WRITTEN QUESTION E-3086/00 by Richard Corbett (PSE) to the Commission. Article 192 of the EC Treaty.
Date: 2000-10-02
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Parliament, legislative initiative

22.5.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 151 E/59

If the answer to Question 4 is affirmative, and bearing in mind the international nature of this
5.
problem, will the Commission promote coordinated action by the Member States and applicant countries
to inform European consumers about any adverse effects which have been shown to arise from substances
for human consumption available over the Internet?

Answer by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(23 November 2000)

The Commission is aware of the possible risk to the health of European citizens posed by the Internet sale
of medicinal products by companies established outside the Community.

For over twenty years now, products derived from laetrile have been put forward, especially in the United
States of America, as an alternative to conventional cancer treatment. The research carried out on these
products has established that laetrile has not been effective in the treatment of cancer and indeed could
prove to be toxic in some cases. Moreover, given the ineffectiveness of the claimed indications and the side
effects associated with the release of cyanide, these products are have not been authorised for marketing.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States is currently taking action to halt the
manufacture, packaging, promotion, distribution and marketing of products derived from laetrile or
apricot stones. Laetrile has been banned by the FDA and is not authorised for sale as a medicinal product
in the Community.

The authorisation, advertising and sale of pharmaceutical products within Europe is regulated by specific
Community directives which apply both to the sale of those products by electronic means and to their sale
by more conventional means. In addition, the recently adopted Directive 2000/31/EC of the Parliament
and of the Council of 8 June 2000 on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular
electronic commerce, in the Internal Market (Directive on electronic commerce) (1) provides for transpar-
ency requirements, administrative cooperation among Member States and effective control in the Member
State where the on-line service is located.

Moreover, in the case of provision of pharmaceuticals by pharmacists, the latter are, of course, subject to
the rules of conduct of their own professional bodies.

However, as pointed out by the Honourable Member, the global nature of the Internet allows for the
advertising and sale of pharmaceuticals to European consumers by operators from third countries, thereby
bypassing the protection provided by Community legislation. The Commission has begun working with
the Member States to address this problem and the Commission is considering promoting the use of codes
of conduct, and possibly running consumer awareness campaigns.

(1) OJ L 178, 17.7.2000.

(2001/C 151 E/072)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3086/00

by Richard Corbett (PSE) to the Commission

(2 October 2000)

Subject: Article 192 of the EC Treaty

Under Article 192 of the Treaty of Maastricht, Parliament was given the right to request by an absolute
majority of its Members that the Commission (cid:145)submit any appropriate proposal on matters on which it
considers that a Community act is required for the purpose of implementing this Treaty(cid:146).

Can the Commission confirm that six such resolutions were adopted during the 1994-1999 legislative
period, namely on:

(cid:129) hotel fire safety (20 April 1994)

(cid:129) environmental damage (4 May 1994)

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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22.5.2001

(cid:129) settlement of claims arising from traffic accidents occurring outside the claimant(cid:146)s country of origin

(26 October 1995)

(cid:129) health cards (17 April 1996)

(cid:129) forest strategy (30 January 1997)

(cid:129) network access for renewable energies (17 June 1998)?

Is it the case that, to date, only one of those resolutions has resulted in the Commission submitting a
specific legislative proposal?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(22 November 2000)

The Commission recognises the importance of the six reports adopted by Parliament based on Article 192
(ex Article 138b) of the EC Treaty and in virtually all cases has acted upon them in the manner sought by
Parliament. Specifically, in one case the legislation called for has already been adopted, in a second case
Parliament is due to discuss the Commission proposal
in first reading shortly and in a third case a
framework directive will be proposed by the end of 2001. Set out below are the initiatives which have
been taken in all six cases.

The Jackson report (A3-0310/94) on (cid:145)Fire safety in hotels(cid:146)
Parliament.

led to a study which has been sent to

The Alber report (A3-0232/94) on (cid:145)Preventing and remedying environmental damage(cid:146) led to a white paper
liability (1) which was adopted in February 2000. The Commission will consider
on environmental
proposing a framework directive before the end of 2001.

The Rothley report (A4-0201/95) on the settlement of claims arising from traffic accidents which occur
outside the country of origin of the claimant has resulted in a legislative proposal (2) which has now
become Directive 2000/26/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 16 May 2000 on the approximation
of the laws of the Member States relating to insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor
vehicles and amending Council Directives 73/239/EEC and 88/357/EEC (Fourth motor insurance Direc-
tive) (3).

With regard to the Leopardi report (A4-0091/96) on a European health card, many of the ideas have been
taken up in the eEurope initiative.

The Thomas report (A4-0414/96) on forestry in the Community led to a communication (4) which in turn
led to a Council resolution of 15 December 1998 on a forestry strategy for the European Union (5) and
formed an important part of Council Regulation (EC) no 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on support for rural
development for the European agricultural guidance and guarantee fund (EAGGF) and amending and
repealing certain regulations (6).

The Commission adopted a proposal for a directive (7) on 10 May 2000 following the Linkhor report
(A4-0199/98) on (cid:145)Network access for renewable energies(cid:146). Parliament is expected to give this proposal its
first reading in the November I plenary session. The rapporteur is Mrs Rothe.

(1) COM(2000) 66 final.
(2) OJ C 343, 13.11.1997.
(3) OJ L 181, 20.7.2000.
(4) COM(98) 649 final.
(5) OJ C 56, 26.2.1999.
(6) OJ C 160, 26.6.1999.
(7) OJ C 311 E, 31.10.2000.