ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0455/96 by Philippe Monfils (ELDR) to the Commission (29 February 1996)

Subject: Leghold traps

1. Will the Commission state the legal basis for its decision to further postpone the entry into force of Regulation 3254/91 ((OJ L 308, 9.11.1991, p. 1. )) prohibiting the use of leghold traps and the introduction into the Community of the furs of animals caught by means of such traps?

2. What practical action does the Commission intend to take in response to the resolution adopted by the European Parliament on 14 December 1995, precisely on the need for a study to be conducted by international, independent experts to assess the real economic damage which the ban on fur imports might cause?

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (26 April 1996)

1. In so far as it prohibits the use of leghold traps in the Community by 1 January 1996 at the latest, Regulation (EEC) 3254/91 has already entered into force. However, in so far as it relates to restrictions on fur imports, the Regulation cannot, in the Commission's view, be considered to have entered into force, since it has not proved possible for the Commission to make the necessary determination mentioned in Article 3. The Commission has advised Member States accordingly.

At the same time, the Commission has proposed amendments ((COM(95) 737 final. )) to the Regulation's provisions on fur imports to take account of negotiations with third countries which have the aim of promoting humane trapping methods. Articles 113 and 130s of the EC Treaty form the legal basis for these proposed amendments.

2. The Commission understands from his reference to the Parliament's resolution that the Honourable Member is specifically concerned about indigenous peoples in North America.

The proposed amendment to Regulation (EEC) 3254/91 envisages an exemption from import restrictions on furs or fur products derived from trapping by indigenous peoples. This provision was introduced in response to international commitments accepted by the Community in regard to such peoples, in particular in the 22nd principle of the Rio Declaration, Chapter 28 of Agenda 21 and Article 8(j) of the Convention on biodiversity.

Against this background, the Commission does not consider it necessary to have a specific study on the possible economic effects of import restrictions on indigenous peoples. Nonetheless, the Commission estimates that, in the light of available evidence, the effects would be potentially important for indigenous peoples in Canada, where some 40% of fur trappers are of indigenous background. The proportion would be smaller in the Russian Federation and the United States with the possible exception of Alaska.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0621/96 by Amedeo Amadeo (NI) to the Commission (13 March 1996)

Subject: Safety at the workplace

There is currently a heated debate in Italy about the application of Directive 89/655/EEC ((OJ L 393, 30.12.1989, p. 13. )) of 30 November 1989, which was converted into national law by Law 626 and whose implementation was delayed until 20 January 1996.

Many companies, especially craftsmen with a small staff, maintain that the financial burden which this law will create could place small companies in a crisis situation. Some are even raising the prospect of closure.

According to the information we have and the statements made by the responsible Member of the European Commission, there are no reliable forecasts as regards the expected cost of implementing this Directive.

Will the Commission consider the need to reply to such questions as soon as possible by outlining the prospects or, at least, draw up a forecast with the Member States?

We consider it alarming that it was possible for a Directive to be applied without any estimate of the extra costs this would entail for all European businesses and without any assessment of the measure's impact on Europe's competitiveness in relation to non-Community countries.

Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission (7 May 1996)

As in the case of the other draft directives on the protection of the safety and health of workers, the Commission first prepared an impact assessment form on the proposal for a Directive concerning work equipment (89/655/EEC).

On the other hand the Member States had themselves already assessed the Directive's implications on their territory before its unanimous adoption by the Council on 30 December 1989.

Furthermore, as the Commission already stated in its Communication on a Community programme concerning safety, hygiene and health at work (1996-2000) ((COM(95) 282 final. )), it intends to evaluate, in cooperation with the Member States and the social partners, the socio-economic impact of health and safety legislation in the different Member States as well as the effectiveness of Community health and safety policy. Following this evaluation the Commission will propose any amendments to existing legislation which it considers appropriate.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0433/96 by Philippe-Armand Martin (UPE) to the Commission (29 February 1996)

Subject: Management of wine production

Article 6 of Regulation 822/87 ((OJ L 84, 27.3.1987, p. 1. )) lays down that all new planting of vines is prohibited until 31 August 1996.

Regulation 1442/88 ((OJ L 132, 28.5.1988, p. 3. )) lays down that abandonment premiums are payable only until 31 August 1996.

1. What does the Commission intend to propose for subsequent seasons?

2. Could the Commission summarize the structural effects of these two measures?

3. If the reform of the COM in wine has not been completed by 31 August 1996, what will the Commission do during the next growing season? When does it intend to inform producers about this?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (13 March 1996)

The ban on new plantings and the system of grubbing premiums will indeed expire on 31 August 1996, at the end of the current winegrowing year. The answer to the three questions on the subject from the Honourable Member are as follows:

1. As part of the 1996/97 price package the Commission proposes that the ban on new plantings, and the grubbing premium, should be extended for one year. The primary aim is to allow work on the reform of the common organization of the market (COM) now in progress within the Council to continue.

2. Regarding the effects of these two measures on winegrowing capacity, the Commission has the data which are regularly supplied by Member States. In view of the large amount of tabulated material prepared by the Commission this information will be sent direct to the Honourable Member and the Secretariat of Parliament.

3. As part of the 1996/97 price package the Commission proposes that the present system be extended for a further year if the Council fails to reach a decision on the proposal for reforming the COM in wine.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0472/96 by Leen van der Waal (EDN) to the Commission (1 March 1996)

Subject: Reducing emissions of nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide from trucks

Towards the end of January 1996 the Centre for Energy Conservation and Environmental Technology, the Royal Netherlands Transport Association and Netherlands Transport and Logistics published a report entitled 'Towards cleaner transport'.

The report states that, in the Netherlands, it would be possible to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide from trucks by 75% and 10% respectively by the year 2010, despite the fact that the Dutch vehicle park is already one of the cleanest in Europe.

1. Does the Commission subscribe to the report's conclusions as to the feasibility of these percentage reductions?

2. If so, will the Commission incorporate in its transport policy the measures which, according to the report, require European action, such as:

- introducing more stringent standards for emissions of nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide from trucks,

- the permissibility of heavier and longer trucks,

- standardization of swap bodies and a system for transporting semitrailers on railway bogies to promote intermodal transport?

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (22 April 1996)

The Commission is not in a position to judge the conclusions of the study cited by the Honourable Member. The package of measures outlined in the study for the achievement of certain emission reductions for NOx and CO2 includes less polluting and larger vehicles, logistical improvements, traffic management and other measures. Their effectiveness depends to a certain extent on local or national circumstances and the assumptions made. The Commission would underline, however, that it welcomes the approach of the study to devise a comprehensive strategy for meeting environmental objectives in the transport sector.

The Commission intends to make a legislative proposal in the coming months on a further lowering of the NOx emissions limit values, including those for heavy-duty vehicles. The cost-effectiveness of applying limit values in the range envisaged in the study with a view to meeting air quality targets is currently considered by the Commission in the framework of the European auto-oil programme.

As regards the dimensions of freight vehicles, road safety considerations are important in deciding the limits set by the Community in this area. Except for the proposal to increase the maximum weight of vehicles to 44 tonnes for 6-axle vehicles and combinations, the Commission does not have proposals for further increases.

As far as the dimensions and standards of swap bodies and containers are concerned, the Commission considers that these have been fixed and will not be changed in the foreseeable future. Consideration could, however, be given to systems in which these containers and swap bodies could be transported in the most efficient way.
WRITTEN QUESTION No. 518/96 by Richard HOWITT to the Commission. HELIOS programme



Official Journal C 217 , 26/07/1996 P. 0063



WRITTEN QUESTION E-0518/96 by Richard Howitt (PSE) to the Commission (11 March 1996) Subject: HELIOS programme Does the Commission not agree that the post of head of unit for actions in favour of disabled persons should be held by a disabled person him or herself, as this is of particular symbolic importance for Europe's commitment to disabled people speaking for and representing themselves? Answer given by Mr Liikanen (15 April 1996) The Commission would like to inform the Honourable Member that vacant head of unit posts are first advertised internally in order that members of staff having the appropriate grade and requisite experience can submit their applications. Heads of unit are not chosen because of the section of population, opinions or interests that they could represent, but are selected because their skills, experience and knowledge match the vacancy to be filled. In the event that the post of head of unit 'integration of the disabled' became free and that a disabled official of the Commission applied the Honourable Member can be assured that such an application would be given equal consideration with those of other candidates, and the final choice would seek to identify the candidate best fitted to perform the duties.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0710/96 by Anita Pollack (PSE) to the Commission (26 March 1996)

Subject: Capacity of the Commission to administer small scale forest projects

Both the Regulation on Operations to Promote Tropical Forests and the Lomé Forest Protocol include small-scale, community-based forest projects among their key priorities. This development is most welcome as small-scale projects tend to be more innovative, cost-effective and locally appropriate than large-scale projects.

However, given the extra burden involved in the administration of small-scale projects and the Commission's serious shortage of staff with expertise in the area of tropical forests, the Commission will probably have to find other ways to ensure that a large number of small-scale forest projects are funded in practice.

1. Is the Commission aware of the 'Small Grants Tropical Rainforest Program' that the Netherlands Committee for the IUCN Implements? This program is financed by the Dutch Government with Dfl 5 million per year and finances projects up to a maximum of $ 75 000 per project. The application procedure is very short and administrative procedures are kept to a bare minimum. The programme is extremely successful.

2. Is the Commission prepared to establish a similar program for the European Union, financed with money from budgetline B7-6201?

Answer given by Mr Marín on behalf of the Commission (29 April 1996)

The Commission's strategy to implement the new Regulation on tropical forests and the Lomé forest protocol involves funding not only for large-scale projects, but also medium-scale experimental pilot projects that are run jointly with local communities. To date, the Commission has rarely financed any operation under ECU 100 000, particularly because of insufficient operational capacity for the management of such operations.

The Commission is aware of the existence of the small grants programme run by the Netherlands and would very much like to know more about how the programme works and its results. To this end, it intends to contact the Dutch authorities in the near future and, having studied the programme, it will draw conclusions as to strategy, subject, however, to restrictions imposed by the Financial Regulation and the budgetary rules.
WRITTEN QUESTION P-0756/96 by Charles Goerens (ELDR) to the Commission (21 March 1996)

Subject: Alliances in the area of digital television

The BSkyB-Bertelsmann-CanalPlus-Havas alliance in the area of digital television raises many questions concerning competition policy. According to the advocates of this alliance, the main target is the German market. Some in senior positions (especially Mr Pierre Lescure, Chairman and CEO of Canal Plus) have not even hesitated to state that this alliance would have the beneficial effect of making the French market a safe haven. If properly understood, this means that Canal Plus would have no competition to fear in this market.

Is the Commission aware of an agreement of this nature to limit competition resulting from the alliance in question?

If so, is this not tantamount to an attempt to organize a monopoly in a national market which is prohibited by Community competition rules?

Does it not believe that such an intention contradicts its stated policy in the area of new media and services catering for the information-based society which seeks specifically to encourage the growth of effective competition in these areas at Union level and in the Member States?

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

The Commission has been informed of the alliance between Bertelsmann, Canal+, News Corporation and Havas, to which the Honourable Member refers.

Since, however, the parties are still finalizing the agreement and have not yet notified it, it would be premature for the Commission to comment, before having had an opportunity to examine it in detail, on whether or not it is compatible with Community competition rules.

As soon as the agreement is notified, the Commission will study closely both its content and the implications for the pay-television market in the different Member States, its aim being to preserve an efficient system of competition on this market.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0009/96 by Angela Sierra González (GUE/NGL) to the Council (25 January 1996)

Subject: Extradition from Spain to Austria of the neo-Nazi Gerd Honsik

On 3 November 1995 the Spanish High Court rejected the request for extradition submitted by Austria in respect of the neo-Nazi Gerd Honsik, who has been a fugitive from Austrian justice since May 1992 when he was sentenced to eighteen months' imprisonment for 'reviving National-Socialist ideology' and for spreading the so-called 'Auschwitz lie', which denies the existence of gas chambers during the Third Reich.

The highest judicial body in Spain justified its refusal to extradite Gerd Honsik on grounds that 'expressing support for National Socialism and genocide has only been a crime since May 1995, whereas the alleged offences took place between 1986 and 1989'.

Since he settled in Barcelona under the protection of the extreme right-wing organization Cedade, Gerd Honsik has published the magazine Halt, Nazi propaganda and racist tracts which he regularly dispatches in large quantities to Germany and Austria.

1. What does the Council think of a situation in which persons found guilty of racist crimes in one country of the European Union are able to seek refuge in another?

2. What action is the Council taking to secure an extradition agreement amongst all fifteen Member States with a view to combating racism, terrorism and organized crime within the European Union?

Reply (3 June 1996)

1. The Council considers that it is desirable for all the Member States to collaborate in preventing the perpetrators of racist and xenophobic offences from taking advantage of the differences between various criminal legislations.

In this connection, the Council has reached political agreement on joint action to combat racis, and xenophobia whereby every Member State undertakes to ensure effective judicial cooperation regarding offences involving specific behaviour regarded as racist or xenophobic.

The Member States would accordingly have to undertake, if necessary, either to take steps to ensure that such behaviour is subject to penal sanctions or, in the absence of the necessary measures and pending their adoption, to derogate from the principle of double criminality for such behaviour.

2. The Council has moreover already drawn up an initial Convention on simplified extradition procedure between the Member States, signed on 10 March 1995. It applies when the person sought for the purpose of extradition gives his consent in accordance with the rules laid down in the Convention and if full compliance with the principles of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0154/96 by Gerardo Fernández-Albor (PPE) to the Commission (1 February 1996)

Subject: Contribution by the European Union to the cost of desalination plants on the Costa del Sol, Spain

As a result of the chronic scarcity of water along the entire coast of the Costa del Sol in Spain, which is due to acute droughts, the relevant regional and local authorities have decided to build desalination plants to cope with the water shortages which in some summers seriously threaten the economic development of this important Community tourist region.

The authorities have repeatedly stated that Union funds will be available to cover 85% of the high cost of these desalination plants, so that private enterprise can recover the cost of investing in the plants. The President of the Regional Government himself has said that funds from Brussels are guaranteed to enable the projects in question to be started.

However, so far only the Spanish national and regional authorities have given this assurance. Can the Commission confirm that Union funds are guaranteed to cover 85% of the cost of the desalination plants at Malaga and, on the Costa del Sol, at Marbella?

Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Matthies on behalf of the Commission (7 March 1996)

Though it is true that the Spanish authorities have said that they would be submitting desalination projects for cofinancing by the Cohesion Fund in 1996, no such project has yet been submitted.

The Commission cannot say whether such projects will be cofinanced until applications have been received and examined.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0555/96 by Gianni Tamino (V) to the Commission (11 March 1996)

Subject: Distribution of colza oil as food aid in Angola

Humanitarian aid sent by the European Union to Angola includes large quantities of colza oil (produced in the Union) which is unfit for human consumption because it is considered to be carcinogenic and is therefore banned in Europe. Unfortunately however it is distributed along with food aid, causing dangerous confusion (because of the poor food situation of a large section of the Angolan population and the lack of clear labelling on bottles). In some cases it has been received as humanitarian aid and immediately put on sale as oil for human consumption on Angolan markets, and has even been found in the kitchens of some houses. What is even more serious is that it has been allocated to Italian nuns for a child aid programme.

Is the Commission aware of this?

Does the Commission not agree that it is not advisable for colza oil that has not been clearly labelled as animal feed and is not accompanied by proper directions for use to be used for human consumption and distribution in Angola?

What will it do to prevent improper use of the products it sends to countries in need of humanitarian aid, especially in this particular case?

Answer given by Mr Pinheiro on behalf of the Commission (13 May 1996)

At the request of non-governmental organizations and the World Food Programme, the Community supplied those organizations with rape seed (colza) oil for free distribution as part of their aid programmes in Angola. Sunflower oil was supplied to the Angolan Government for sale on the market to generate counterpart funds with which to finance development projects.

Any product supplied as Community food aid is labelled in accordance with the Commission communication regarding the characteristics of products to be supplied under the Community food aid programme, ((OJ C 114, 29.4.1991. )) which requires the type of product to be stated on the packaging.

Refined rape-seed oil is highly nutritious and perfectly fit for human consumption; it is the best-selling vegetable oil on the Community market.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0935/96 by Shaun Spiers (PSE) to the Commission (23 April 1996)

Subject: Proposal for a White Paper on Associations

When does the Commission propose to publish its White Paper on associations which is eagerly awaited by associations across the European Union and would the Commission explain its reasons for the apparent delay?

Answer given by Mr Papoutsis on behalf of the Commission (28 May 1996)

The proposed white paper on associations and foundations is likely to be agreed by the Commission in the very near future. It has been necessary for the Commission to consult with the association and foundation movements in order to ensure that the white paper takes on many of the issues that concern the movements in their European work. It has also been important to include further information on this sector in Finland, Sweden and Austria in order to ensure that the white paper is relevant to organisations in these Member States.

The white paper will be discussed at a forthcoming meeting of the Commission, and will be published in the near future, thus making a substantial contribution to the construction of a Europe which is closer to citizens.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-1484/96 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (12 June 1996)

Subject: Progress with sub-programme 4, the Peloponnese, Measure 2 of the 2nd CSF: 'Health and Welfare'

Measure 4.2 of the regional operational programme for the Peloponnese provides for funding of health care facilities for the local population and visitors to the region comprising the construction of a new hospital in Kalamata and expansion of the hospitals at Tripoli, Sparta and Corinth.

The allocation of funding was ECU 3 547 000 for 1995.

1. What was the take-up rate for 1995?

2. Have there been any delays in taking up the funds and, if so, what were the main reasons for them?

3. Can the Commission provide details of the progress made with this measure?

Joint answer to Written Questions E-1479/96, E-1480/96, E-1481/96, E-1482/96, E-1483/96, E-1484/96, E-1485/96 and E-1486/96 given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (26 June 1996)

The Commission is collecting the information it needs to answer the question. It will communicate its findings as soon as possible.