WRITTEN QUESTION E-1994/99 by Paul Rübig (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Price marking obligation on the Internet.
Date: 1999-11-09
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Austria, electronic commerce, legal basis, publishing of prices

C 203 E/108

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.7.2000

1. Will the Commission agree to make sure that the authorities carrying out checks at the borders allow
consignments of horses to proceed only if the horses concerned have been unloaded, fed and watered and
given a 24-hour rest period?

Does it not also take the view that the lack of concern and the laxity on the part of Italian border

2.
officials in Gorizia is totally unacceptable?

3. When will the Commission take its responsibility for monitoring compliance with existing directives
seriously and increase the number of Food and Veterinary Office inspectors to twelve (from one), as called
for by the Agriculture Council in June 1995?

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-1991/99 and P-2144/99
given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(22 December 1999)

The Commission is aware of the problems in relation to animal welfare reported in the German television
broadcast. Reports by its veterinary inspectorate and complaints from various animal welfare organisations
also indicate that problems continue to exist in this domain.

When animals arrive at the frontier of the Community in a condition where they are clearly not fit for
further transport, it is however the Member State concerned which is obliged to take the necessary action
to protect the welfare of the animals involved by giving them proper care and attention with a sufficient
resting period.

Concerning the activities of the Commission, several veterinary inspection missions have been carried out
in Gorizia and Prosecco where the horses normally enter the territory of the Community. Following the
missions, detailed recommendations were submitted to the Italian authorities and some improvements
have been noted. Unfortunately recent complaints and the images shown by the German television indicate
that these improvements may not have been permanent.

The Commission is still in the process of recruiting inspection personnel and a number of new staff have
specific responsibilities for monitoring the implementation of animal welfare legislation which applies in
the Member States. The Commission is aware of the increasing importance attached to animal welfare by
consumers and will continue to ensure that, amongst its other responsibilities, animal welfare will be given
corresponding importance.

The Commission is reviewing the matter and will not hesitate to initiate the procedure provided in
Article 226 (ex-Article 169) EC Treaty, should this prove necessary.

The Commission believes that the most effective way to achieve a widespread improvement in animal
welfare standards is to work towards an international consensus on this issue. For this purpose, in the
World trade organisation negotiating round, the Commission will be trying to ensure that the issue of
animal welfare is addressed on a multilateral basis.

(2000/C 203 E/137)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1994/99

by Paul R(cid:252)big (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(9 November 1999)

Subject: Price marking obligation on the Internet

Intra-Austrian trade via the Internet is subject to the price marking law and the price indication Directive
which prescribe gross-price marking.

When individual traders sell over the Internet in different countries two questions immediately arise,
namely whether price marking should be gross ( which means taking into account the differing VAT rates)
or net, and the currency used.

18.7.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 203 E/109

Given the distinctive character of the Internet it would undoubtedly be appropriate to introduce special
arrangements, for instance permitting net-price marking where all still accruing taxes and costs (e.g. VAT,
shipping costs, customs duties ) can be queried by the consumer. Otherwise the European Internet
suppliers might be disadvantaged in relation to the American suppliers in competition and the consumer
would be deterred by numerous figures in online transactions (11 different standard VAT rates).

Does the Commission have plans for such special arrangements for trading on the Internet in order to
remove the justified doubts of the industry, and what exemptions from gross-price marking might those
arrangements include?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(8 December 1999)

The purpose of Directive 98/6/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 1998 on
consumer protection in the indication of the prices of products offered to consumers (1) is to stipulate
indication of the selling price and the price per unit of measurement of products offered by traders to
consumers. Article 2 of the Directive defines selling price as (cid:145)the final price for a unit of the product, or a
given quantity of the product, including VAT and all other taxes(cid:146).

Furthermore, Article 4 of Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May
1997 on the protection of consumers in respect of distance contracts (2) states that the consumer, prior to
the conclusion of any distance contract, must be provided with information on the price of the goods or
services, including all taxes, delivery costs where appropriate, and the cost of using the means of distance
communication where it is calculated other than at the basic rate.

There are no specific Community provisions on the currency in which prices must be indicated, but it is
necessary to take account of Article 4 of Directive 98/6/EC, which allows Member States to provide for a
limit on the maximum number of prices to be indicated.

As far as Internet trading is concerned, the rules deriving from Directive 98/6/EC remain applicable.
However, attention is drawn to the amended proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of
the Council on certain legal aspects of electronic commerce in the Internet market (3), Article 5(2) of which
stipulates that (cid:145)Member States shall provide in their legislation that where Information Society services refer
to prices and other essential terms and conditions, these are to be indicated accurately and unequivocally
and must include all additional costs(cid:146).

(1) OJ L 80, 18.3.1998.
(2) OJ L 144, 4.6.1997.
(3) COM(1999) 427 final.

(2000/C 203 E/138)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1999/99

by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission

(9 November 1999)

Subject: Abolition of duty-free sales

How many jobs in the relevant sectors does the Commission estimate have been lost (or gained) in each
Member State since the abolition of duty-free sales?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(6 December 1999)

Considering that intra-Community duty-free sales were only abolished on 1 July 1999, the Commission is
not at this stage in a position to estimate the employment impact of this measure. As it predicted,
however, the initiatives taken by operators to adopt a strategy aimed at keeping customers will largely
have alleviated any negative effects that the abolition might have entailed.