WRITTEN QUESTION E-2906/00 by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission. Accession negotiations.
Date: 2000-09-14
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Cyprus, Türkiye, accession negotiations, national minority, national sovereignty, referendum, territorial dispute

C 136 E/126

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

8.5.2001

The Community, for its part, has clearly defined responsibilities and is exclusively responsible for certain
measures, such as technical standards for vehicles, rules on driving licenses and measures promoting the
use of certain innovative technologies, in the field of traffic management for example.

Other initiatives are under way or in the pipeline concerning education, controls and cooperation between
police forces. Efforts are being made to pay closer attention to road safety in road schemes and
improvements and encourage the exchange of information and experience in areas such as training and
awareness-raising.

All these measures should have a positive impact, especially on the Member States with the highest fatality
rates.

Measures under way or due to be taken in the short term at Community level are outlined in the
Commission communication of 17 March 2000 entitled (cid:145)Priorities in EU road safety Progress (cid:129) Report
and ranking of actions(cid:146) (1). This follows on from the 2nd Community Action Programme (1997-2001) in
the field of road safety.

In addition, the Commission will continue with the current programme and in 2001 it will prepare an
action programme for 2002-2010 aiming to reduce the number of fatalities and serious casualties on
European roads, which will include all the measures described above and address the problems mentioned
by the Honourable Member.

With regard to the trans-European road network, the Commission is supporting several projects promoting
the use of telematics in traffic management and information systems, which are also helping to improve
road safety.

(1) COM(2000) 125 final.

(2001/C 136 E/145)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2906/00

by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission

(14 September 2000)

Subject: Accession negotiations

Are there, or in the history of the European Union have there ever been, any peoples which it was
the EU but which in practice had no democratic representation within the

1.
claimed were part of
institutions?

If the Republic of Cyprus were to be allowed to join the European Union while claiming a
the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus

2.
constitutional mandate over the entire island, while in fact
continued to proclaim its independence, would this be a precedent?

3.
Is there any reference within the treaties of the European Union which would require individuals to
be directly consulted, or otherwise represented by their directly elected representatives, to identify their
views before any claims are made that they are part of the EU?

4. What is the status of Gibraltar in this respect?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(18 October 2000)

1. and 2.
The Commission would stress that there is no precedent in the Union(cid:146)s history of a people in
the Union being without democratic representation. However, this statement does not make any judge-
ment on whether the (cid:145)Turkish Republic of North Cyprus(cid:146) provides democratic representation or not.

8.5.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 136 E/127

3. and 4.
their elected representatives. This subject remains a constitutional matter for the Member States.

The EC Treaty does not contain any express requirement to identify the views of individuals or

(2001/C 136 E/146)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2907/00

by Nicholas Clegg (ELDR) to the Commission

(14 September 2000)

Subject: Homogenised milk

It has been reported that homogenised milk can lead to increased sensitivity to milk in children and that it
aggravates arthritis.

Potentially more serious, homogenisation appears to increase the dangers posed by the chemical xanthine
oxidase (which is directly attributable as a cause of heart disease).

Since homogenisation seems to be carried out for cosmetic as opposed to hygiene reasons, does the
Commission take the view that it should seek to limit interference with milk production in the form of
homogenisation? If not, what action does it propose to take, perhaps in the form of new labelling
requirements?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(29 November 2000)

The Commission is not aware of any established scientific proof that the reported effects (increased
sensitivity in children, aggravation of arthritis, and heart disease) could be linked particularly to the
homogenisation of milk.

The research programme on the relation between food, health and nutrition deals, among other things,
with different aspects of allergy. It may be that these projects will provide more accurate information on
the relation between milk and allergy in the future.

If evidence is provided in the future that the process of homogenisation poses a threat to public health, the
Commission will examine what course of action should be followed.

(2001/C 136 E/147)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2909/00

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(14 September 2000)

Subject: National systems of collecting waste glass disrupted by the functioning of the European market

The sale of collected waste glass in the Netherlands is currently facing competition from firms in
1.
Germany where the (cid:145)green point(cid:146) system operates, whereby industry contributes towards the cost of
collection. One effect of this competition is that German glass recycling firms are increasingly offering
their waste glass on the Dutch market. For example, the firm of Heije of Moerdijk imports glass from
Berlin while there is the glass recycling firm of Maltha in the immediate vicinity at Fijnaart, 10 kilometres
away. There is now a risk of the Dutch waste glass being dumped. There is also a threat to stop collecting
waste. Is the Commission aware of this problem (1)?

2.
Does the Commission agree that it is absolutely unacceptable for recycled materials to be transported
over such distances, and that the basic principle should be that recycled materials are used at as short a
distance as possible from the point where they are collected?