WRITTEN QUESTION No. 444/98 by Edward KELLETT-BOWMAN to the Commission. Duty-free status of Tenerife
Date: 1998-02-27
Institutions: European Parliament, KELLETT-BOWMAN EDWARD
Subjects: Canary Islands, VAT, approximation of laws, duty-free sale, excise duty, exemption from customs duties, free movement of goods

C 354/6

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

19. 11. 98

2  to  5.
It  is  not  for  the  Commission  to  comment  either  on  the  application  of  the  arrangements  under  the
Schengen  Convention  for  external  border  checks  by  the  Member  States  concerned  or  on  the  operation  and
achievements of the task force as long as Community or Union law is not infringed.

6.

The procedures for sending back third-country nationals are not as yet covered by any rules at Union level.

(98/C 354/07)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0369/98

by Nuala Ahern (V) to the Commission

(24 February 1998)

Subject: Report by the British Government(cid:146)s Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee

Have the Commission(cid:146)s relevant energy, environment and transport directorates assessed the proposals set out
by the British Government(cid:146)s Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee (RWMAC) in its September
1997  report  on  the  import  and  export  of  radioactive  waste  involving  the  United  Kingdom,  and  will  the
Commission make a statement on the interpretation made by the RWMAC report on Directive 92/3/Euratom (1)
on the supervision and control of shipments of radioactive waste between Member States and into and out of the
Community with regard to its implementation in the United Kingdom?

(1)  OJ L 35, 12.2.1992, p. 24.

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission

(16 March 1998)

Directive 92/3/Euratom on the supervision and control of shipments of radioactive waste between Member States
and  into  and  out  of  the  Community  is  implemented  in  the  United  Kingdom  by  Statutory  Instrument  1993
No 3031,  Atomic  Energy  and  Radioactive  Substances,  the  Transfrontier  Shipments  of  Radioactive  Waste
Regulations 1993, publication date 2 December 1993.

The Commission does not have the report by the radioactive waste management advisory committee (RWMAC)
on  the  import  and  export  of  radioactive  waste  involving  the  United  Kingdom,  dated  September  1997.
The Commission will complete this answer as soon as it has obtained and considered the report in question.

(98/C 354/08)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0444/98

by Edward Kellett-Bowman (PPE) to the Commission

(27 February 1998)

Subject: Duty-free status of Tenerife

Is the Commission aware of the anomaly created in the EU by the allegation that duty-free sales for travellers
between EU countries and the Canary Islands will continue after the 1999 deadline, and is this continuation of
duty-free sales not in breach of European duty-free legislation?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(5 May 1998)

Pursuant to the Accession Treaty of Spain to the Community, as implemented by Article 3 of Council Directive
77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes:
common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment (1) (VAT) and Article 2 of Council Directive
92/12/EEC  of  25  February  1992  on  the  general  arrangements  for  products  subject  to  excise  duty  and  on  the
holding, movement and monitoring of such products (2), the Canary Islands are not part of the fiscal area of the
Community. Instead, they are explicitly regarded as third territory.