WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2138/98 by John IVERSEN to the Commission. Animal welfare and the Belgian Blue breed of cattle
Date: 1998-07-10
Institutions: European Parliament, IVERSEN
Subjects: animal welfare, breeding animal, calf, cattle, cow, livestock farming, protection of animals, surgery, veterinary medicine

C 297/4

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

15.10.1999

(1999/C 297/005)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2127/98

by José Pomés Ruiz (PPE) to the Commission

(10 July 1998)

Subject: Aid for new company installations

The State aid granted to new industrial installations is subject to a ceiling which, published information
suggests, may have been exceeded when the Alfacel company set up a new installation in Dueñas (Palencia),
thereby distorting competition and damaging the sector as a whole.

Can the Commission say:

+ what measures DG XVI is adopting to establish the total amount of State aid in question, including aid
local, provincial, regional, national or

from State funds and that provided by any kind of public,
Community body?

+ how should DG IV proceed if it does indeed emerge that State aid has exceeded 65 % and reached 90 %?

+ does the Commission possess information or a file on the aid granted to the said company?

Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission

(25 September 1998)

The Commission has several mechanisms to prevent the ceilings on aid being exceeded. As a preventive
measure, the Directorate-General for Competition is consulted on all programmes to be part-financed by the
Structural Funds and the decision granting aid is not signed until it indicates its agreement. During the
implementation of programmes, the Commission participates in the monitoring committees and in the on-
going assessment. It also receives implementation reports. It contacts the authorities of the Member States
regarding any specific problems. After implementation of the programmes, the Commission takes part in the
ex-post evaluation.

Despite these various mechanisms, the increasing number of programmes with aid schemes part-financed by
the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) can make checks difficult to carry out when aid could come
from a variety of sources. This is leading, in the case of Spain, to demands for more sophisticated inspection
mechanisms. As a pilot experiment, an aid register is being set up in the region of Castile-Leon. The
Commission plans to extend the register to all areas eligible under the Structural Funds during the next
programming period.

With regard to Alfacel, the Commission has requested further information from the Spanish authorities in
order to check that the national, regional and Community aid paid to the company for its investment project
did not exceed the cumulative ceiling.

(1999/C 297/006)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2138/98

by John Iversen (PSE) to the Commission

(10 July 1998)

Subject: Animal welfare and the Belgian Blue breed of cattle

Because of their size Belgian Blue calves can be born only by Caesarean section. The breed can however be
raised in the European Union so that in Denmark 7 000 Belgian Blue calves are born by Caesarean section. A
case is currently pending between a Swedish farmer and the EU Court of Justice about whether Sweden can
maintain its ban on imports of semen and animals of this breed.

Can the Commission confirm or deny that it is dangerous for cows repeatedly to have calves by

1.
Caesarean section?

In view of the animal welfare protocol adopted in the common agricultural policy, will the Commission

2.
take the initiative to draw up specific animal welfare criteria?