WRITTEN QUESTION E-2947/00 by Dirk Sterckx (ELDR) to the Commission. Levying of import and export duty by the German Trotting Federation (HVT) upon imports and exports of horses.
Date: 2000-09-19
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Belgium, Germany, equidae, export tax, free movement of goods, import tax, infringement of EU law, intra-EU trade

C 136 E/140

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

8.5.2001

(2001/C 136 E/163)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2946/00

by Dirk Sterckx (ELDR) to the Commission

(19 September 2000)

Subject: Levying of import and export duty by the Belgian Trotting Federation upon imports and exports

of horses

Apparently owners of trotting horses are required to pay duty to the Belgian Trotting Federation when
they import or export them into or out of Belgium from or to another EU Member State. This may
amount to as much as € 300 for final and temporary import or export of a trotting horse. These costs are
apparently pure import duties and do not represent the cost of issuing a health certificate for import and
export as referred to in Directive 90/426/EEC (1) governing the movement of equidae.

Do not the above levies, which impede the free movement of equidae, violate the provisions of the above
directive? If so, will the Commission take action to eliminate this barrier to trade? If not, under what
provision or exemption in the relevant European directives can the Trotting Federation impose such levies?

(1) OJ L 224, 18.8.1990, p. 42.

(2001/C 136 E/164)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2947/00

by Dirk Sterckx (ELDR) to the Commission

(19 September 2000)

Subject: Levying of import and export duty by the German Trotting Federation (HVT) upon imports and

exports of horses

Apparently owners of trotting horses are required to pay duty to the German Trotting Federation (HVT)
when they import or export them. This may amount to as much as € 100. These costs are apparently pure
import duties and do not represent the cost of issuing a health certificate for import and export as referred
to in Directive 90/426/EEC (1) governing the movement of equidae.

Do not the above levies, which impede the free movement of equidae, violate the provisions of the above
directive? If so, will the Commission take action to eliminate this barrier to trade? If not, under what
provision or exemption in the relevant European directives can the HVT impose such levies?

(1) OJ L 224, 18.8.1990, p. 42.

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-2945/00, E-2946/00 and E-2947/00
given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(7 November 2000)

In its reply to the Honourable Member(cid:146)s Written Question E-1021/00, the Commission undertook to
launch an inquiry with the authorities concerned. In addition, the framework of Community legislation on
breeding of equidae was explained, demonstrating the rather limited competence the Commission has with
regard to approval of breeding organisations and associations in the Member States.

Following the Commission(cid:146)s request, the German authorities officially informed the Commission that they
had evaluated the studbook rules of the German Trotting Association (Hauptverband f(cid:252)r Traber -Zucht
und -Rennen e.V.) and consider these rules to be in accordance with the German law on animal breeding.

8.5.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 136 E/141

The official reply of the Belgian authorities is still pending, because in Written Question E-2946/00
reference is made specifically to the Belgian Trotting Federation (De Belgische Draffederatie) which was,
according to information received from the competent authorities so far, liquidated on 22 January 1997
and lost its official approval on 7 February 1997.

Furthermore, the levies mentioned in Written Questions E-2946/00 and E-2947/00 are declared as a
registration fee. The levies required for registration procedures both in Belgium and Germany clearly do
not fall under Community legislation, but constitute a part of the internal procedures of the associations in
question and do not discriminate against breeders in other Member States. The higher registration fees for
the additional services provided to the associated breeders to
imported and exported horses reflect
guarantee an uninterrupted identity of the horses dispatched to or imported from another Member State.

The trotting organisations in both Germany and Belgium are not entitled to issue animal health certificates
in accordance with Council Directive 90/426/EEC of 26 June 1990 on animal health conditions governing
the movement and import from third countries of equidae (1). Animal health certification is the compe-
tence of the official veterinary services. Additional health requirements for the registration of horses or
their approval as breeding animals are not subject to Community legislation.

(1) OJ L 224, 18.8.1990.

(2001/C 136 E/165)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2957/00

by Alexander de Roo (Verts/ALE), Claude Turmes (Verts/ALE),
Dirk Sterckx (ELDR), Karl Olsson (ELDR), Torben Lund (PSE), Eryl McNally (PSE),
Peter Liese (PPE-DE) and Jorge Moreira Da Silva (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(20 September 2000)

Subject: Energy saving with intelligent pumps for hot water circulation

Electronically controlled pumps for the circulation of hot water in central heating systems use 50 % less
energy then non-electronic pumps. Electronic pumps work only when it is really necessary. If all the
pumps in the EU were of the electronic type then the EU would save 23 million tons of CO2. That is
almost 7 % of the total reduction target of the EU Kyoto commitment.

80 % of the existing pumps will have to be replaced in the coming 10 years, so this is an excellent
opportunity. These (cid:145)intelligent(cid:146) electronic pumps are a bit more expensive, but the savings on the electricity
bill will more than compensate for this extra price. 80 % of the installed pumps today are still of the non-
electronic type, so a small push to realise this win-win situation is necessary. Referring to a similar
is the European Commission
previous Directive, the so-called (cid:145)Ballast for fluorescent lights(cid:146) Directive,
prepared to propose in the long term a Directive to make electronically controlled pumps obligatory in the
European Union and to encourage use of these pumps in the short term?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(3 November 2000)

The Commission is aware of the large energy consumption of pumps for the circulation of hot water in
central heating systems. The Commission has launched a study to assess the savings potential and the most
appropriate policies to stimulate the market penetration of the most energy efficient products.

The Commission is already planning to introduce a labelling and classification scheme for these pumps
and is also considering proposing a directive to introduce minimum efficiency requirements.