WRITTEN QUESTION E-2811/99 by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission. Legislation and regulation.
Date: 2000-01-18
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: administrative formalities, decentralisation, drafting of EU law

24.10.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 303 E/115

Reference should also be made to the important work currently being undertaken by the Financial action
task force on money laundering (FATF) (5), on the basis of a mandate from the Group of seven most
industrialised countries (G7), to identify those countries and territories (whether offshore or onshore and
possibly including the FATF(cid:146)s own members) which provide insufficient co-operation in the global fight
against money laundering. This work will involve a world-wide examination of all significant financial
centres against a number of criteria (including that of excessive secrecy). The FATF is planning to issue a
list of such countries and territories in June 2000.

(1) OJ L 166, 28.6.1991.
(2) COM(95) 54 final and COM(98) 401 final.
(3) COM(1999) 352 final.
(4) OJ C 251, 15.8.1997.
(5) The FATF is the foremost world body dedicated to the fight against criminal money. It was created by the G7 in

1989 and currently has 28 members, including the Commission and all the Member States.

(2000/C 303 E/112)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2811/99

by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission

(18 January 2000)

Subject: Legislation and regulation

takes to regulate the
The Union(cid:146)s legislative activity should not be confused with the measures it
implementation of legislation. The former should involve the adoption of framework laws under the
procedures laid down in the Treaty. The latter should entail measures to amend the procedures and involve
the national administrations as directly as possible, so as to spare Parliament excessive or undue effort and
allow it instead to devote more time to the discussion and solution of problems more important than the
length of asparagus, the flavour of lupins, the size of condoms or the workings of a stud gun.

Bearing in mind that Parliament is a political rather than a technical body:

1.

Is the Commission aware of the bad name given to the institutions in the eyes of the public when the
press carry stories about rules imposed by Brussels on matters of the kind described above involving
three or four institutions?

2. Does it agree that attempts to regulate every last detail often have the effect of crippling business
activity to the benefit of large companies, which are the only ones able to invest in meeting the new
rules, while doing nothing to protect the public by ensuring product quality?

3. Does it not agree that such cases are increasingly alienating sections of the population from Europe, as
they become less and less convinced of its purported desire to create unity and increasingly critical of
its bureaucratic and centralising approach?

4. Will it put forward proposals to rectify this trend towards excessive legislation as part of the planned

institutional reform?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(20 March 2000)

The Commission is aware of the problems raised by the Honourable Member. They will be addressed in
the White Paper on better governance to be presented by the Commission in 2001.

The Honourable Member is referred to the statements on this topic by the President of the Commission
when he presented the Commission(cid:146)s five-year strategic objectives to Parliament on 15 February 2000.