WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3811/97 by Hilde HAWLICEK to the Commission. Customs discrimination against camcorders with input sockets
Date: 1997-11-26
Institutions: European Parliament, HAWLICEK
Subjects: CCT duties, Combined Nomenclature, EU customs procedure, common customs tariff, customs fraud, information technology, recording equipment, tariff nomenclature

C 187/62

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

16. 6. 98

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(19 January 1998)

The  promotion  of  rural  and  on-farm  tourism  is  one  measure  part-financed  by  the  Guidance  Section  of  the
European  Agricultural  Guidance  and  Guarantee  Fund  (EAGGF)  in  most  operational  programmes  under
Objectives 1 and 5(b), in the Leader Community Initiative and also where included in improvement plans under
Article  6(1)(b)  of  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  950/97  of  20  May  1997  on  improving  the  efficiency  of
agricultural structures (1).

However, tourism operations are contained in subprogrammes combining several measures (diversification and
rural  development  in  particular),  so  it  is  not  possible  to  identify  the  appropriations  intended  for  tourism  or
provide a quantitative breakdown by Member State.

(1)  OJ L 142, 2.6.1997.

(98/C 187/99)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3806/97

by Roberto Mezzaroma (UPE) to the Commission

(17 November 1997)

Subject: Construction of the Messina Bridge

Is the Commission in a position to report on the future construction of the bridge across the Strait of Messina, and
indicate in particular:

1.  how much funding the EU has allocated to it and for how many years;

2.  whether a project has been drawn up and, if so, by which consultancy; the cost of the project and the project(cid:146)s

financial backers;

3.  whether the project carries proper guarantees for the construction of the bridge, from the environmental and

geological points of view and from the point of view of links between the continent and Sicily;

4.  whether the instructions issued by the EU have been complied with;

5.  which firms will take part in the competition for tenders to carry out the project?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(30 January 1998)

The Community has not committed any funds for the development of the Messina Strait bridge.

Concerning the procedures for the awarding of the design and execution of the work, the Italian authorities have
informed the Commission that they are subject to the approval of a new law. The preliminary design have been
awarded to the company called Stretto di Messina S.p.A; according to law No 1158 of 17 December 1971 and to
interministry decree No 3437 of 27 December 1985.

(98/C 187/100)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3811/97

by Hilde Hawlicek (PSE) to the Commission

(26 November 1997)

Subject: Customs discrimination against camcorders with input sockets

European amateur film and video makers are placed at a disadvantage in their creative activities. For customs
purposes in the EU camcorders equipped with input sockets are treated like normal video recorders. In order to
avoid  these  customs  disadvantages,the  manufacturers  omit  important  connections  from  the  equipment.  As  a
result amateur video makers do not have the possibility of using the newest processing technologies. It is anyway
unlikely that an amateur video maker would contemplate recording programmes with a camcorder.