WRITTEN QUESTION E-2871/00 by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Possible agreement on restrictions on fuel price competition by oil companies in the Spanish state.
Date: 2000-09-14
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU control, European Commission, Spain, competence of the Member States, motor fuel, oil industry, price disparity, restriction on competition

C 113 E/200

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.4.2001

(2001/C 113 E/213)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2871/00

by Camilo Nogueira RomÆn (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(14 September 2000)

Subject: Possible agreement on restrictions on fuel price competition by oil companies in the Spanish state

In May 2000, at a time when fuel prices were rising sharply, the Commissioner for energy made a public
statement to the effect that she was surprised at the existence of identical prices in the Spanish state,
adding that the Commission was monitoring the situation closely and apparently suggesting that it could
amount to the existence of an oil cartel, contrary to Community competition rules. As some months have
now passed and fuel prices are continuing to rise, can the Commission state whether it has reached a
position on this possible restriction on competition on the part of the companies which distribute fuel in
the Spanish state, especially in view of the attitudes of Repsol, Cepsa and BP, which account together for
80 % of the fuel sold in that Member State?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(20 October 2000)

The Commission informs the Honourable Member that the Spanish competition authorities are currently
conducting investigations into restrictive practices in the fuel distribution sector which may infringe the
Community and Spanish competition rules. Under the principles enshrined in the Commission Notice on
cooperation between national competition authorities and the Commission in handling cases falling within
the scope of Articles 81 or 82 of the EC Treaty (former Articles 85 and 86) (1), the national competition
authorities generally deal with cases in which the impact of the suspected restraint of competition is felt
essentially within their territory.

As regards the rise in fuel prices in Spain, the Commission refers the Honourable Member to its answers to
written questions E-1881/00 by Mr Kn(cid:246)rr Borr(cid:224)s (2) and E-2149/00 by Ms Sornosa Mart(cid:237)nez and
Mr Berenguer Fuster (3).

The Commission assures the Honourable Member that it will continue to monitor compliance with
Community competition law and internal market regulations in this sector.

(1) OJ C 313, 15.10.1997.
(2) OJ C 72 E, 6.3.2001, p. 140.
(3) OJ C 103 E, 3.4.2001, p. 74.

(2001/C 113 E/214)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2874/00

by Camilo Nogueira RomÆn (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

Subject: Industrial accidents on board fishing vessels

(14 September 2000)

One in five deaths related to industrial accidents in Galicia occur in the fisheries sector: over the decade
1990-1999, such accidents at sea affected a total of 18 672 Galician seamen. These figures, which appear
in a report of the Galician branch of the UGT trade union, are sufficient in themselves to indicate the
gravity of the situation. In its report, the UGT takes the view that the high accident rate is largely due to
the extremely unsatisfactory working conditions on board the vessels: excessively long working days going
up to 16 or 18 hours, lack of suitable rest periods and training periods, periods of up to several months
spent at sea away from seamen(cid:146)s families, and the use of temporary recruitment leading to abuses by
employers. All this is compounded by the neglect of the public authorities, which fail to conduct the
necessary safety inspections.