WRITTEN QUESTION E-2081/99 by Concepció Ferrer (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Study on the impact of the Asian and Russian financial crisis on the fashion sector.
Date: 1999-11-12
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European industrial area, Russia, South-East Asia, clothing industry, economic consequence, financial situation, footwear industry, leather industry

C 203 E/130

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.7.2000

The Commission regrets that it cannot as requested make a preliminary assessment of compatibility of the
measures with the common market. To do so would be to anticipate its final position.

(1) OJ C 283, 19.9.1997.
(2) OJ L 83, 27.3.1999.

(2000/C 203 E/165)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2080/99

by Charles Tannock (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(12 November 1999)

Subject: Availability of official documents

Is the Commission prepared, in the interests of transparency and to lower the costs of businesses operating
in Europe, to make all Commission directives, European Union legislation and European Union treaties
available on the internet either free or at minimal cost, and, if not, can it explain why these documents
cannot be made available in this way?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(6 December 1999)

In answer to the Honourable Member(cid:146)s question, the Commission is indeed prepared to provide access to
Community legislation on the Internet, free of charge and in a user-friendly format, and has already done a
great deal of work in this connection.

The EUR-Lex site (http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/) has been open to the public since April 1998. It gives
access to the Official Journal (OJ) in the eleven Community languages on the day it is published. Initially
the site was opened up for a 20-day period, subsequently extended to 45 days owing to popular demand.
It also provides free access to Community legislation previously available only through the CELEX
database, for which a fee is charged. EUR-Lex users can also access recent judgments of the Court of
Justice free of charge.

The Commission plans to make further improvements in the near future: it aims to create better synergies
between existing Community-law information systems (such as EUR-Lex, EUDOR and CELEX), to make
them more user-friendly and to increase consistency. The first results, which will offer a single gateway for
the various systems, are expected in the first quarter of 2000.

In most cases, the information will be provided to the public at no charge, in so far as the resources
needed to develop and maintain the IT systems are made available. Under current plans, charges for the
above services and for access to old legislation no longer in force will be retained only for users making
complex searches for professional purposes.

(2000/C 203 E/166)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2081/99

by Concepci(cid:243) Ferrer (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(12 November 1999)

Subject: Study on the impact of the Asian and Russian financial crisis on the fashion sector

On 15 January 1999 Parliament adopted a resolution on the economic and social impact of the global
financial crisis on European industry (B4-0024/1999) (1), urging the Commission to provide a detailed
report on the economic and social effects of increased competition on the various sectors of the European
economy, especially in terms of output and employment.

18.7.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 203 E/131

On 2 July 1999 the Commission published a report on the impact of the crisis on the European Union(cid:146)s
trade in textile and apparel products, but no mention was made of the fashion sector, in particular the
leather sector and the footwear industry.

In view of this omission, does the Commission intend to publish in the near future the part of the report
relating to this important sector?

(1) OJ C 104, 14.4.1999, p. 191.

Answer given by Mr Lamy on behalf of the Commission

(2 December 1999)

The Honourable Member is right to point out that the study (cid:145)Impact of the Asian crisis on EU trade in
textile and clothing products(cid:146) did not cover the leather and footwear sectors. A detailed examination of the
impact of the Asian crisis in trade in those sectors proved to be considerably more difficult since, unlike
the textiles and clothing products, trade in leather and footwear is generally not subject to a surveillance
mechanism, and such mechanisms provide helpful statistical tools. The above-mentioned study which was
made available publicly on the internet, concentrated notably on the development of imports from certain
trade partners as a result of the crisis.

Given that over the last few months economic growth has again picked up in the South East Asian region
there appears, at the moment, to be no necessity to enlarge the above-cited study. Should similar
developments to the Asian financial crisis reoccur in the future, the leather and footwear sectors could
be included in possible future studies.

(2000/C 203 E/167)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2082/99

by Roberta Angelilli (NI) to the Commission

(12 November 1999)

Subject: Restrictions to the Apple warranty in Italy

The Apple computer company guarantees its products on the Italian market with a warranty which is
limited to one year and which excludes software. Software is an essential part of a high-technology
computer package.

Article 2 of Directive 93/13/EEC (1) of 5 April 1993 stipulates what is meant by unfair terms in contracts
and prohibits such terms, deeming them to be vexatious. Moreover,
it is specifically provided that all
limitations of individual rights shall be expressly accepted by the consumer, who is required to sign a
separate document to that effect. Apple in Italy does not comply with this provision.

In the light of the above:

1.

2.

does the Commission not consider Apple(cid:146)s Italian warranty to be contrary to the aforementioned
directive?

does it not think it would be advisable to approach the competent authorities with a view to ensuring
that the EU consumer rights are protected?

3.

can it give its general opinion on the matter?

(1) OJ L 95, 21.4.1993, p. 29.

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(8 December 1999)

Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts defines the meaning
of unfair contractual terms and establishes that such clauses are not to be part of consumer contracts.