do-me/EUR-LEX huggingface dataset:
Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No 20/97 of 24 March 1997 amending Annex XX (Environment) to the EEA Agreement
Date: 1997-03-24
Institutions: EEA Joint Committee
Subjects: European Economic Area, biotechnology, environmental protection, genetically modified organism, product safety, public health, technological change








L_1997182EN.01005401.xml










10.7.1997   


EN


Official Journal of the European Communities


L 182/54





DECISION OF THE EEA JOINT COMMITTEE
No 20/97
of 24 March 1997
amending Annex XX (Environment) to the EEA Agreement
THE EEA JOINT COMMITTEE,
Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, as adjusted by the Protocol adjusting the Agreement on the European Economic Area, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Agreement’, and in particular Article 98 thereof,
Whereas Annex XX to the Agreement was amended by Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No 61/95 (1);
Whereas Commission Decision 96/134/EC of 16 January 1996 amending Commission Decision 91/448/EEC concerning guidelines for classification referred to in Article 4 of Council Directive 90/219/EEC on the contained use of genetically modified microorganisms (2) is to be incorporated into the Agreement,
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
Article 1
The following shall be added in point 24a (Commission Decision 91/448/EEC) of Annex XX to the Agreement:
‘, as amended by:






—



396 D 0134: Commission Decision 96/134/EC of 16 January 1996 (OJ No L 31, 9. 2. 1996, p. 25).’




Article 2
The texts of Commission Decision 96/134/EC in the Icelandic and Norwegian languages, which are annexed to the respective language versions of this Decision, are authentic.
Article 3
This Decision shall enter into force on 1 April 1997, provided that all the notifications under Article 103 (1) of the Agreement have been made to the EEA Joint Committee.
Article 4
This Decision shall be published in the EEA section of, and in the EEA Supplement to, the Official Journal of the European Communities.


Done at Brussels, 24 March 1997.


For the EEA Joint Committee


The President

C. DAY




(1)  OJ No L 251, 3. 10. 1995, p. 43.

(2)  OJ No L 31, 9. 2. 1996, p. 25.
WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1127/97 by Carmen DÍEZ DE RIVERA ICAZA to the Commission. Use of dura mater in the European Union
Date: 1997-03-24
Institutions: DIEZ DE RIVERA ICAZA, European Parliament
Subjects: animal disease, cattle, competence of the Member States, disease of the nervous system, health risk, infectious disease, organ transplantation, surgery













EUR-Lex - 91997E1127 - EN






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91997E1127

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1127/97 by Carmen DÍEZ DE RIVERA ICAZA to the Commission. Use of dura mater in the European Union  


Official Journal C 319 , 18/10/1997 P. 0234 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1127/97 by Carmen Díez de Rivera Icaza (PSE) to the Commission (24 March 1997)Subject: Use of dura mater in the European Union- What are the risks of transmission of disease as a result of using these membranes?- Why are the available synthetic substitutes not always used in the European Union, so as to limit such risks, especially in the wake of the BSE epidemic?Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission (14 May 1997)There is indeed a risk of transmission of Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease (CJD) through a dura mater graft during surgery. Some twenty cases have been recorded around the world. There is also a risk of contamination from inadequately sterilised instruments used in neurosurgery. One case has also been reported in 1997 in connection with a cornea graft.The monitoring of this risk involves an examination of the arrangements for evaluating the safety of medical and surgical procedures within the healthcare systems of each Member State, and is thus a matter for regulation by the individual Member States.
WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1009/97 by Cristiana MUSCARDINI to the Council. Conflict in Rwanda/Zaire
Date: 1997-03-24
Institutions: European Parliament, MUSCARDINI
Subjects: African Union, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, UNO, ethnic conflict, international conference, peacekeeping, the EU's international role

C 82/4

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

17. 3. 98

Answer

(28 October 1997)

The matter raised by the Honourable Member is for the authorities of the Member State concerned and not one on
which the Council itself has any locus to intervene in the way proposed.

Measures to be taken against illicit drug trafficking organizations active on the Balkan route are being studied in
detail within the Council(cid:146)s bodies on the basis of an EDU report.

(98/C 82/04)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0952/97

by Peter Truscott (PSE) to the Council

(10 March 1997)

Subject: Restriction of freedom of movement by the Belgian authorities

Following  recent  rulings  against  the  Belgian  Government  by  the  European  Court  of  Justice  regarding  illegal
restrictions  on  the  freedom  of  movement  of  EU  citizens,  the  Belgian  authorities  now  appear  to  be  placing
unacceptable restrictions on the travel of third-country nationals.

Will the Council investigate and comment on reports that the Belgian Embassy in London is refusing to issue
visas to third-country tourists and business people using the UK as a base?

Could  the  Council  further  condemn  what  appears  to  be  the  increasing  intolerance  and  racism  of  the  Belgian
authorities responsible for issuing travel and work permits for EU citizens and third-country nationals?

Answer

(16 October 1997)

The Honourable Member is referred to the reply to his Oral Question No H-0355/97 of 14 May 1997.

(98/C 82/05)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1009/97

by Cristiana Muscardini (NI) to the Council

(24 March 1997)

Subject: Conflict in Rwanda/Zaire

The full-scale war which had been feared in the region of the African Great Lakes has unfortunately become a
reality, with its harrowing trail of slaughters, racial hatred and tragic suffering for the helpless populations, old
people, women and children.

The European Union has been unable to prevent full-scale war from breaking out, and has thus once again shown
its incapacity to take a united stance on international political events.

Will the Council

1.  call on those Member States with the greatest influence in that part of Africa to use this influence to convene

a peace conference with a view to resolving the conflict?

2.  make  use  of  the  power  of  such  States  within  the  United  Nations  to  ensure  that  the  conference  takes  the

necessary steps to achieve a global political settlement in the region of the Great Lakes?
WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1024/97 by Hiltrud BREYER to the Council. Health testing of genetically produced or modified foods
Date: 1997-03-24
Institutions: BREYER, European Parliament
Subjects: consumer protection, food inspection, foodstuff, foodstuffs legislation, genetic engineering, genetically modified organism, health control, human nutrition, new product













EUR-Lex - 91997E1024 - EN






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91997E1024

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1024/97 by Hiltrud BREYER to the Council. Health testing of genetically produced or modified foods  


Official Journal C 373 , 09/12/1997 P. 0049 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1024/97 by Hiltrud Breyer (V) to the Council (24 March 1997)Subject: Health testing of genetically produced or modified foodsThe European Parliament and Council regulation on novel foods and novel food ingredients provides for health testing of genetically modified or produced foods.1. a) What criteria are envisaged for such health testing?b) What testing methods are available?2. a) How is a genetically modified or produced food tested for allergenic effects?b) What testing methods are available for this purpose?c) What is the Council's response to the fact that the US Food and Drug Administration claims that no testing methods are currently available for assessing the allergenic effects of genetically modified or produced foods?3. Does the Council agree that this state of affairs in effect makes consumers guinea-pigs?Answer (2 July 1997)1. and 2. As the Honourable Member says in her Question, novel foods and food ingredients have to undergo health testing; they are subject to the inspections provided for in Council Directive 89/397/EEC on the official control of foodstuffs and in Directive 93/99/EEC on the subject of additional measures concerning the official control of foodstuffs.As regards testing methods, Article 4 of Directive 93/99/EEC lays down that Member States must ensure that the validation of methods of analysis used for the official control of foodstuffs complies, whenever possible, with certain criteria laid down by Directive 85/591/EEC concerning the introduction of Community methods of sampling and analysis for the monitoring of foodstuffs intended for human consumption.As regards point 2(c), it is not for the Council to comment on these claims.3. As for consumer protection, Article 3 of Regulation No 258/97 concerning novel foods and novel food ingredients provides that foods or food ingredients falling within its scope must not:- present a danger to the consumer;- mislead the consumer;- differ from foods or food ingredients which they are intended to replace to such an extent that their normal consumption would be nutritionally disadvantageous for the consumer.Furthermore, Articles 4, 6, 7 and 8 lay down a procedure for the assessment of novel foods and food ingredients before they are placed on the market in the Community.
WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1031/97 by Hiltrud BREYER to the Council. Risk to the health of the public and employees as a result of underestimating neutron radiation during transport of highly radioactive waste
Date: 1997-03-24
Institutions: BREYER, European Parliament
Subjects: health legislation, health risk, ionising radiation, nuclear safety, occupational health, public health, radiation protection, radioactive waste, radioactivity, transport of dangerous goods













EUR-Lex - 91997E1031 - EN






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91997E1031

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1031/97 by Hiltrud BREYER to the Council. Risk to the health of the public and employees as a result of underestimating neutron radiation during transport of highly radioactive waste  


Official Journal C 373 , 09/12/1997 P. 0051 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1031/97 by Hiltrud Breyer (V) to the Council (24 March 1997)Subject: Risk to the health of the public and employees as a result of underestimating neutron radiation during transport of highly radioactive wasteThe biological radiation impact of dense ionising radiation, such as neutrons, is greater than the same physical dose of loose ionising radiation, such as gamma rays. In order to take account of this danger, a physical dose of neutrons is converted into an equivalent dose, by multiplying it by a quality factor Q. According to a scientific consensus which has prevailed for more than ten years, the quality factors for radiation protection do not reflect current scientific knowledge. As far back as 1990, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) adopted enhanced factors (ICRP 60 1991). The recommended values depend, like the previous factors, on the energy of the neutrons.1. What is the Council's position vis-à-vis the guidelines laid down in ICRP 60 1991?2. What conclusions has it drawn as regards radiation protection in the EU Member States?Joint answer to Written Questions E-1029/97, E-1031/97 and E-1033/97 (2 July 1997)On 13 May 1996 the Council adopted Directive 96/29/Euratom laying down basic safety standards for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionizing radiation ((OJ L 159, 29.6.1996, p. 1. )). Adoption of that Directive has enabled protection standards in the previous Directives to be strengthened, in the light of, in particular, recent scientific data.With particular reference to the assessment of the effects of various types and energies of ionizing radiation, Articles 15 and 16 of the Directive provide for the use of the radiation weighting factor values annexed to the Directive, which are those recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) in its publication No 60, to which the Honourable member refers. Article 15 also stipulates that the competent authorities may authorize the use of equivalent methods. This possibility is of particular value where a knowledge of the actual parameteres of the situation enables the dose to be estimated more precisely.
WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1108/97 by Cristiana MUSCARDINI to the Council. Accession of Central and Eastern European countries to the EU and the enlargement of NATO
Date: 1997-03-24
Institutions: European Parliament, MUSCARDINI
Subjects: Central and Eastern European countries, European integration, NATO, accession to the European Union, enlargement of the Union, single market













EUR-Lex - 91997E1108 - EN






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91997E1108

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1108/97 by Cristiana MUSCARDINI to the Council. Accession of Central and Eastern European countries to the EU and the enlargement of NATO  


Official Journal C 373 , 09/12/1997 P. 0069 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1108/97 by Cristiana Muscardini (NI) to the Council (24 March 1997)Subject: Accession of Central and Eastern European countries to the EU and the enlargement of NATOAlthough the extension of the Atlantic Alliance to the countries of Eastern Europe is the subject of great interest in some quarters (Prague, Warsaw and Budapest), elsewhere (i.e. in Moscow) there are signs of a worrying stalemate caused by the demands being made about defining the precise role Russia is to play in the European security system.However, the accession of the CEECs (to NATO and subsequently to the EU) is an issue which exclusively concerns those countries and should therefore not be made subject to Russia's prior approval.Can the Council therefore, in the pre-accession talks, bear in mind the sovereign will of the applicant countries, without opting for an arrangement with limited rights and obligations?Can it also make the pre-accession talks subject to the signing of the NATO decision not to install nuclear arms on the territory of the would-be new Member States?Finally, can the Council allow the creation of facilities and the transfer of troops to ensure that none of the applicant countries find themselves caught in an uncomfortable and vulnerable grey area?Answer (16 June 1997)The accession of Central and Eastern European countries to the European Union and the enlargement of NATO are two separate processes. The Council is not competent to express any views as regards the enlargement of NATO and the relevant countries.As regards the enlargement of the European Union, the Council would point out that, since the European Council meeting in Essen in December 1994, an accession preparation strategy has been put in place which, supplementing the framework established by the Europe Association Agreements, is intended to gradually bring the CEEC closer to the Union by means of a series of instruments including, in particular, the White Paper on integration into the internal market and the structured dialogue at ministerial level. The criteria for assessing the situation of each applicant country were defined at the Copenhagen European Council.The necessary decisions to initiate accession negotiations will be taken by the Council after the Intergovernmental Conference in the light of the outcome of the Conference and of the opinions and reports to be submitted by the Commission.
WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1029/97 by Hiltrud BREYER to the Council. Risk to the health of the public and employees as a result of underestimating neutron radiation during transport of highly radioactive waste
Date: 1997-03-24
Institutions: BREYER, European Parliament
Subjects: health legislation, health risk, ionising radiation, nuclear safety, occupational health, public health, radiation protection, radioactive waste, radioactivity, transport of dangerous goods













EUR-Lex - 91997E1029 - EN






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91997E1029

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1029/97 by Hiltrud BREYER to the Council. Risk to the health of the public and employees as a result of underestimating neutron radiation during transport of highly radioactive waste  


Official Journal C 373 , 09/12/1997 P. 0051 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1029/97 by Hiltrud Breyer (V) to the Council (24 March 1997)Subject: Risk to the health of the public and employees as a result of underestimating neutron radiation during transport of highly radioactive wasteWhat is the Council's view of the calculations published by Prof. Horst Kuni, a specialist in nuclear medicine at the Medical Centre for Radiology, Philipps University, Marburg, according to which the biological impact of neutron radiation are being underestimated by Germany's regulation on radiation protection by a factor of 30?Joint answer to Written Questions E-1029/97, E-1031/97 and E-1033/97 (2 July 1997)On 13 May 1996 the Council adopted Directive 96/29/Euratom laying down basic safety standards for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionizing radiation ((OJ L 159, 29.6.1996, p. 1. )). Adoption of that Directive has enabled protection standards in the previous Directives to be strengthened, in the light of, in particular, recent scientific data.With particular reference to the assessment of the effects of various types and energies of ionizing radiation, Articles 15 and 16 of the Directive provide for the use of the radiation weighting factor values annexed to the Directive, which are those recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) in its publication No 60, to which the Honourable member refers. Article 15 also stipulates that the competent authorities may authorize the use of equivalent methods. This possibility is of particular value where a knowledge of the actual parameteres of the situation enables the dose to be estimated more precisely.
WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1035/97 by Hiltrud BREYER to the Council. Completion of the nuclear power plant in Mochovce, Slovak Republic
Date: 1997-03-24
Institutions: BREYER, European Parliament
Subjects: EU aid, European standard, Slovakia, nuclear power station, nuclear safety, nuclear technology, radiation protection, safety standard, technical cooperation, technical standard













EUR-Lex - 91997E1035 - EN






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91997E1035

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1035/97 by Hiltrud BREYER to the Council. Completion of the nuclear power plant in Mochovce, Slovak Republic  


Official Journal C 373 , 09/12/1997 P. 0052 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1035/97 by Hiltrud Breyer (V) to the Council (24 March 1997)Subject: Completion of the nuclear power plant in Mochovce, Slovak RepublicThe pressurized water reactors Mochovce I and II in the Slovak Republic, which would be the first nuclear power plant complexes in central and eastern Europe, are to be brought up to western safety standards with EU assistance. This is a project which the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has refused to finance because it regards the plan as unrealistic. Now the European Mochovce Consortium (EUCOM), consisting of Siemens and Framatom, has been commissioned by the Slovak energy supply company Slovenske Elektrame (SE) to complete the partly-built plant. In this connection, Siemens has applied to the German Government for a guarantee under the Hermes scheme.1. Does the Council agree that supporting a nuclear energy policy in the Slovak Republic will impede the development of an efficient, environmentally sound energy supply system and that as a result energy consumption levels will remain high?2. Does it agree that Austria's interests are being harmed by the involvement of France and Germany in the Slovak Republic? What kind of discussions, if any, are being conducted on this matter?3. Does the Council know how and where the radioactive waste produced if the Mochovce plant is brought into service will be processed and stored?Answer (16 June 1997)The question of nuclear safety in Slovakia is being kept under constant review by the Community authorities and was recently referred to in the framework of the Association Council with Slovakia on 25 February 1997. On that occasion, the Community clearly stressed the great importance which it attaches - also with a view to the accession of Slovakia to the Union - to achieving a high level of safety in nuclear power stations and to strict cooperation to that end.On the basis of these principles, note was taken at the meeting of Slovakia's intention of completing the Mochovce plant in accordance with internationally recognized safety guidelines, as well as of its commitment to close nuclear installations which did not satisfy these standards. With regard to the latter point, the Community side referred explicitly to the closure of Bohunice NPP-V-1 at the earliest opportunity.