WRITTEN QUESTION E-1747/99 by Karl von Wogau (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Fuel checks on vehicles crossing into Hungary.
Date: 1999-10-01
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Switzerland, UN convention, VAT, commercial vehicle, customs duties, customs inspection, excise duty, external border of the EU, import tax, international road transport, motor fuel, negotiation of an agreement (EU), regulation (EU)

C 170 E/92

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.6.2000

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(9 November 1999)

Part of the Umbria region is eligible in the current programming period under Objectives 2 and 5(b) of the
Structural Funds, the programmes for which include a tourism promotion measure.

Any grant of aid to businesses under this measure is subject to Community rules, the ones on competition
in particular. The authority responsible for managing the programmes, in this case the Umbria region,
must ensure that these rules and the rules on the eligibility of expenditure as laid down in the relevant
decisions are all observed.

According to the information in the Commission(cid:146)s possession, the (cid:145)Perugia Classico(cid:146) event is being entirely
funded by the municipality of Perugia. It should also be noted that the municipality is not in an area
eligible for the Structural Funds.

(2000/C 170 E/106)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1747/99

by Karl von Wogau (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(1 October 1999)

Subject: Fuel checks on vehicles crossing into Hungary

Is the Commission aware that the Hungarian customs authorities conduct fuel checks on lorries crossing
the border and charge a fee on quantities in excess of 200 litres, with penalties if drivers fail to declare
quantities?

true that

Is it
there are no such checks on lorries travelling in the opposite direction? Does the
Commission feel it would be useful in this case to reintroduce the customs documents that used to be
carried and which prove that a tank contains a certain amount of fuel when it crosses the frontier? Does
the Commission feel it would be useful to conclude an agreement with Hungary, by analogy with the
agreement with Switzerland, so that these checks are not carried out?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(16 November 1999)

According to Article 4 of
transport vehicles (18 May 1956):

the Customs convention on temporary importation of commercial road

The fuel contained in the ordinary supply tanks of vehicles temporarily imported shall be admitted
without payment of import duties and import taxes and free of import prohibitions and restrictions.
Each Contracting Party may however fix maximum quantities for the fuel so admitted into its territory
in the supply tanks of the vehicle temporarily imported.

Both Hungary, and the Community are signatories to this convention (Council Decision 94/0111/EC of
16 December 1993 on the conclusion of the Customs convention on the temporary importation of
commercial road vehicles (1956) and the acceptance of the United Nations(cid:146) resolution on the applicability
of carnets de passage en douane and CPD carnets to commercial road vehicles (1)).

In line with this, Hungarian legislation states that imports of petrol in excess of 200 litres are subject to
VAT and excise duties. As the customs duty rate for petrol is currently 0 %, the imports are in practice
only subject to VAT and excise duty. However, Hungary has concluded bilateral agreements with certain
countries which set out on a reciprocal basis limits which differ to those mentioned above.

20.6.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 170 E/93

Certain Member States currently exercise the possibility of limitations set out in Article 113 of Council
Regulation (EEC) 1315/88 of 3 May 1988 amending Regulation (EEC) 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical
nomenclature and on the common customs tariffs and Regulation (EEC) 0918/83 setting up a Community
system of reliefs from customs duty (2) which states:

As regards the fuel contained in the standard tanks of commercial motor vehicles and special
containers, Member States may limit application of the (duty) relief to 200 litres per vehicle, per
special container and per journey.

the Council mandated the Commission to negotiate agreements with Bulgaria,
In December 1995,
Hungary and Romania, with the aim of determining certain conditions applied to the road transport of
goods and to the promotion of combined transport, in order to facilitate the transit of road vehicles
through the territory of contracting parties. Agreements were paraphed with Bulgaria in December 1998,
with Hungary in April 1999, and negotiations continue with Romania. However, the question of duty
relief on fuel quantities above 200 litres is still the subject of debate in the Council.

(1) OJ L 56, 27.2.1994.
(2) OJ L 123, 17.5.1988.

(2000/C 170 E/107)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1752/99

by Olivier Dupuis (TDI) to the Commission

(1 October 1999)

Subject:

(cid:145)Supplements(cid:146) to daily newspapers and consumers(cid:146) rights

A growing number of daily newspapers in certain countries of the European Union sell weekly supple-
ments. These supplements are sold on a given day of the week together with the normal edition of the
newspaper, the price of which is far higher on that day. Regular and occasional readers of the newspaper
concerned have no possibility of agreeing or declining to buy the (cid:145)supplement(cid:146).

Does the Commission not take the view that these practices violate consumers(cid:146) rights in that they oblige
them to buy two clearly distinct products?

Does the Commission not take the view that the concept of a supplement should imply that consumers
are free to decide whether or not they wish to purchase it by paying extra, but that the consumer should
in any case retain the right to purchase only the basic product (the daily newspaper) at the same price as
on the remaining days of the week?

What measures has the Commission taken or will it take to guarantee the right of consumers in this
respect?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(8 November 1999)

Unilateral decisions concerning the price of newspapers, including the sale of weekly supplements together
with the normal edition at a higher price, depend essentially on the free commercial choice of each
publisher and do not normally come under the competition rules of the Treaty, which prohibit restrictive
agreements (Article 81 EC, former Article 85) and the abuse of a dominant position (Article 82 EC, former
Article 86).

In the event,
it would appear that the higher price of newspapers sold with a supplement does not
correspond to a concerted practice among publishers of daily newspapers in all Member States. In some
cases the inclusion of the weekly supplement entails only a modest price increase or may even be free of
charge. Coordinated behaviour by all newspaper publishers with a view to adopting the same possibly
restrictive practice regarding the weekly supplement cannot therefore be demonstrated.