WRITTEN QUESTION P-1908/00 by Neena Gill (PSE) to the Commission. Joint Research Centre.
Date: 2000-06-06
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Joint Research Centre, administration of the Institutions, appointment of staff, servant (EU)

20.3.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 89 E/109

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(28 July 2000)

Under Article 8 of Council Directive 93/37/EEC of 14 June 1993 concerning the coordination of
procedures for the award of public works contracts (1), the contracting authority must, within 15 days of
the date on which the request is received, inform any eliminated candidate or tenderer who so requests of
the reasons for rejection of his application or his tender, and, in the case of a tender, the name of the
successful tenderer.

Moreover, according to a recent judgement by the Court of Justice (2), it must be possible to make an
application to have a decision awarding a contract set aside, which implies in practice an obligation on the
part of the contracting authorities to inform all tenderers of this decision.

The Commission does not monitor bids submitted by companies receiving Community subsidies. Instead,
under Article 30 of Directive 93/37/EEC, the contracting Authority, having the power to reject tenders,
must request, in writing, details of the constituent elements of the tender if, for a given contract, tenders
appear to be abnormally low in relation to the works.

It should also be noted that the fact of having received a subsidy that enables a firm to submit substantially
lower bids than the other tenderers is not in itself contrary to Community law on public procurement or
the principle of equal treatment (3).

(1) OJ L 199, 9.8.1993.
(2)
(3) See the conclusions of Advocate-General LØger in Case C-94/99,

Judgment of 28 October 1999 in Case C-81/98, Alcatel Austria and others.

(cid:145)ARGE Gew(cid:228)sserschutz(cid:146), presented on 15 June

2000.

(2001/C 89 E/118)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1908/00

by Neena Gill (PSE) to the Commission

(6 June 2000)

Subject: Joint Research Centre

The author understands that
in October. What arrangements have been made for the recruitment to this post?

the current Director-General of

the Joint Research Centre is retiring

How many people employed at the Joint Research Centre are employed on three-year temporary contracts,
and how many on five-year temporary contracts? What proportion of these temporary contracts are
renewed?

Could the Commission give an outline of its future strategy for the JRC? What measures have been
implemented to ensure that the Joint Research Centre is managed more effectively?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(25 July 2000)

The current Director-General of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) is due to retire on 31 October 2000.
The Commission will take the necessary steps to fill the post as soon as possible.

The JRC applies the research staff policy adopted in 1996 for the whole of the Commission(cid:146)s research
budget. It employs 832 temporary staff including 155 on three-year temporary contracts (not renewable),
183 on initial five-year contracts, 143 on second five-year contracts and 451 on open-ended contracts.

C 89 E/110

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.3.2001

On the future of the JRC, a high-level panel under the chairmanship of Mr Etienne Davignon has recently
reported and made recommendations on ways in which the implementation of the JRC(cid:146)s mission could be
improved. The Report was made available to the ITRE Committee of
the Parliament by letter of
Commissioner Busquin of 4 July.

The JRC has already undertaken several reforms aimed at more effective management including total
quality management, transfer of management tasks to the institutes and the introduction of internal
auditing.

(2001/C 89 E/119)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1914/00

by Guido Podest(cid:224) (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(16 June 2000)

Subject: Protection of animals during slaughtering

In view of the significant discomfort to which animals destined for slaughter are subject, the fact that this
discomfort not only causes pointless suffering to the animals themselves, but may be detrimental to the
quality of the product obtained from slaughter, the repercussions of this discomfort in terms of consumer
protection principles, and, finally, the current conditions under which live animals are imported into the
Member States of the European Union by exporting countries, which are in fact countries involved in the
accession process,

Can the Commission say:

1. what practical measures are planned, with regard to the importation of animals for slaughter into the
European Union, concerning the implementation of the objective, which Parliament has set out in
numerous resolutions, of slaughtering being carried out in the place of rearing or as near to it as
possible,

2. whether the current slaughtering conditions in the countries involved in the accession process which
export to the European Union comply with Community objectives concerning respect for animals and
consumer protection,

3. whether the Commission is now or will in the near future be prepared to provide financial aid for:

(cid:129) the improvement of structures, the environment and machinery in slaughterhouses in these

countries,

(cid:129) training courses on the protection of animals for slaughterers in these countries and for veterinary
officials responsible for checking that slaughterers carry out their duties in compliance with these
instructions?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(28 July 2000)

The Commission(cid:146)s responsibilities towards animal protection have increased under the recent protocol to
the EC Treaty, which requires the European institutions and Member States to consider animal welfare a
priority when drawing up agriculture, transport, single market and research policies.

Community legislation is drawn up on the basis of the results of scientific research and practical
knowledge, both of which indicate that animal transport is feasible if specific animal protection conditions
are met.

In relation to the transport of animals imported into the Community, 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.