WRITTEN QUESTION P-3211/00 by Alexander de Roo (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. EU legislation to combat legionella infection.
Date: 2000-10-10
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European social policy, infectious disease

C 151 E/98

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

22.5.2001

would nevertheless again point out that, as part of the common agricultural policy, provision has been
made (2) for the possibility of using set-aside land for non-food crops, but without specific further aid for
energy crops. Nevertheless the Commission has noted the proposals made in this area by certain
Member States when Agenda 2000 was implemented.

The Commission is certainly in favour of mixing biodiesel and diesel oil. It would point out that this is
currently taking place, more specifically in France, where 5 % of the fossil diesel used consists of biodiesel.
The Commission has been notified of the French regulations governing this area. The Commission and
Member States have not raised any objection. The same type of notification has been received from
Austria, concerning 2 % mixtures.

In addition the proposal that the law be used to require a low percentage of biodiesel to be mixed with
diesel fuel within the Community had been put forward by certain circles concerned. The Commission
feels that, at least for the moment, no such action would be appropriate. For certain Member States, at
least as things now stand, any such mandatory inclusion would cause problems owing to a lack of
production and distribution infrastructure or problems of raw material availability. The Commission feels
that, for the moment, it would be appropriate to leave the option open to the Member States that are
willing to expand this sector.

The Commission leaves to the Member States the choice as to which option seems to them best suited to
their conditions. Thus, contrary to what takes place in France, unadulterated biodiesel is used in, above all,
Germany, and also in certain niches of environmental relevance. It should be noted that the Commission
has conferred a biodiesel standardisation remit on the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN)
which takes account of the various potential uses (in particular whether blended or unadulterated).
Moreover, as part of its policy on fuel quality, the Commission may, among other things, put forward
proposals laying down the specification levels applying to biofuels (3).

Finally, Community policy favours biofuels while also taking account of their various potential uses.
However, a more effective policy is now hampered first of all by fiscal matters. At the moment it is
impossible for biofuels to make major inroads into the market without any tax exemption. The
Community legislation in force only authorises that detaxing in the case of (cid:145)pilot projects(cid:146). Since the early
1990s the Commission has been drafting proposals for directives which would create an adequate legal
basis (4) for enabling the Member States to make such tax exemptions, but although its initial proposal was
accepted by Parliament (5), this did not receive unanimity within the Council owing to opposition by one
Member State. The Commission had provided a wider interpretation of the term (cid:145)pilot project(cid:146) authorising
limited detaxing in France, (for a quantity of biofuels representing roughly 1 % of fuel consumption in
France), but in its decision of 27/9/2000 (6), the Community(cid:146)s Court of First Instance felt that the situation
went beyond that of (cid:145)pilot(cid:146). This stresses the importance of suitable tax legislation.

(1) COM(2000) 631 final.
(2) Article 6(3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1251/1999 of 17 May 1999 establishing a support system for producers

of certain arable crops (OJ L 160, 26.6.1999 and OJ L 194, 27.7.1999).

(3) Directive 98/70/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 1998 relating to the quality of
petrol and diesel fuels and amending Council Directive 93/12/EEC (OJ L 350, 28.12.1998 and OJ L 40, 13.2.1999).
(4) Proposal for a Directive on excise duties on motor fuels from agricultural sources (OJ C 73, 24.3.1992). Proposal
for a Council Directive restructuring the Community framework for the taxation of energy products, Article 14
1(b), (OJ C 139, 6.5.1997).

(5) Amended proposal for a Council Directive on excise duties on motor fuels from agricultural sources (OJ C 209,

29.7.1994).

(6) BP Chemicals/Commission Judgment of 27.9.2000. Case T-187/97.

(2001/C 151 E/111)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3211/00

by Alexander de Roo (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

Subject: EU legislation to combat legionella infection

(10 October 2000)

Last year 28 people died in the Netherlands after they had been infected with the legionella bacterium at a
flower show in Bovenkarspel.

22.5.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 151 E/99

There has also been a great deal of publicity about deaths from legionella in Britain and Denmark.

On 23 September 2000 the Netherlands daily NRC Handelsblad reported that the network of scientists in
the European Working group for Legionella Infections (EWGLI) had been enabled to become professional
thanks to funding from the EU. The network states that, during the past five years, 12 000 European
tourists contracted legionnaires(cid:146) disease in a hotel, flat or camp site. An estimated 1 200 people died of the
disease. The mortality figures are probably much higher in reality, since by no means all countries register
victims of legionella or forward their figures to the EWGLI network. EWGLI is not prepared to publish the
list of the hotels where the legionella bacterium caused deaths. A list of these hotels may be consulted on
the following website:
http://www.nrc.nl/W2/nieuws/2000/09/28/Vp/02.html

The legionella bacterium has now accounted for considerably more human deaths than mad cow disease.

Does the Commission agree that providing EU funds to the EWGLI network is a mistake if EWGLI

1.
refuses to publish this kind of important information?

Does the Commission agree that EU legislation should be adopted with the utmost urgency to stem

2.
the danger of the legionella bacterium?

In the Netherlands, drinking water legislation is being amended so as to introduce a standard for legionella.

3.

Should not the EU(cid:146)s drinking water legislation also be adjusted?

There is now a BAT Reference Document in the context of the IPPC Directive governing cooling water
used in industrial process and air-conditioning equipment for office buildings.

4.
Should this standard not be made into a binding provision, and should not binding European
legislation also be adopted on the supply of hot water in hospitals, health centres, swimming baths, saunas,
camping sites, exhibition buildings and other public establishments in order to reduce the risk of infection
with legionella?

(2001/C 151 E/112)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3233/00

by Elly Plooij-van Gorsel (ELDR) and Jules Maaten (ELDR) to the Commission

(17 October 2000)

Subject: Failure to publish information about cases of legionnaires(cid:146) disease in European hotels

According to information received from the European Working Group for Legionella Infections (EWGLI),
12 000 tourists using holiday accommodation in Europe have apparently been affected by legionnaires(cid:146)
disease in the last five years. It is estimated that 1200 of that number have subsequently died from the
disease.

1.
Is the Commission aware that the national health inspectorates, which are members of EWGLI,
frequently do not notify this information to the tour operators who organise tours using the hotels where
outbreaks have occurred? Is it further aware that, in their turn, the tour operators do not always inform
their clients about outbreaks of the disease and usually let the booking proceed?

Does the Commission deem it acceptable that information from EWGLI, a body funded by European
2.
money, does not reach the tourists for whom such information is literally a matter of life or death? If not,
what does the Commission intend to do about it?

Does the Commission agree that information from EWGLI must be made public and accessible to all

3.
rather than being kept secret?