WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2397/97 by Carles-Alfred GASOLIBA I BÖHM to the Commission. Use of Cohesion Fund resources
Date: 1997-07-10
Institutions: European Parliament, GASOLIBA I BOEHM
Subjects: Cohesion Fund, Community of Valencia, EU aid, desertification, environmental policy, erosion, forestry policy

17. 3. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 82/69

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(18 September 1997)

Generally speaking, goods which are intended for export are exempted from taxation whereas imported goods
are  made  subject  to  taxation.  It  is  against  this  background  that  travellers  are  not  allowed  to  make  tax-  and
duty-free purchases in the Member State of arrival. This applies to both travellers arriving from third countries
and travellers inside the Community.

Instead, travellers are allowed tax- and duty-free purchases in the Member State of departure. At import, the
traveller has to declare the goods intended for import and, in principle, to pay tax on all imported goods. The
traveller does not pay tax on goods which fall within certain limits in terms of quantity or value since these
benefit from a traveller’s allowance.

Compliance with the obligation to declare and pay tax at import is ensured through controls carried out by the
customs authorities. Within the single market, controls at the internal borders of the Community are no longer
possible.  The  border  control  has  been  replaced  by  the  vendor  control  system.  The  report  presented  by  the
Commission (1) shows that vendor control systems are not operating satisfactorily in Member States.

The  Commission  appreciates  fully  the  view  expressed  by  the  Honourable  Member  on  the  safety  and
environmental  aspects of  duty-free goods  kept on board aircraft. These are however problems which will be
resolved in the near future. It should be recalled that, following the decision of the Council to put an end to
duty-free sales to travellers inside the Community, such sales will expire on 30 June 1999.

(1)  COM(96) 245 final.

(98/C 82/118)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2397/97

by Carles-Alfred Gaso‘liba i Bo¤hm (ELDR) to the Commission

(10 July 1997)

Subject: Use of Cohesion Fund resources

One third of the territory of the Valencia Region is affected by serious erosion and desertification. The regional
authorities allocated 1 932 million from the Cohesion Fund to combat this process in 1996.

Can the Commission supply information about the use of these resources in 1996?

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

(12 September 1997)

The  Commission  is  conscious  of  the  problems  of  soil  erosion  and  desertification  in  many  parts  of  Spain,
including the region of Valencia. In order to help combat these problems, the Commission approved assistance
from  the  Cohesion  fund  for  a  number  of  projects  in  1995  and  early  1996  aimed  at  reafforestation,  forestry
treatment, erosion control and the regeneration of areas damaged by fire in all the major river basins of Spain.
Some projects which were presented by the Spanish authorities in 1996 were approved for assistance in July
1997.  The  latest  decisions  granting  assistance  might  include  projects  located  within  the  territory  of  the
autonomous region of Valencia (basins of the Ebro, Ju‘car/Levante and Segura).

Complementary  information  is  sent  direct  to  the  Honourable  Member  and  to  the  Secretariat  general  of
Parliament.