WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3050/97 by Amedeo AMADEO to the Commission. Green Paper on commerce
Date: 1997-10-02
Institutions: AMADEO, European Parliament
Subjects: EU publication, Eurostat, data collection, dissemination of EU information, economic sector, economic statistics, international trade, supply and demand

C 134/64

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

30. 4. 98

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(31 October 1997)

The Commission believes that relief from past debt to create sound finances is an essential part of any strategy to
revitalise the Community(cid:146)s railways. Directive 91/440/EEC on the development of the Community(cid:146)s railways
already obliges Member States to help reduce debts to a level that does not impede sound financial management.
The Commission has launched a study of progress made in reducing debts and will present the results in a general
communication  on  the  implementation  and  results  of  Directive  91/440/EEC,  that  it  intends  to  present  to  the
Council and the Parliament early next year.

(98/C 134/80)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3050/97

by Amedeo Amadeo (NI) to the Commission

(2 October 1997)

Subject: Green Paper on commerce

With reference to the green paper on commerce (COM(96) 530 final), will the Commission set up a statistical
observatory on commerce to collect, process and publicize:

1. 

2. 

information on supply and demand (market share per distribution channel, price levels, volume levels, etc.);

information by commercial sector and by region?

Answer given by Mr Papoutsis on behalf of the Commission

(7 November 1997)

As stressed in the Green Paper on commerce, improving the statistics on commerce is one of the Commission’s
concerns. Macroeconomic statistics must be able to meet the needs of decision-makers in the sector, who require
reliable,  homogeneous  and  constantly  updated  information  on  developments.  The  Commission  has  therefore
planned a number of measures to this end which will lead to a series of publications.

At the regular meetings of Eurostat’s Working Party on Statistics on Commerce, the Commission is working on
implementing  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  58/97  of  20  December  1996  on  structural  business  statistics (1),
which contains an annex devoted to commerce and distribution. When presenting this Regulation to operators in
the sector, the Commission proposed that a conference be held on statistics on commerce. This event, aimed at
presenting and reporting on the latest figures available and at allowing those concerned to express their views,
should take place during the first quarter of 1998. A conference of this kind could be repeated on an annual basis.

In view of the work outlined above, there are currently no plans to set up an observatory.

(1)  OJ L 14, 17.1.1997.

(98/C 134/81)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3052/97

by Amedeo Amadeo (NI) to the Commission

(2 October 1997)

Subject: Green paper on public procurement

The Commission has published a Green Paper on public procurement in the European Union: Exploring the way
forward  (COM(96)  583  final).  Will  the  Commission  ensure  that,  in  awarding  public  contracts,  contracting