WRITTEN QUESTION No. 994/99 by Patricia McKENNA Responsibility for Fire Safety in the European Commission
Date: 1999-04-20
Institutions: European Parliament, MCKENNA
Subjects: approximation of laws, building safety, fire, fire protection, hotel industry, housing

29.11.1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 341/149

The Commission also confirms that it has not been informed of particular difficulties in relation to the
recognition of diplomas for sports instructors in Italy. No complaint has been lodged in this area. Any
complaints could refer to Italy’s failure to transpose the measure or to poor application of the national
transposition measures, i.e. the legislative decree of 2 May 1994.

Lastly # and this has been pointed out before # the Commission cannot impose on Italy specific measures for
regulating the profession. In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, the Member States are sovereign as
regards regulations on professions. This means that the Commission has no powers to act with regard to how
Italy regulates the profession of sports instructors in its own country. Italy can also choose not to regulate a
profession. Naturally, the Italian authorities are required to provide mechanisms for the recognition of
diplomas and to abolish any measure that might be considered discriminatory. As has already been pointed
out, however, there do not seem to be any particular problems in this respect.

(1999/C 341/211)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0905/99

by Phillip Whitehead (PSE) to the Commission

(8 April 1999)

Subject: EU fire safety

Will the Commission list the number of responses received from each EU Member State to the questionnaire
sent out by the French company CETEN-APAVE relating to the implementation of the 1986 EU recommenda-
tions on fire safety? What action was taken against the countries that failed to respond to the study?

Answer given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission

(29 April 1999)

In the light of the interest that the Honourable Member has shown on several occasions in the 1996 study on
fire safety in hotels, and given the amount of detail that he has requested on both the data and the
methodology used, the Commission is sending him a copy of this study directly.

The firm that carried out the study sent the approximately 20 000 questionnaires to hotel managers
throughout Europe on a voluntary basis in order to supplement the analysis of the regulations applicable in
each Member State. Consequently, the Commission had no grounds for taking action against Member States if
the information sent did not meet expectations.

(1999/C 341/212)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0994/99

by Patricia McKenna (V) to the Commission

(20 April 1999)

Subject: Responsibility for Fire Safety in the European Commission

Will the Commission please give full and precise details of which department(s) is/are responsible for fire safety
in the European Union.

If this is more than one, would it please explain why such an important area of safety is not only poorly
legislated for at a European level, but also managed by the Commission in such an apparently unconcerned
and illogical manner, as if the lives of Europe’s citizens are of scant importance?