WRITTEN QUESTION E-0689/00 by Robert Goebbels (PSE) to the Commission. Possible amendment of Article 105(6) of the EC Treaty.
Date: 2000-03-09
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU competence, EU control, European Central Bank, insurance company

C 26 E/86

Official Journal of the European Communities

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26.1.2001

(2001/C 26 E/105)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0670/00

by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission

(9 March 2000)

Subject: Borage honey and the 1976 honey regulations

Honey produced from the borage plant (borage honey) naturally contains a higher level of sucrose than
the 5 % limit stipulated by the 1976 honey regulations. However,
the Local Authority on Trading
Standards in the UK has advised Trading Standards (UK) to accept the sucrose level in borage honey,
following detailed analytical work by the European Federation of Honey Importers, Packers and Distribu-
tors (which liases closely with the European Commission).

Will the Commission accept that borage honey naturally contains a high level of sucrose and therefore
ought to be exempt from the current regulations?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(31 March 2000)

In 1996, the Commission presented a proposal to the Council to simplify the Directive relating to
honey (1). In Annex II of this proposal were included certain new criteria concerning apparent sucrose
content.

In February 2000 during its last meeting, the Food and agriculture organisation (FAO) codex committee on
sugars agreed a draft revised standard for honey. The new text of that draft revised standard includes
sucrose content for Borage (Borago officinalis) honey of not more than 15 g/100 g. It seems probable that
the next meetings of experts in the Council on the proposal relating to honey will take into account the
conclusions of the codex committee.

(1) OJ C 231, 9.8.1996.

(2001/C 26 E/106)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0689/00

by Robert Goebbels (PSE) to the Commission

(9 March 2000)

Subject: Possible amendment of Article 105(6) of the EC Treaty

Article 105(6) of the EC Treaty stipulates that the Council may confer upon the ECB specific tasks
concerning policies relating to the prudential supervision of credit
institutions and other financial
institutions (cid:145)with the exception of insurance undertakings(cid:146).

However, the large European market in financial services being established calls for global prudential
supervision, particularly following the countless mergers or acquisitions, not to mention the acquisition of
cross holdings, among banks, insurance undertakings, investment funds and other professionals in the
financial sector. Several EU Member States have already introduced single national prudential supervision
for the financial sector as a whole, including insurance undertakings, or are in the process of doing so.

Would it not be wise to take the opportunity offered by the intergovernmental conference to propose that
Article 105(6) be amended so as to provide the legal basis necessary to enable the Council to confer upon
the ECB certain specific tasks, including those relating to prudential supervision of insurance undertakings?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(19 April 2000)

The EC Treaty expressly excludes insurance companies from the prudential supervision tasks which could
be conferred on the European Central Bank (ECB) under the procedure provided for in Article 105(6) of
the EC Treaty. There are many grounds for this. The insurance industry does not risk significant contagion
which could lead to a systemic crisis. Insurance companies are not covered as last resort lenders by the

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central banks. Insurance companies operate mainly on the long-term capital markets (bonds and shares)
and accordingly are less sensitive to monetary policy decisions. Prudential regulation of
insurance
companies is based on specific techniques, very different from the rules applied to banking. These facts
explain why no central bank in the Community should be responsible for the prudential supervision of
insurance companies.

The emergence of financial conglomerates combining credit, investment and insurance firms obviously
challenges the traditionally sectoral organisation of prudential supervision of the finance industry.

Community legislation, which has liberalised the exchange of prudential information between regulatory
authorities, has encouraged closer cooperation between the three sectors. In a number of countries,
(cid:145)integrated(cid:146) authorities have been put in place to ensure prudential supervision of the three sectors, namely,
the banks, investment services and insurance companies. It should be noted that these authorities are
framework encourages the exchange of
clearly distinct
information with the monetary authority.

from the central banks, although the legal

In its Communication (cid:145)Implementing the framework for financial markets: action plan(cid:146) (1), the Commission
undertook to propose a prudential framework to ensure effective supervision of financial conglomerates.
For that purpose, a joint technical group consisting of experts from the three sectors was set up to draft
proposals in the fields of capital adequacy; intra-group transactions and risk concentration; the evaluation
of shareholders and directors, in particular at the time of merger-acquisition operations; the exchange of
information between competent authorities; and the identification of a coordinator from among the
supervision authorities and the definition of his tasks.

At the same time, the Commission is the originator of the conference of supervision authorities which
groups the various European bodies with responsibility for the rules and prudential supervision of the
three sectors (2). By encouraging concerted action on matters of common interest, the Commission hopes
to take into account the multi-sectoral dimension of financial conglomerates and to maximise cooperation
between the various prudential supervision techniques.

The Commission feels that it is unnecessary to introduce into the Treaty a legal basis conferring on the
ECB certain specific tasks in the prudential supervision of insurance.

(1) COM(1999) 232 final.
(2) Banking: Banking Advisory Committee, Banking Supervisory Committee, Contact Group.Securities: Forum of
European Securities Commissions (FESCO).Insurance: European Insurance Committee, Conference of Insurance
Supervisors.

(2001/C 26 E/107)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0691/00

by Paulo Casaca (PSE) to the Commission

(9 March 2000)

Subject: Application of the Leader programme in the Autonomous Region of the Azores

On 18 February 2000, at the invitation of Adelia(cid:231)or I had the opportunity of visiting a series of projects
developed by this association with financial support from the Leader programme in the rural district of
Capelo on the island of Faial in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, where many of the 293 projects
already approved by this association have been developed.

The projects visited included a vast range of activities, for example the rebuilding of homes destroyed by
the Capelinhos volcano for the development of rural tourism projects,
improvements in small tourist
centres, the restoration of buildings for the promotion of handicrafts, the construction of viewing points
and the preparation of waymarked routes for walkers, recreational centres for children, tourist leaflets and
videocassettes, the marketing of agricultural products, etc.