WRITTEN QUESTION E-1942/99 by Isidoro Sánchez García (ELDR) to the Commission. Implementing specific measures for the ultraperipheral regions in the field of state aid.
Date: 1999-11-04
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: control of State aid, derogation from EU law, peripheral region

18.7.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 203 E/93

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(24 November 1999)

The Commission would recall that it submitted in January 1999 a proposal for a Council regulation on
measures to promote and provide information on agricultural products in third countries (1).

This proposal covers all the agricultural products, in particular typical or quality products displaying high
added value.

The Commission proposes, following the management committee procedure, to draw up every two years a
list of the products and markets concerned by promotional activities.

(1) COM(98) 683 final.

(2000/C 203 E/118)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1942/99

by Isidoro SÆnchez Garc(cid:237)a (ELDR) to the Commission

(4 November 1999)

Subject: Implementing specific measures for the ultraperipheral regions in the field of state aid

Article 299(2) of the Treaty obliges the Commission to put forward specific measures for the ultraper-
ipheral regions, including in the field of state aids, in order to ensure that the application of the Treaty
provisions take due account of the particular difficulties faced by these regions, including their remoteness,
insularity, small size, difficult topography and climate and economic dependence on a few products.
Clearly, transport problems are not the sole specific problem caused by these factors, both singly and in
conjunction, operational subsidies are essential to compensate for all these disadvantages, since such aids
are intimately linked to the running costs which companies located in these regions have to shoulder.

regulations on aids make no provision for

Current
this situation, because the new wording of
paragraph 299(2) of the Amsterdam Treaty was not in force when they were adopted. Does the new
Commission intend to take these problems into account and incorporate them into any proposal it may
make?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(29 November 1999)

The Commission has always shown itself highly attentive to the problems of the Community(cid:146)s outermost
areas.

Special arrangements are made under the guidelines on national regional aid, namely:

(cid:129) exceptions to the maximum aid intensities:

the outermost regions qualify for an increase of
15 percentage points on the intensity authorised for the other regions eligible for a derogation
under Article 87(3)(a) (former Article 92) of the EC Treaty: in the case of large firms, aid may amount
to as much as 65 % of the net grant equivalent (nge) for the investment concerned instead of 50 %;
in the case of small and medium-sized firms, the intensity may be as much as 75 % nge;

(cid:129) the possible granting of operating aid to offset partially the additional transport costs, without any
time-limit or degressivity, provided that the region concerned is eligible for the exemption under
Article 87(3)(c).

Article 299(2) (former Article 227) of the EC Treaty provides that (cid:145)the Council, acting by a qualified
majority on a proposal from the Commission and after consulting the European Parliament, shall adopt
specific measures aimed, in particular, at laying down the conditions of application of the present Treaty to
those regions.(cid:146) The Cologne European Council called on the Commission to present to the Council before
the end of 1999 a report on the measures for implementing Article 299(2).

C 203 E/94

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.7.2000

On 23 November the Commission President initiated a dialogue on this subject by holding a partnership
meeting which was attended not only by the French, Portuguese and Spanish authorities but also by
representatives of the seven outermost regions and the Members of the European Parliament from those
regions.

The Commission is now studying the proposals submitted to it.

At the partnership meeting the Commission President announced that in December 1999 the Commission
would discuss the report requested by the Cologne European Council.

(2000/C 203 E/119)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1945/99

by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(4 November 1999)

Subject: Monitoring Community regulations on drift nets during the last bonito fishing season

What were the results of the checks on the last bonito fishing season as regards drift nets?

How many cases of infringement were found, what were the reasons for these infringements, what were
the names and origins of the vessels responsible and what penalties were imposed?

What is the Commission(cid:146)s general assessment of the last bonito fishing season, and the degree to which
the Community regulations were complied with?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(10 December 1999)

Now the 1999 tuna fishing season has ended, the Commission is currently compiling the usual report on
the application of the Community legislation on the use of drift nets in the Northeast Atlantic and the
Mediterranean, based on all the information the Member States concerned are required to supply.

This report will be forwarded to the members of Parliament(cid:146)s Committee on Fisheries around 15 March
2000.

(2000/C 203 E/120)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1952/99

by Gerhard Hager (NI) to the Council

(9 November 1999)

Subject: Child pornography

Child pornography, along with the spread of extreme right-wing and left-wing material, constitutes one of
the main problems facing us in connection with the Internet. In view of this and given the intense current
public debate on the matter.

Can the Council answer the following:

1. How many people in Europol are responsible for combating child pornography?

2. What is their specific task description?

3. What kind of cooperation is there between Europol and national authorities in this area?

4.

Is there any specific data concerning successful
pornography on the Internet?

intervention by Europol

in the area of child