WRITTEN QUESTION No. 585/98 by Sören WIBE to the Commission. Publicity campaign for tulips
Date: 1998-03-04
Institutions: European Parliament, WIBE
Subjects: EU financing, GATT, Sweden, advertising, floriculture, import (EU), restriction on competition, sales promotion

11.12.98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 386/27

Further to the information provided by the Honourable Member regarding the Rome › Naples high speed railway
project, a formal request was sent to the Italian authorities in order to know whether an environmental impact
assessment (EIA) had been carried out in accordance with Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the
assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (1). The Italian authorities
answered in the affirmative. They communicated that on the basis of the EIA carried out by the (cid:145)EIA Commission
of the Italian Ministry of environment(cid:146) in 1992, the above mentioned Ministry had already given in 1993 an
opinion in favour of the project. Nevertheless, since two short sections of the project appeared to have been
excluded from the assessment, new information concerning the EIA of these sections was requested from the
Italian authorities. On the basis of the new information communicated by the Italian authorities, the Commission
can now conclude that, in fact, the approval given in 1993, relying on an environmental impact assessment
approved by the EIA Commission of the Ministry of the environment in 1992, concerned only the general project
and did not include the two junctions of Rome and Naples. However, the projects of the two junctions and the
executive projects of the entire work were later submitted to an environmental impact study which was assessed
by Regione Lazio in 1994 and by the Ministry of the environment (EIA Service and Citizens Information) in
1995. They approved the whole project. The stage of public information and consultation appear to have been
correctly carried out.

In the light of the above, a possible application of Article 186 of the EC Treaty is not relevant.

(1) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985.

(98/C 386/034)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0585/98

by S(cid:246)ren Wibe (PSE) to the Commission

(4 March 1998)

Subject: Publicity campaign for tulips

According to reports in the Swedish media, the Commission is helping to fund a publicity campaign for tulips,
which has been organized as a way of dealing with the tougher competition faced by EU flower producers
following the 1992 GATT agreement on imports of cut flowers.

How much money has the Commission put into this campaign, which is aimed at boosting sales of tulips, and how
much money has been put into the campaign in Sweden?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(6 April 1998)

The campaign to promote tulips is part of the Community campaign to promote flowers and live plants, 60 % of
which is funded by the Community while the flower trade funds the balance.

Dutch flower traders have launched the tulips campaign in several countries, including Sweden. The campaign(cid:146)s
entire budget is ECU 417 157, including the Commission contribution of ECU 250 294. The Commission has
allocated ECU 88 200 in support of the measure in Sweden.

Two programmes presented by Swedish trade organisations were also approved in 1997 and have a total budget
of ECU 193 808.