ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
WRITTEN QUESTION E-1222/01

by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission

(26 April 2001)

Subject: Badgers and TB

Can the Commission indicate if it has carried out any studies into whether or not badgers spread TB?

If it has, can the Commission say what the results of such studies were?

If not, can the Commission indicate whether it has any plans to carry out any studies?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(29 June 2001)

The Commission is aware that badgers are suspected of spreading tuberculosis. Studies into whether or not and how badgers spread tuberculosis have been carried out by the British Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF). Studies and reports (Krebs report) are published on MAFF's website (www.maff.gov.uk/animalh/tb).

The evidence so far strongly supports the view that, in the United Kingdom, badgers are a significant source of infection in cattle. It is not however possible to state quantitatively what contribution badgers make to cattle infection. Other wild life species also carry the disease, and the possibility of some contribution from these species cannot be ignored.

The Commission is currently funding FAIR-CT98-4373 Concerted Action for the setting up of a European veterinary network on diagnosis, epidemiology and research of mycobacterial diseases. One of the workshops held in the framework of this concerted action was Tuberculosis and Wildlife which took place on 23-25 March 2000 in Dublin. Several aspects of tuberculosis in badgers were addressed at this workshop. Information on this concerned action is available at http://www.ucm.es/info/venom/.

With reference to Action 29 listed in the Action plan on Food Safety(1) a task force was created in 2000 for monitoring disease eradication in the Member States. Subgroups of the Task force have been established for the three most important co-financed diseases (sheep and goat brucellosis,

bovine brucellosis and bovine tuberculosis). The objectives of these subgroups are to support Member States in their attempts to develop and implement optimal disease eradication measures. It is planned to discuss this subject in one of the next tuberculosis sub-group meetings.

(1) COM(1999) 719 final.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-1482/01

by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission

(18 May 2001)

Subject: Clergy and employment rights in the UK

Given that the UK, in the Employment Rights Act 1996, did not provide for any exclusion from the Council Directive 91/533/EEC(1) of 14 October 1991 for the clergy, is it the view of the Commission that they must be covered?

Does it not follow that any court ruling that the clergy are excluded cannot be made without a preliminary reference to the European Court of Justice?

If such a ruling were made without a preliminary reference what remedy is available and should the Commission not take the matter up with the UK Government as a breach of Community law?

(1) OJ L 288, 18.10.1991, p. 32.

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(12 July 2001)

Council Directive 91/533/EEC (Written Statement Directive)(1) specifies that employers are obliged to notify employees of the essential aspects of their contract or employment relationship. This includes information on the identities of the parties, the place of work and certain other working conditions.

This directive was implemented into British Law through the Employment Rights Act of 1996, which makes no specific provisions with respect to clergy.

Article 1 of the Directive deals with the scope of its application. The Directive applies only to paid employee[s] having a contract or employment relationship defined by the law in force in a Member State and/or governed by the law in force in a Member State (Article 1(1)). If, according to British law, clergy do not have the status of paid employees in the meaning of that provision, they are therefore not covered by the provisions of the Employment Rights Act which implement the Directive.

The application of national legislation implementing Community Directives is subject to national judicial review. According to Article 234 (ex Article 177) of the EC Treaty, a preliminary ruling by the Court of Justice is required if any question concerning (i) the interpretation of the EC Treaty, (ii) the validity and interpretation of acts of the institutions of the Community and of the European Central Bank, or (iii) the interpretation of the statutes of bodies established by an act of the Council, where those statutes so provide, is raised before a court or tribunal of a Member State against whose decisions there is no judicial remedy under national law. The Commission is not aware of such cases in the UK with respect to Directive 91/ 533 and clergymen.

If a national court or tribunal would not comply with its obligations under Article 234 of the EC Treaty it would commit an infringement of treaty rules for which the Member State would be responsible.

(1) Council Directive 91/533/EEC of 14 October 1991 on an employer's obligation to inform employees of the conditions applicable to the contract or employment relationship (OJ L 288, 18.10.1991).
WRITTEN QUESTION E-1053/01

by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission

(5 April 2001)

Subject: Transfer of footballers - Training costs

Can the Commission indicate the likely maximum figures, in current prices, that can be justified in terms of annual costs for training footballers?

Joint answer to Written Questions E-1052/01, E-1053/01 and E-1054/01 given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(28 May 2001)

On 5 March 2001, International Federation for Football Associations (FIFA) submitted an undertaking to change its rules as regards international transfers of football players. According to the general principles

of the undertaking, it is FIFA's responsibility to implement inter alia a system of training compensation in case of players aged under 23 that encourages and rewards the training efforts of clubs, in particular, small and amateur clubs without limiting freedom of movement of players in a disproportionate way. FIFA will also implement solidarity mechanisms that would redistribute a significant proportion of income to clubs involved in the training and education of a player, including amateur clubs.

The Commission has always been supportive of the principle of a solidarity fund to be used to promote training of young players and to reduce the gap between big and small clubs or between amateur and professional football.

At this stage, no detailed figures or estimates have been provided to the Commission.

As regards merchandising, according to the general principles of FIFA's undertaking to change its rules, the loss of merchandising income is not a criterion that can be considered in calculating a training fee. As far as compensation for unilateral breach of a contract is concerned the question is primarily to be answered on the basis of the national law applicable.

FIFA has undertaken that after two seasons experience there will be a general review of the new arrangements.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-2004/01

by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission

(6 July 2001)

Subject: Pesticides in Italian fruit and vegetables

A survey conducted by Anpa-Arpa (the Italian national prevention and environment agency), in which 5 300 fruit and vegetable samples were analysed in 14 Italian regions, has revealed that the traces of pesticides found in 4 fruits out of 10 (and 2 vegetables out of 10) exceed the legal limit values.

Given the serious risks to public health:

1. Does the Commission know about the findings of the survey?

2. What limits does European legislation lay down for pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables?

3. When the rules have been infringed, can the offenders be punished?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(31 July 2001)

1. The Commission is aware of the results of the survey referred to but can find no grounds in the results justifying the assertion in the question that 40 % of fruits and 20 % of vegetables exceed the maximum residue limits for pesticides residues. The Commission is also aware of the recently published results of the Italian national monitoring programme for 2000 for pesticides residues in fruits and vegetables. The results are in line with those of previous years and with those reported by the other Member States i.e. that about 60 % of samples contain no detectable residues, about 40 % of samples contain detectable residues within the permissible limits and that about 2-3 % contain residues exceeding the limits but not endangering health.

2. It is not practical to list the more than 20 000 Community maximum residue limits (MRLs) here. A full listing is available on the Europa Internet site (http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/ph_ps/pest/index_en.htm).

3. The Member States are responsible for controlling compliance with the maximum residue limits in force and for taking appropriate action against transgressors.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0702/01

by John Cushnahan (PPE-DE) to the Council

(14 March 2001)

Subject: The Serbian government's commitment to human rights and accountability

In view of the appointment of Colonel Sreten Lukic as Chief of Public Security and Deputy Interior Minister, is the Council aware that this raises concerns regarding the Serbian government's commitment to human rights and accountability?

What action does the Council intend to take to ensure that Serbia honours its obligations in this regard?

Reply

(16 July 2001)

The Council stresses continuously to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia authorities that full respect for human rights and democracy is a necessary precondition for a rapprochement of this country to the mainstream of Europe.

On their side, the Belgrade authorities - and President Kostunica personally at the Zagreb Summit, last November - have on numerous occasions restated their commitment to respect fully these fundamental principles and have taken positive steps to this end.

Much remains to be done - including on full cooperation with ICTY and the release of all wrongly imprisoned ethnic Albanian political prisoners - but in the Council's view the democratic government of the FRY has made good progress in overcoming the unhappy situation in the human rights field bequeathed to it by the Milosevic regime.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0791/01

by John McCartin (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(13 March 2001)

Subject: French measures in the beef market

Is the Commission aware of a decision by the French government to take unilateral steps to subsidise beef farmers for the mad cow crisis? Does the Commission regard this decision as a threat to the common agricultural policy and have any steps been taken to reach agreement with the French authorities to ensure that moves towards re-nationalisation of the CAP are avoided?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(2 May 2001)

The Commission is aware of the French government's intentions to put into place a national aids regime to compensate farmers directly affected by the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) crisis. The French authorities have as a matter of fact notified to the Commission a State aids regime linked to the BSE crisis, as other Member States have also done. All notifications are being examined in the light of existing competition rules and only those aids which the Commission may consider to be compatible with article 87 (ex Article 92) of the EC Treaty will be authorised. To the extent that such aid will be authorised, the Commission would not consider it a threat to the common agricultural policy. On the other hand, any aid paid out without prior authorisation by the Commission would be illegal, and could pose a threat to the common agricultural policy.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0566/01

by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(27 February 2001)

Subject: Statement of Assurance for DG Justice and Home Affairs

At the meeting of the Committee on Budgetary Control of 7 February 2001, Commissioner Fischler stated that the exact error rate in 1999 for financial transactions within DG Agriculture was 3,06 %.

In the spirit of cooperation and transparency between the European institutions, could the Commissioner with special responsibility for Justice and Home Affairs provide a similar figure for financial transactions within that Directorate-General? If not, why not?

Joint answer to Written Questions P-0553/01, E-0554/01, E-0555/01, E-0556/01, E-0557/01, E-0558/01, E-0559/01, E-0560/01, E-0561/01, E-0562/01, E-0563/01, E-0564/01, E-0565/01, E-0566/01, E-0567/01, E-0568/01, E-0569/01 and E-0570/01 given by Mrs Schreyer on behalf of the Commission

(11 April 2001)

The Commission wishes to remind the Honourable Member that the Court of Auditors does not provide an error rate in the framework of its Statement of Assurance for the general budget as it considers that it is an oversimplification to gauge the success of the Commission's financial management on the basis of this single indicator.

Thus the Court decided three years ago to stop the publication of a global error rate and to develop its Statement of Assurance methodology in order to provide to the Discharge Authority with more detailed descriptive information.

Moreover, the Court of Auditors has said on several occasions that if it was to generate error rates at a lower level (eg. by sector or by Directorate general) from a general error rate, these would be wholly misleading. The restricted number of transactions that the Court audits does not make it possible for it to determine a valid error rate at this lower level.

Consequently, the Commission is not in a position to provide to the Honourable Member the requested information.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0506/01

by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission

(22 February 2001)

Subject: Accession negotiations with Turkey

The bodies of more than 2 000 Greek Cypriots, said to have been killed by the Turkish armed forces shortly after their invasion of Cyprus in 1974, are believed to lie in unmarked graves in the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus; the bodies of some hundreds of Turkish Cypriots killed at the same time are also said to lie to the south of the Green Line.

The TRNC authorities have to date refused requests that the graves be opened so that the bodies of these missing Cypriots can be identified, despite the fact that the Cypriot Government has offered to do the same, and that such action would assist conciliation between the two communities.

Has the Commission asked for assistance from the Government of Turkey in bringing pressure to bear on the TRNC authorities to identify the missing persons killed by the Turkish armed forces in Cyprus, which is also an applicant for EU membership, and, if not, will it do so?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(2 May 2001)

The Honourable Member makes reference to the question of missing persons in Cyprus following the events of 1974. The Commission understands that 1 493 cases were submitted by the Greek Cypriot side to the United Nations Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) set up in 1981 to investigate and determine the fate of missing persons (seven have since been confirmed as dead). 500 cases were submitted by the Turkish Cypriot side (which cover the period since 1963). In 1997 the two sides agreed to provide all the information available to them to help resolve the issue but there have been no further developments in this process since 1998.

This matter can be further addressed in the framework of the Union's enhanced political dialogue with Turkey.
WRITTEN QUESTION P-1068/01

by Caroline Lucas (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(26 March 2001)

Subject: The US New Africa Initiative and Bangladeshi textiles

In its offer of duty-free and quota-free access, the US Trade and Development Act 2000 makes a critical distinction between ACP least-developed countries, and non-ACP least-developed countries. This somewhat arbitrary distinction is already having a very negative impact on the textiles and garments sector in Bangladesh, for which the US market is extremely important. This is particularly regrettable, since it is precisely the growth of this sector which has enabled many thousands of Bangladeshi women to earn an independent income and to make significant progress towards greater equality.

In the light of its own Everything-But-Arms initiative, will the Commission contact its trade counterparts in the United States and argue for the extension of duty-free and quota-free access for all least-developed countries?

Joint answer to Written Questions E-0695/01and P-1068/01 given by Mr Lamy on behalf of the Commission

(14 May 2001)

The Commission understands the concern of Bangladesh about its market position and market share following the adoption of the American Trade and Development Act (USTDA 2000) from which, together with the other Asian least developed countries (LDCs), it is excluded.

As far as the Community is concerned, Bangladesh's status as least developed country implies duty- and quota free access for its textile and clothing exports to the Community and this has enabled the country to significantly increase its exports of these products to the European market, becoming the Community's 10th largest supplier.

The Commission would encourage other developed countries to grant similar treatment to LDCs, and is in this respect encouraged by the reaction of countries such as Chile and New Zealand to the Community's Everything but Arms initiative (EBA initiative) which extends duty and quota-free access to the Community market for all products from the 49 least developed countries.

The EBA initiative reflects the importance the Community attaches to a full integration of developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, into the multilateral trading system. This is of course a subject of discussion with other developed country trading partners, including the United States.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-1009/01

by Jorge Hernández Mollar (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(30 March 2001)

Subject: Urgent requirement for a water-treatment plant for Ronda

Installing a water-treatment plant at Ronda, in the Spanish province of Málaga, is essential if the River Guadiaro is to be cleaned up and if the transfer of water from that river to Cádiz is to be made safer and more efficient.

In spite of this, no date has been set for the entry into service of such a treatment plant (for which the Spanish Government awarded a contract in November of last year), for which reason the river Guadalevín (the waters of which flow into the Guadiaro) is likely to remain polluted for some time to come.

Since the people of Málaga province would like to see this major water-pollution problem solved as a matter of urgency, could the Commission say exactly when Ronda will have a water-treatment plant and how much the Community will contribute to the 1 716 billion pesetas which the Spanish Government has allocated to the project, whose date of entry into service remains a mystery to the inhabitants of the towns affected?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(21 May 2001)

On 29 December 2000, the Commission approved Cohesion Fund part-financing for the EDAR project (Estación depuradora de aguas residual) in Ronda (Malaga)(1). Besides the actual construction work on EDAR, the project will also lengthen the general collector in Ronda and build a connection to channel waste water from the northern part of the city to the treatment plant.

The project costs 85 % covered by the Community will total 13 391 000, encompassing construction, equipment, technical assistance and publicity measures.

According to the timetable set by the Spanish government, the plant will be up and running by 2002.

It should also be noted that under the terms of Directive 91/271/EEC(2), all urban areas with a population equivalent (PE)(3) higher than 15 000 should at the latest by 31 December 2000 have been equipped with collection and secondary (i.e. biological) treatment systems.

The Commission is currently checking whether all the Community's main urban centres are in compliance with this Directive and will in the course of 2001 be in a position to initiate infringement proceedings against any Member States found to have overrun this deadline. As far as Spain is concerned, the Commission is aware of the delays and will be initiating a general infringement procedure covering all towns and cities including, as the case may be, Ronda found to be in breach of these obligations.

(1) Decision C(2000) 4319.

(2) Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 concerning urban waste-water treatment (OJ L 135, 30.5.1991).

(3) Unit of measure of organic pollution, representing average pollution produced per person, per day.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-1619/01

by Jorge Hernández Mollar (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(12 June 2001)

Subject: Candidacy of Malaga for the seat of the EU's future Maritime Safety Agency

Malaga has submitted its candidacy for the seat of the EU's Maritime Safety Agency. Among the factors supporting this candidacy are the location of the Sea of Alborán on one of the world's busiest maritime routes and the fact that the Straits of Gibraltar are crossed by between 70 000 and 80 000 vessels every year.

While other cities will also apply, Malaga's candidacy would ensure a Mediterranean location for the agency which could be the salvation of an ocean that has suffered severe damage from a level of maritime traffic in excess of its ecological capacities.

Does the Commission believe that objective criteria should be established for choosing among the cities put forward for the Agency's seat, to include compliance with the existing on-board safety rules, levels of risk insurance provision, and coordination management in respect of the provisions of national law in the field?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(2 August 2001)

The Commission proposal for a Regulation establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency was presented on 6 December 2000 in the context of a second package of measures following the Erika accident(1).

Since the presentation of this proposal, the Commission has indeed received a number of applications by Member States or regional authorities, among which is an application by the city of Malaga.

The Commission would agree with the Honourable Member that certain objective criteria have to be taken into account by the competent Authority when deciding on the location of the Agency.

(1) COM(2000) 802 final.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0324/01

by Dagmar Roth-Behrendt (PSE) to the Commission

(13 February 2001)

Subject: Information on the volume of EU funding flowing to Berlin in 1999 and 2000

Via which projects and Funds, and in what amounts, did Community funds flow to Berlin in 1999 and 2000 (separate figures please):

1. from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

2. from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) Guidance and Guarantee Section

3. from the European Social Fund (ESF)

4. from the Community's research programmes

5. from the Community's energy programmes

6. from the Community's environmental programmes

7. from the Community's transport programme

8. from the Community's education and youth programmes

9. from the Community's health programmes

10. from the Community's social programmes

11. from the programmes for NGOs

12. from the cultural programmes

13. from the programmes for cooperation with third countries (CEEC, CIS)

14. from the town-twinning programmes

15. from other Community programmes?

How successful in the view of the EU, have the measures been?

Supplementary answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(10 July 2001)

Further to its answer of 23 March 2001(1), the Commission is sending the information requested direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament's Secretariat.

(1) OJ C 174 E, 19.6.2001, p. 259.