WRITTEN QUESTION P-2391/00 by Antonio Di Pietro (ELDR) to the Commission. Import permit for the Shifco fleet.
Date: 2000-07-07
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU control, Somalia, fishery product, fishing vessel, freezing, health control, import, quality standard, technical standard

C 81 E/196

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13.3.2001

If so, with what result? What conclusions does the Commission draw in respect of future activities in the
educational field?

If not, why did the Commission not consider this organisational question in its evaluation? Will the
Commission consider it in future?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(8 September 2000)

The (cid:145)European Report on Quality of School Education(cid:146) was drawn up firstly on the basis of carefully
selected indicators, limited to sixteen, and secondly on the basis of existing sources of information. This
report is based on the work of a committee of experts following an initiative of the education ministers of
26 European countries.

Clearly, the organisation of school hours differs from country to country but also within many countries
themselves as a result of the increasing autonomy granted to local authorities and schools in the
management of school hours. Opting for one or another means of organisation is in part an attempt to
adapt to geographic, social or climatic conditions.

in order to establish correlations with pupils(cid:146)

it is
Furthermore,
necessary to examine not only the organisation of the school day but also the content of the curriculum,
the number of hours allocated to the various subjects, the time of day when the subjects are taught, the
teaching methods, etc. The freedom granted to schools in the vast majority of countries to define methods
and organise timetables means that reliable comparisons cannot be drawn because so many variables must
be taken into account.

learning and the quality of teaching,

The (cid:145)Eurydice(cid:146) network (European network of information on education in Europe) contains descriptive
information about the organisation of the school calendar, but there are no comparable data at European
the IEA (International
level, and there are currently no plans for research in this field. Moreover,
Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement) has tried on several occasions to establish
relationships between the levels of attainment measured in basic disciplines (mathematics, reading, etc.)
and criteria governing the operation of the school system, including the time allocated to each subject, but
no direct relationship could be established between the number of hours and the marks obtained. It would
be more useful for studies to look into the correlation between the whole question of the pace of school
teaching and the quality of
the education received, rather than into the correlation between the
organisation of the school day and the quality.

there is no significant correlation between the
For these reasons,
organisation of school time into half-days or whole days and teaching quality, and therefore does not
plan any research into this subject.

the Commission considers that

(2001/C 81 E/251)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2391/00

by Antonio Di Pietro (ELDR) to the Commission

(7 July 2000)

Subject: Import permit for the Shifco fleet

Somalia is not one of the third countries allowed to import fishery products intended for human
consumption listed in the Annex to Commission Decision 97/296/EC (1) and hence imports from that
country have not been authorised since 1 July 1998, the date on which the Community law governing the
harmonisation of conditions for the import of fishery products came into force.

On 5 February 1998 Shifco, a Somali firm with 5 freezer ships operating in the fisheries sector, applied for
Community import authorisation, on the basis of Article 11(6) of Council Directive of 22 July 1991
(91/493/EEC (2)), which allows derogations to be requested in particular situations.

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In response to this application Commission inspectors were sent on mission to Aden (Yemen) in November
1998 to carry out an inspection, as a result of which they asked Shifco to make a whole series of technical
modifications to the fleet. This work was carried out, despite difficult environmental conditions and very
high costs. In the end the UAV (veterinary food hygiene authority) issued a favourable opinion in its final
inspection report (mentioning clearly the type of ships inspected, i.e. freezer ships).

Now, two years later, the relevant Commission department has discovered that Directive 91/493/EEC only
applies to factory ships, not to freezer ships, of which the Shifco fleet has always consisted.

If, therefore, the above-mentioned directive does not apply to freezer ships, why did the Commission
inspectors request alterations to be made? Is a particular person responsible for this oversight? How can
the Commission remedy the damage caused to Shifco, not only to recover the cost of work carried out
unnecessarily, but also to compensate for the serious economic and social consequences of suspension of
work for the 500 Italian crew members and above all the approximately 2 000 Somali employees?

(1) OJ L 122, 14.5.1997, p. 21.
(2) OJ L 268, 24.9.1991, p. 15.

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(15 September 2000)

As mentioned by the Honourable Member, Commission experts carried out an on-the-spot check on the
five vessels operated by the company in question on 18 November 1998. This inspection revealed that the
vessels were in fact freezer vessels and not factory vessels as had been indicated in the documents provided
by the company before the inspection. The inspection also revealed minor deficiencies of the vessels, and
the company immediately engaged itself to correct these.

Since then the Commission has provided representatives of this company with all the information
requested and has done everything possible to assist them in identifying possible solutions to the problems
linked to the request for a derogation based on Article 11.6 of the Council Directive 91/493/EEC of 22 July
1991 laying down the health conditions for the production and the placing on the market of fishery
products. The Commission recognises the difficulties the company is facing which are largely due to the
absence of controls by a competent authority in Somalia. The company must now assess the possible
solutions indicated and determine which of them best suits their intention to export fishery products
through their vessels to the Community.

(2001/C 81 E/252)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2402/00

by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(18 July 2000)

Subject: Subsidies for Alzheimer(cid:146)s projects

Alzheimer Europe is an umbrella organisation of 28 associations in Europe in support of Alzheimer(cid:146)s
patients. In 1999 the European Parliament adopted an amendment to devote € 2,5 million to (cid:145)activities
geared to improving the quality of life of persons suffering from Alzheimer(cid:146)s disease and of their (informal)
carers(cid:146).

The Commission has not yet published any tenders for awarding this financial support. It appears that the
Commission itself intends to transfer the budget intended for Alzheimer(cid:146)s to the general health budget.