WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1268/96 by Miguel ARIAS CAÑETE to the Commission. Attacks on Spanish goods in France
Date: 1996-05-24
Institutions: ARIAS CANETE, European Parliament
Subjects: France, Spain, carriage of goods, carrier, competition, free movement of goods, fresh fruit, fresh vegetable, producer organisation













EUR-Lex - 91996E1268 - EN






Avis juridique important




|



91996E1268

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1268/96 by Miguel ARIAS CAÑETE to the Commission. Attacks on Spanish goods in France  


Official Journal C 356 , 25/11/1996 P. 0022 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1268/96 by Miguel Arias Cañete (PPE) to the Commission (24 May 1996)Subject: Attacks on Spanish goods in FranceAttacks have begun in France on lorries carrying Spanish goods. On 25 April 1996, French farmers overturned the cargoes of lorries carrying Spanish strawberries, potatoes, peppers and exotic fruit.Given that these attacks by French farmers recur every year, causing serious damage to Spanish farmers and jeopardizing the free movement of goods within the European Union:- what measures will the Commission take to ensure effective freedom of movement of goods within the single market?- will the Commission take action against France, which repeatedly allows illegal actions of this kind to take place?Joint answer to Written Questions E-1254/96, E-1268/96 and E-1381/96 given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (27 June 1996)The Commission has already, on a number of occasions, stated its views on the systematic acts of violence perpetrated by various French producer groups or organizations against consignments of fruit and vegetables from Spain and the obligation of Member States in that connection to maintain public order, with particular reference to the right of free movement of goods.As it said in its answer to written question 1818/94 from Mr Colino Salamanca, ((OJ C 24, 30 January 1995, p. 30. )) under Community law Member State authorities are required to take the measures necessary to prevent acts which undermine the effective operation of the internal market and the free movement of goods. Failure to comply with this duty constitutes a breach of a Member State's obligation under Article 30 and the common organization of the market, in conjunction with Article 5 of the EC Treaty.Since the French authorities have been unable to show unequivocally that the police took adequate and appropriate action to counter this quite unacceptable impediment to the free movement of goods, the Commission initiated infringement proceedings under Article 169 of the Treaty and ultimately, on 4 August 1995, referred the matter to the Court of Justice. ((Case C-265/95. ))Following the recent recurrence of these violent attacks on the free movement of goods the Commission reminded the French authorities of their obligations under Articles 5 and 30 of the EC Treaty, and it will be drawing the Court's attention to the persistent repetition of the offence.The Commission does not believe the reform of the common organization of the market will extend the strawberry problem to other sectors, on the contrary, it should help and encourage Community producers to meet the challenges ahead and become more competitive and capable of adapting to a changing market.Agreements and contacts between producers in different Member States should also play an important part in organizing the marketing of Community produce. Accordingly, as an incentive to promote operational measures by groups of Member States, the threshold for official financing of the operational funds provided for in the reformed common organization of the market is to be raised to 60%.