WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1849/98 by Anne McINTOSH to the Commission. Duty-free sales
Date: 1998-06-12
Institutions: European Parliament, MCINTOSH
Subjects: EU publication, European Commission, duty-free sale, economic consequence, impact study, marketing restriction

C 13/100

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.1.1999

Answer given by Mr Van Miert on behalf of the Commission

(23 July 1998)

The Commission can inform the Honourable Member that a Dutch court has requested a preliminary ruling from
the Court of justice regarding inter alia the issue whether collective social agreements fall within the ambit of the
Community(cid:146)s competition rules (case C-115/97 Brentjens).

In that case the Commission has expressed the view that agreements which are formally concluded in the
framework of collective social negotiations and which relate to subjects that traditionally constitute the legitimate
object of collective social agreements (notably wages, including pensions, and working conditions) fall outside
the scope of Article 85 of the EC Treaty.

The Commission cannot tell from the information given by the Honourable Member whether the Swedish
collective agreements to which she refers are of such nature. The Honourable Member is invited to submit further
information to the Commission if she so wishes.

(1999/C 13/142)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1846/98

by Hadar Cars (ELDR) to the Commission

(12 June 1998)

Subject: Colour of warning lights on emergency vehicles

Before the Second World War, it appears that the emergency vehicles of all countries had red lights. During the
war, there was a switch to blue lights to make it more difficult for enemy aeroplanes to detect the vehicles. Some
sources claim that the visibility of blue light is extremely poor and any motorist knows that it is difficult to make
out emergency vehicles during the day. Red light, however, is highly visible and the number of road accidents
could be reduced if emergency vehicles were more visible.

What are the possibilities of changing the colour of warning lights to red?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(31 July 1998)

The colour of warning lights on emergency vehicles is covered by the Vienna Convention on road traffic on 1968.
Article 14 of this Convention states that, for international traffic, blue lights may only be used by (cid:145)priority
vehicles(cid:146) whilst orange lights may only be used by vehicles having special functions. This article also states that
warning lights of other colours may be authorised by national legislation for use within the national territory.
Member States are, therefore, free to use any colour they choose including red, for warning lights on emergency
vehicles which operate only within their national boundaries.

As to the possibility of a change in the international regime, this would require one of the contracting parties, or
observer organisations, to the Vienna Convention to submit a proposal which would then be debated and voted on
by the contracting parties. The Community is not a contracting party and the Commission cannot, therefore,
propose to introduce this change.

(1999/C 13/143)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1849/98

by Anne McIntosh (PPE) to the Commission

(12 June 1998)

Subject: Duty-free sales

When does the Commission intend to complete its study into the social, economic and regional consequences of
the loss of intra-EU duty- and tax-free sales after 1999?