WRITTEN QUESTION E-2398/00

by Sebastiano Musumeci (UEN) to the Commission

(18 July 2000)

Subject: Transport and distribution of food on the island of Ginostra

Current Community directives (93/43/EEC(1) and 96/3/EC(2)) concerning the hygiene of foodstuffs lay down stringent rules and obligations with regard to the transport and distribution of food throughout the European Union. The island of Ginostra, a ward of the Mediterranean island of Stromboli, has neither an airport nor a port for the mooring of ships and hydrofoils. The lack of suitable port infrastructure in Ginostra obliges the transporters and distributors of essential goods to tranship the goods in a precarious and irregular manner on to a boat which acts as a shuttle between the shore and the boats of the scheduled service which regularly drop anchor offshore. This unavoidable state of affairs means that Community laws are breached and operators are therefore liable to be penalised by the Italian government supervisory bodies.

Should the Commission not consider conducting an urgent review of Community legislation governing the transport and distribution of foodstuffs, granting exemptions for the smaller islands of the EU, which cannot be adequately supplied in that they have no landing stages for suitably equipped vessels?

What alternative solutions does the Commission intend to propose to ensure that the above operators guilty only of wishing to safeguard the right of the inhabitants of Ginostra to continue living on their island are able to work within the confines of the law once again?

Will the Commission send an official to Ginostra to report on the serious problems faced by the island's inhabitants with regard to the transport and distribution of food?

(1) OJ L 175, 19.7.1993, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 21, 27.1.1996, p. 42.

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(29 September 2000)

The Commission appreciates that the transport of food to regions suffering from special geographical constraints or affected by supply difficulties presents particular challenges. It is however very difficult to know from the question posed by the honourable Member what element contained in Community legislation is difficult to implement when transporting goods to the isle of Ginostra. The Commission believes that the present legislation, as contained in Council Directive 93/43/EEC of 14 June 1993, on the hygiene of foodstuffs, is of a very general nature and its implementation should therefore be generally applicable. Commission Directive 96/3/Euratom, ECSC, EC of 26 January 1996 granting a derogation from certain provisions of Council Directive 93/43/EEC on the hygiene of foodstuffs as regards the transport of bulk liquid oils and fats by sea, covers the very particular situation of bulk transport of oils and fats in containers that are also used for the transport of other goods. It would be useful for the Commission to receive more precise information on what point these Community rules pose particular problems.

The Commission is very much concerned about the difficulties and constraints linked to the geographical situation of certain areas and although it is believed that the present Community food hygiene legislation is adequate, it is impossible to foresee every situation in Community legislation. Proposals have therefore been prepared to leave, as a matter of subsidiarity, more room to the Member States to evaluate on the spot the situation of areas with particular geographical constraints, and to adapt the rules where necessary so as to fit the particular situation. This flexibility must in no way compromise food safety.

In view of the above, it does not seem necessary to send, as suggested by the Honourable Member, a Commission expert on the spot.