WRITTEN QUESTION E-2184/00 by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission. Better regulation.
Date: 2000-07-03
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: drafting of EU law, legislative drafting

20.3.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 89 E/157

This indicates an infringement of the Court of Justice judgment of 11 June 1991, in which it was stated
that France had failed to meet its obligations in this area.

In view of the importance of fishing to the other EU Member States and, in particular, to Spain and the
Basque Country, what action is the Commission going to take in order to ensure that France meets its
obligations in this matter?

What compensation is to be made available to the fishermen of the other countries affected by these
practices, and what form will it take?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(7 September 2000)

The Commission did send France a supplementary reasoned opinion under Article 228 of the EC Treaty
(formerly Article 171) for the reasons stated in the Honourable Member(cid:146)s question.

The procedure forms part of the Commission(cid:146)s overall work to monitor Member States(cid:146) fishery activities
and to ensure compliance with Community fisheries legislation.

The Commission carries out this work continuously in respect of all the Member States, inter alia through
visits undertaken by Community inspectors.

With regard to the last part of the question, no compensation is payable if the Community inspectors
discover non-compliance with Community legislation. In response to systematic non-compliance with that
legislation, the Commission may initiate the procedure which Article 226 of the EC Treaty (formerly
Article 169) lays down for failure to fulfil an obligation.

(2001/C 89 E/176)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2184/00

by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission

(3 July 2000)

Subject: Better regulation

At the Lisbon Summit, a commitment was made to (cid:145)better regulation(cid:146). What is the Commission intending
to do to ensure that this commitment is met?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(29 September 2000)

The Commission intends to present a policy document on better regulation early next year and is currently
examining existing initiatives (Business Environment (cid:145)Simplification Task force(cid:146) (BEST), Business Impact
Assessment (BIA), Simpler Legislation for the Internal Market (SLIM) and the Business Test Panel) with a
view to creating greater synergy between them and strengthening their capacity to create a better
regulatory environment for business. This document will be prepared for and discussed at the March
2001 European Council in Stockholm.

C 89 E/158

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.3.2001

The policy review exercise also provides an opportunity for the Commission to reflect on the appropriate
level of regulation required in the context of new forms of economic activity (e-commerce etc.), the
possibilities offered by co-regulation and how best to ensure that national legislation does not generate
additional burdens for business.

Current preparations are focused in particular on devising ways of ensuring that new Community
legislation is carefully prepared and to that end the Commission is examining the potential offered by
new impact assessment methods and possibilities to extend the range and depth of consultations when
legislative drafts are under preparation.

The Commission is going to contribute to the initiative taken by the French Presidency to discuss the
quality of national and Community legislation at a meeting of the ministers in charge of the functioning of
public administration.

(2001/C 89 E/177)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2186/00

by Diana Wallis (ELDR) to the Commission

(3 July 2000)

Subject: Introduction of the euro

What has the Commission done to ensure that preparations for the euro are both complete and thorough?
Does it feel that it has been allocated sufficient financial and human resources to carry out this task? Are
the actions of each Member State(cid:146)s government being monitored?

Can the Commission confirm that arrangements have been made which will allow national governments (cid:129)
who are mainly responsible (cid:129) to provide immediate responses to possible practical questions?

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(22 September 2000)

Preparations for the euro in the Member States are monitored by the Commission in two ways. First, it
organises forums enabling discussion and the exchange of information between Member States and
professional organisations. These include (cid:145)public administration(cid:146) networks (grouping the heads of the
euro task forces in the Member States),
(cid:145)director of communication(cid:146) networks (grouping the national
directors responsible for communication on the euro) and the advisory group on practical aspects of the
transition to the euro (comprising representatives of some twenty European professional federations). The
Commission also sits on and services the working party of the directors of the national mints and
organises regular meetings of more specialist groups (for example, the euro group of the European
Consumers Committee, the Trade and Distribution Committee). Second,
it regularly publishes studies
monitoring the progress of preparations. These include the Quarterly note on the development of the use
of the euro, the section of the Eurobarometer opinion poll on attitude to the introduction of the euro and
the flash survey on preparations by small and medium-sized undertakings (SMEs).

The Directorates-General for Financial and Economic Affairs, Health and Consumer Protection, Enterprise
and the Internal Market are working on these issues.

All the participating Member States have set up structures to coordinate the transition to the euro and to
answer questions put by the general public.