WRITTEN QUESTION E-1721/99 by María Sornosa Martínez (PSE) to the Commission. The need for urgent implementation of legislation on safety in fairgrounds.
Date: 1999-09-29
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European standard, child, leisure park, safety standard, technical regulations

20.6.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 170 E/81

Reply

(2 December 1999)

The Council is deeply concerned about the serious situation in Iraq.

It considers lasting security and stability in the region as well as the living conditions of the Iraqi people to
be the prime considerations for the UN Secrurity Council in reaching an agreement on Iraq.

(2000/C 170 E/093)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1721/99

by Mar(cid:237)a Sornosa Mart(cid:237)nez (PSE) to the Commission

(29 September 1999)

Subject: The need for urgent implementation of legislation on safety in fairgrounds

The recent case of a four-year-old boy who died after falling off a fairground ride in Torrevieja (Alicante) is
the latest in a sad succession of accidents caused by defective recreational equipment of this kind. At the
time of the accident, the residents of Alicante were still absorbing the news of the death of another child in
Campello after he received an electric shock from a fairground ride.

A study financed by the Commission in 1995 found that fairground accidents account for more hospital
stays than any other type of accidents occurring in leisure time. The study also showed that checks and
inspections carried out on such equipment varied considerably between the Member States and that
national legislation in this area also differed widely. The Commission had been planning to draw up a
directive, but this never materialised. The European Parliament was informed that the 1992 Edinburgh
Summit changed the Commission(cid:146)s priorities, and it decided to withdraw the proposed legislation on
technical standards for fairgrounds. Finally, the Commission decided to ask the European Committee for
Standardisation to draft European legislation establishing technical specifications for fairground equipment.

Prompted by the Alicante accident, the Organizaci(cid:243)n de Consumidores Espaæoles (Spanish Consumers(cid:146)
Organisation) has expressed concern at the fact that this legislation will not be adopted and come into
force for another two years and has drawn attention to the worrying legal vacuum in Spain concerning the
standards that recreational machinery must meet.

Could the Commission give details of progress to date on the drafting and adoption of European rules for
fairgrounds? How and when will Community citizens benefit in practice from European legislation in this
area? Given the seriousness of the accidents that have occurred on this type of equipment, what does the
Commission intend to do to speed up implementation of
the
Community? Does the Commission agree that it should reconsider its 1992 decision and give the rules
the status of a directive?

the legislation adopted throughout

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(4 November 1999)

The Commission entirely shares in the Honourable Member(cid:146)s unease concerning fairground safety, more
particularly since this generally affects children. The Commission is particularly sensitive to the recent
accident which led to the death of a four year old child.

The aspects on which the Honourable Member has based the analysis of the situation coincide with those
supplied by the Commission, more particularly in the answers given to questions E-3167/98 by
Mrs Pollack (1) and H-0669/97 by Mr Willockx at question time during the September 1997 parliamentary
session (2).

C 170 E/82

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.6.2000

To be more precise, although it emerges from the 1995 study that was jointly financed by the Commission
that accidents occurring during this type of leisure activity resulted in an average hospitalisation of 7,8 %
as compared with the average of 5,5 % caused by all other factors recorded by the European Home and
Leisure Accident Surveillance System (Ehlass 1987-1998), those same accidents represented 1,2 % of the
accidents listed, a proportion also including accidents taking place on playing fields.

Since the conclusions reached at the 1992 Edinburgh Council have not been challenged, the Commission
intends to continue the approach adopted when it conferred a remit on the European Centre for
Standardisation (CEN) to draw up harmonised standards for amusements parks.

At the moment the CEN has stated that the surveys relating to those standards should begin during the
first half of next year.

(1) OJ C 135, 14.5.1999.
(2)

Parliamentary debates (September 1997).

(2000/C 170 E/094)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1723/99

by Marie-Noºlle Lienemann (PSE) to the Commission

Subject: Measures to combat American dominance of the internet

(29 September 1999)

How can the European Union respond to (cid:145)second-generation(cid:146) developments on the internet?

How can the European Union ensure that full-scale research laboratory coordination programmes are
introduced? To what extent can it guarantee that the necessary additional resources will be allocated to
strengthening Europe(cid:146)s position in relation to American dominance of the internet?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(29 November 1999)

If Europe is to fully participate in the future development of the Internet, it is vital that our scientists and
researchers are actively involved in the process of its construction. With this in mind, the Community
sponsors leading edge research in this field to ensure that Europe is at the forefront of emerging
developments. Under the 1st call of the Information society-related technologies (IST) programme of the
5th framework programme (FPV) approximately € 300 million in funding has already been awarded to
138 collaborative research projects developing next generation networking technologies and applications
to exploit their potentialities.

This area is one that is likely to be a priority throughout the life of the current framework programme
(1999-2002). Already the IST expert advisory group, which provides advice to the Commission in
developing the programme, has identified a number of key areas where European industry has the
potential to lead the world (cid:129) e.g. mobile, wireless and optical technologies for the Internet. These
priorities will be reflected in next year(cid:146)s work programme.

However the issue is not just a technological one. There are also major regulatory and legal
issues
surrounding the continuous development of the Internet in which the Community is actively engaged. In
particular, the Community has been reassessing its regulatory policy in this area to provide legal certainty
and therefore facilitate the development of a new range of services,
in particular in the context of
e-commerce.

The overall aim of such activities is to ensure an open and competitive European market in this area. The
Commission adopted on 10 November 1999 a communication (cid:145)Towards a new framework for electronic
communications infrastructure and associated service (cid:129) 1999 communications review(cid:146). This communica-
tion lays down the position of the Commission with regard to the new regulatory framework for all
electronic communications infrastructure and associated services, and launches a public consultation. After
the public consultation, the Commission will proceed to legislative proposals in the second quarter of the