WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3708/97 by Ulf HOLM to the Council. UN climate meeting in Kyoto
Date: 1997-11-19
Institutions: European Parliament, HOLM
Subjects: EU Member State, European Union, Japan, UN convention, UNO, climate change, environmental protection, power of decision, summit meeting

C 158/180

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

25. 5. 98

The  service  also  comprises  a  user  friendly  web  interface  for  Internet  users  which  allows  its  selection  of
documents by keywords, by Member State, by date, etc. More than 100 000 documents are consulted from this
database every month. In addition to this service the Commission operates a number of linked web servers. These
servers provide free access to information about Commission initiatives in all domains. They also include the
announcement of public calls for tenders and public calls for proposals as well as grant information. All these
servers allow users to download the information on their personal computers.

The  main  server  of  the  Commission  is  Europa  (URL:http://europa.en.int)  which  provides  information  on  all
services of the Commission as well as links to web servers of the other institutions.

In addition the Commission operates the three web server I*M Europe (URL:http://www.echo.lu), Community
research and development information service (CORDIS) (URL:http://www.cordis.lu) and information society
project office (ISPO) (URL:http://www.ispo.cec.be) which serve specific target groups.

(98/C 158/241)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3703/97

by Marjo Matikainen-Kallstro¤m (PPE) to the Commission

(19 November 1997)

Subject: Banning the use of asbestos

International studies show that asbestos is a really dangerous substance. In the 2000s as many as 10 000 a year
people will die of diseases caused by asbestos, mainly lung cancer. Asbestos can be completely replaced by other
materials, which have the same properties and are considerably safer.

The new use of asbestos is already prohibited in the Nordic countries, Germany, the Netherlands and France. The
Commission has, however, for some reason or other delayed taking the decision to ban the use of asbestos. If the
Commission allows the new use of asbestos to continue, it will no longer be possible to use national legislation to
prevent the import of equipment and machinery containing asbestos.

What stage of preparation has the directive banning the new use of asbestos reached? These decisions are starting
to become urgent, particularly in view of the dangers presented by asbestos. Moreover, some manufacturers use
asbestos as a cheap competition tool in place of less dangerous but more expensive replacement substances. Do
not the Commission(cid:146)s own bad experiences of the dangers of asbestos argue for a speedy decision?

Answer given by Mr Bangemann on behalf of the Commission

(19 December 1997)

The Commission is collecting the information it needs to answer the question. It will communicate its findings as
soon as possible.

(98/C 158/242)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3708/97

by Ulf Holm (V) to the Council

(19 November 1997)

Subject: UN climate meeting in Kyoto

Ahead of the main UN climate meeting in Kyoto in December, the EU is now acting as a single body in the work
on the convention. Many, not only within the EU but also in countries outside such as Australia, consider this to
be problematic as it implies that the Member States are now negotiating as a legal person.