WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2887/98 by Carlos ROBLES PIQUER to the Commission. Community plan for hotel standards
Date: 1998-09-28
Institutions: European Parliament, ROBLES PIQUER
Subjects: European standard, competitiveness, consumer information, hotel industry, provision of services, quality label, quality standard, tourism

C 118/160

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

29.4.1999

Answer given by Mr Van Miert on behalf of the Commission

(22 October 1998)

In July 1998, the Commission announced the preliminary results of its inquiry into the prices for
interconnection between fixed and mobile operators. The enquiry, opened in January 1998, focused on
three areas, namely termination in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) for mobile-to-fixed
calls, termination in the mobile networks for fixed-to-mobile calls, and PSTN operator(cid:146)s retention on
fixed-to-mobile calls.

The objective of the first phase of the investigation was to gather comprehensive data on the issue, and to
assess this data, with a view to identifying any possible indications of excessive or discriminatory prices.
This analysis indicated that further in-depth investigations are warranted in at least fourteen cases. Some
of these cases might be dealt with by national telecommunications authorities, applying sector-specific
regulation.

It should be noted that these preliminary conclusions are only indicative and that specific in-depth
investigations into the costs of each operator are necessary before any definitive conclusion can be
reached. At this stage, it is not yet possible to forecast the time necessary to conclude these cases.

(1999/C 118/199)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2887/98

by Carlos Robles Piquer (PPE) to the Commission

(28 September 1998)

Subject: Community plan for hotel standards

Certain EU Member States have set up national programmes designed to harmonise criteria with a view to
guaranteeing the standard of facilities offered by undertakings operating in the hotel trade and the services
they offer.

These criteria vary from country to country, leaving clients somewhat at a loss as to the kind of facilities
they can expect to receive on the basis of the symbols attesting to the standard of the participating hotel
whose accommodation and allied services they wish to use.

Can the Commission say whether Community criteria exist to guarantee the standard of the hotel services
provided throughout the EU? Does it believe it appropriate to promote an initiative to harmonise standards
of excellence, whereby the quality of hotel establishments throughout the EU participating in the EU
scheme would be guaranteed by an appropriate Community sign to be displayed at the hotel entrance?

Answer given by Mr Papoutsis on behalf of the Commission

(26 October 1998)

At present, there is no common Community system that permits, according to pre-determined criteria, the
evaluation of the quality of services provided by hotel facilities.

The Commission considers that the development of voluntary self-regulation schemes aimed at certifying,
on a Community scale, the quality of services provided by hotel facilities should serve to encourage
competitiveness in the Community tourist industry and to provide consumers with the maximum level of
information when choosing a hotel.

The Commission considers that it is for the industry to take the lead on this issue and, in the context of a
new tourism programme, it would be open to initiatives taken in that direction. However, a proposal for
the harmonisation of different quality standards at Community level is not envisaged.