereby provided, as requested, broken down by year and presented in tabular form, as shown below.

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(1) OJ C 225 E, 8.8.2000, p. 187.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-2723/00

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(1 September 2000)

Subject: Agricultural workforce

Will the Commission indicate the number of people engaged in agriculture in each Member State in each of the last ten years and what proportion of the total workforce in each case this represents?

Joint answer to Written Questions E-2723/00, E-2724/00, E-2725/00, E-2726/00 and E-2728/00 given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(14 September 2000)

Because of the length of the answer, which includes a number of tables, the Commission is sending it direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament's Secretariat.
WRITTEN QUESTION P-1167/00

by Nirj Deva (PPE-DE) to the Council

(6 April 2000)

Subject: Gender-specific funding in the budget

With reference to Article 13 of the Treaty concerning prejudice, the Council mldr may take appropriate action to combat discrimination based on sex,

Will the Council clarify the following extract from Article 3(3) of Common Position (EC) No 13/2000(1) adopted on 16 December 1999:

In the selection, preparation, implementation and evaluation of activities, particular attention should be paid to: gender-specific roles, knowledge, perspectives and contributions of women/girls and men/boys in the sustainable management and use of natural resources.

and explain how the common position falls within its Treaty obligations.

(1) OJ C 64, 6.3.2000, p. 47.

Reply

(10 October 2000)

The Council does not consider it appropriate to express its views on a subject regarding which the decision-making procedure is still in progress.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-1399/00

by Phillip Whitehead (PSE) to the Commission

(4 May 2000)

Subject: Certificate of Pharmaceutical Products

Can the principles of free trade be reconciled with the concept of exclusive distribution rights, which is an indirect effect of the Certificate of Pharmaceutical Products, particularly in respect of the supply of essential medicines for emerging countries?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(16 June 2000)

The export certificates (certificate of pharmaceutical products) drawn up by the national or Community authorities are based on the WHO (World Health Organisation) model.

Their main aim is to certify that the medicine for which the certificate has been requested is indeed covered by a marketing authorisation granted by the authorities in the exporting country.

That main aim is thus linked to the marketing authorisation and not to the distribution system or to access to the pharmaceuticals market. As such it does not confer any exclusive-distribution right. The certificate constitutes a guarantee and makes pharmaceutical products more accessible in the less-developed importing countries.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-2345/00

by Olivier Dupuis (TDI) to the Commission

(13 July 2000)

Subject: Taiwanese membership of the WTO

The Republic of China (Taiwan), which is a model for its region in its consolidation of democracy and the rule of law and in its economic development, is still awaiting admission to the WTO.

What information can the Commission provide concerning the state of the multilateral negotiations on WTO membership for Taiwan? What stage has been reached in the bilateral Taiwan-EU negotiations? What guarantees can the Commission provide that the forthcoming accession of the People's Republic of China to the WTO will in no way delay nor block Taiwanese membership to the same body?

Answer given by Mr Lamy on behalf of the Commission

(7 September 2000)

The WTO working party on Taiwanese membership met for the last time on 30 July 1999. The Chairman concluded that all of the main issues had been dealt with. The WTO secretariat distributed a consolidated version of the working party's report so that members could undertake the verification work. The Commission informed the WTO of the completion of the verification process on 29 January.

From a practical point of view, the accession negotiations have been completed. Taiwan's trade commitments for both goods and services are of the highest quality. The EU is also extremely pleased with the positive outcome of its bilateral negotiations with the Taiwanese. They have made commitments which more than satisfy the minimum criteria for admission to the WTO.

As part of the accession process, Taiwan and the Commission have also negotiated a bilateral agreement on market access. The agreement was concluded in October 1998 and submitted to the WTO. Tariff concessions will become multilateral on accession.

The EU has always been strongly in favour of Taiwan's early accession to the WTO. However, certain political factors have played and continue to play an important role.

Now that China is also on the point of joining the WTO, Taiwan's accession is closer than ever. The Commission expects that the WTO working party will soon adopt the report.

Nevertheless, the procedural arrangements for Taiwan' Protocol of Accession still need to be finalised. Both Chinese accessions are planned to take place consecutively at the same WTO General Council meeting, one immediately following the other.

In any case, the Commission is sure that Taiwan's admission will go ahead relatively easily since WTO accession does not raise questions of national sovereignty.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-2434/00

by Michel Hansenne (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(18 July 2000)

Subject: VAT and dress making

If a company established in Member State A sends goods to Member State B so that they can be made up by an independent dressmaker, and the goods are then, after being made up, sent directly from Member State B, on behalf of the company established in Member State A to the purchaser who is established in Member State C:

- on the basis of the wording of the sixth VAT directive, is the company established in Member State A liable for VAT in Member State B?

- if so, are there ways of simplifying this so as to prevent the identification of the company established in Member State A with the company in Member State B? Should a distinction be made in terms of whether the dressmaking was billed by the dressmaker to the company established in Member State A, or to that company's final client established in Member State C?

- if measures to achieve such simplification exist, where were they published, and have they been adopted by all the Member States?

- if such measures as may exist have not been published by the Commission, why not?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(7 September 2000)

The Commission would point out that this question is exactly the same as the Honourable Member's Written Question E-1680/00

The Commission would therefore refer the Honourable Member to the answer it has already given to that question(1).

(1) See p. 99.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-2492/00

by Raffaele Costa (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(24 July 2000)

Subject: European funding of the road network linking France with Piedmont

The road, or rather, motorway link between southern France and southern Piedmont was supposed to be one of the trans-European networks which the European Union should have been financing for years.

What is preventing the European Union from contributing to the funding of this link?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(14 September 2000)

The projected motorway link between Nice (F) and Cuneo (I) is included as a project of common interest set out in the maps attached to decision of the Parliament and of the Council No 1692/96/EC of 23 July 1996 on Community guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T)(1).

Common-interest projects may receive Community financial support of up to 50 % of the total cost for the design and 10 % for the works involved, solely on a proposal from the Member States, following approval of the TEN-T financial assistance committee.

As part of the TEN-T budget the Commission has funded an impact study on that route ( 220 000). Since then no other request has been made by the Member States concerned.

(1) OJ L 228, 9.9.1996.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-2123/00

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(30 June 2000)

Subject: Violation of the principles of equality, openness, and non-discrimination in the recruitment of employees to work for the Mondariz (Pontevedra, Galicia) Municipal Rapid Action Task Force, partly financed by the European Social Fund

Under the regional and local cooperation programmes financed by the European Social Fund, intended to provide a basis on which to draw up jointly funded job creation programmes at those levels, the Council for the Promotion of Employment, the Family, Women, and Youth, a body established under the authority of the Governing Council of Galicia, has endorsed the programme for cooperation with social forces, and, under that agreement, the municipal rapid action task forces (GMIRs) have come into being.

As part of the above cooperation, and beginning in 1997, the Mondariz (Pontevedra, Galicia) Municipal Council entered into an agreement with the Governing Council of Galicia with a view to recruiting 12 employees to work for the GMIR. The vacancies as advertised in 1997, 1998, and 1999 did not satisfy the basic principles of openness and equality, because the recruitment criteria observed were entirely a matter for the discretion of Mondariz Council and quite different from those laid down by the Governing Council of the Autonomous Community of Galicia. One cause for particular suspicion was the fact that, according to their entries in the register of the National Institute for Employment, the 12 employees recruited were qualified municipal rapid action task force specialists, a qualification which, though unknown to most of the candidates, was required for recruitment to the posts concerned. These recruitment criteria are contrary to the guidelines laid down at the extraordinary Luxembourg European Council on employment, held in November 1997, which call for equal opportunities policies to be applied to every employment sector (and not least in the selection of bodies to receive contributions from European funds). Furthermore, the recruitment of the employees in question, who to date have all been men, contravenes the principle of non-discrimination on the grounds of sex.

The Commission should ensure compliance with the requirements laid down when financial support is granted under the European Social Fund. Will it request the Galician Governing Council to explain the lack of supervision and the arbitrary nature of the criteria observed in the Mondariz Municipal Council recruitment procedures?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(27 July 2000)

The question raised by the Honourable Member relates to the management of projects cofinanced by the European Social Fund (ESF). In the context of Community legislation, and in conformity with the principle of subsidiarity, the management of projects is a matter for the Member States.

The Commission does not at present have sufficient information to be able to provide an answer. It will seek the necessary information from the Spanish authorities and, as soon as the informataion has been received, will forward it to the Honourable Member.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-2521/00

by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission

(2 August 2000)

Subject: Bridge tolls and investment

Is the Commission aware of the strong belief locally that there is an enormous negative impact on investment caused by the existence of certain bridge tolls. For example, there seems to be evidence that the tolls on the Tamar Bridge deter companies investing in the Saltash area, which is an Objective One region, because of the estimated GBP 300 per person per year costs for crossing the bridge. Similarly investment levels in south Gloucestershire on the London side of the Severn Bridge are extremely high, yet many parts of the Forest of Dean closest to the Severn Bridge, which are immediately the other side of the bridge and which would meet Objective 2 criteria, face an impossible barrier to investment because of tolls of over GBP 1 000 per person per year.

Is the Commission prepared to commission a study to establish the validity of these concerns?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(26 September 2000)

Article 7 of Directive 1999/62/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 1999 on the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures(1) lays down the conditions under which Member States may levy tolls for heavy goods vehicles. If a national, regional or local authority decides to introduce a toll, for heavy goods vehicles the toll should be compatible with the Directive, and for the other vehicles the setting of the toll rate is a matter for these authorities under the principle of subsidiarity provided the rate is neither excessive (i.e. related to the underlying costs) nor discriminatory.

(1) OJ L 187, 20.7.1999.
WRITTEN QUESTION P-2960/00

by Carlos Bautista Ojeda (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(12 September 2000)

Subject: Variations in fuel prices in Europe

When the Commission is stipulating what subsidies European farmers are to receive, does it take account of variations in fuel prices?

Does the Commission view fuel prices as a significant factor in the total production costs for agricultural and fisheries products?

If so, how does the cost of diesel influence the amounts granted as subsidies? What method of calculation is used?

If not, does the Commission plan to take this factor into consideration in the next round of COM reforms?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(4 October 2000)

Changing the amount of direct aid granted to Community producers is a decision for the Council, on a proposal from the Commission. The amount of these aids was recently fixed as part of the Berlin agreements on Agenda 2000 and Parliament played the important role assigned to it by the Treaties in these negotiations.

The Commission is fully aware of the influence of fuel prices on the final production costs of agriculture and fishery products.

The Commission does not believe that current fuel prices justify renegotiation of the Berlin agreements or the increase in direct aids that would result. It is following with interest the discussions taking place in a great many Member States and will ensure that any accords reached conform to Community rules.

Changes in producers' income has always been one of the criteria considered by the Commission when drawing up its proposals. If it transpires that this change in our economic circumstances is structural rather than cyclical, the increase in the cost of fuel will then be one of the factors taken into account.
WRITTEN QUESTION P-3309/00

by Esko Seppänen (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(17 October 2000)

Subject: Remuneration of the experts assessing the situation in Austria

A group of three experts was set up by one of the EU institutions to assess the possibility of lifting the sanctions against Austria. The group reported that it would indeed be possible to lift the sanctions. Which institution remunerated the experts, and how much did they receive?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(29 November 2000)

The Commission did not pay the experts' fee, and the Honourable Member is kindly requested to contact the Council in this connection.