WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1370/97 by Daniel VARELA SUANZES- CARPEGNA to the Commission. Community imports of semi- preserves of anchovies in brine or oil
Date: 1997-04-21
Institutions: European Parliament, VARELA SUANZES-CARPEGNA
Subjects: competence of the Member States, customs formalities, foodstuffs legislation, health legislation, import (EU), national law, preserved product, quality standard, sea fish

22. 1. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 21/49

Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission

(3 June 1997)

Under  the  programme  (cid:145)New  sources  of  employment(cid:146)  pursuant  to  Article  10  of  Council  Regulation  (EEC)
No 4254/88 of 19 December 1988, laying down provisions for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 as
regards  the  European  Regional  Development  Fund  (ERDF),  as  amended (1),  the  Commission  has  selected
41 projects of which 10 were indeed presented by local authorities or bodies in Spain. The ERDF contribution to
these 10 projects amounts to ECU 3 981 670. Basic information and a summary for each of these projects are
directly  accessible  on  the  Internet  site  for  innovative  actions  under  Article  10  of  the  ERDF  at  the  following
address: http://www. aeidl.be/art10/.

(1)  OJ L 193, 31.7.1993.

(98/C 21/131)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1370/97

by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE) to the Commission

(21 April 1997)

Subject: Community imports of semi-preserves of anchovies in brine or oil

Can the Community supply information on the volume of imports of the above products and their countries of
origin?

Can the Commission guarantee that the products are imported in compliance with minimum standards as regards
quality and salt and moisture content and that they are cleared through customs under the correct tariff headings?

Answer given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission

(3 June 1997)

A table with information on imports of  anchovies  is being sent  direct  to the  Honourable Member  and  to the
Secretariat of Parliament.

There  are  no  specific  Community  rules  on  semi-preserves  of  anchovies.  These  products  are  covered  by  the
relevant  health  and  hygiene  rules  and  the  provisions  governing  foodstuffs  in  general,  such  as,  for  example,
additives  or  contact  materials.  Further  quality  standards  can,  if  necessary,  be  imposed  by  national  rules  or
manufacturing  standards  laid  down  by  producers  and  recognized  under  approval  systems.  The  national
authorities  are  responsible  for  monitoring  compliance  with  all  applicable  standards,  both  by  Community
production and by imports from non-member countries.

The Commission is not aware of any specific problems concerning semi-preserves of anchovies.

Finally, the goods introduced into the customs territory of the Community must be declared by the importer to
the customs authorities of the Member State concerned, with all the information required to identify them. The
customs authorities check that the correct tariff headings have been used and that they correspond to the goods
declared and presented to the customs.

(98/C 21/132)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1373/97

by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE) to the Council

(18 April 1997)

Subject: EU-Turkey cooperation agreement: tuna preserved in oil

European economic operators and, frequently, producers of tuna preserved in oil have been complaining about
the marketing of such preserves on the Community market since, they claim, these products enjoy customs tariff
exemptions different from those laid down for third countries.

Those concerned say that they benefit from these exemptions although they do not comply with legislation on the
origin of the raw material › tuna › which is considered to be a preserve of Turkish origin.