WRITTEN QUESTION P-3238/00 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Higher safety standards for car ferries and the Stockhom Agreement.
Date: 2000-10-12
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: agreement (EU), maritime transport, safety standard, transport safety, vessel

6.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 163 E/65

Accordingly, the Commission has already requested Belgium, Spain, France, Italy and the Netherlands
2.
to provide comprehensive information of all relevant national measures taken (or envisaged) in order to
proceed with their detailed analysis and assessment. The Commission is also writing to the other Member
States requesting similar information.

3.
If the Commission concludes that the national measures in question are contrary to Community
legislation, in particular the rules on state aid, it will follow the appropriate procedure defined in the
EC Treaty.

4.
The Commission keeps a continuous watching eye on Member States(cid:146) activities to ensure that fair
conditions of competition are maintained and enhanced, and that Community legislation is respected. In
this context it has recently made proposals for strengthening the application of the social rules in road
transport.

Furthermore, it is worth noting that the Commission proposal for restructuring the Community framework
of the taxation of energy products (1), which is still being examined in Council, aims at improving the
functioning of the internal market through a convergence of the excise duties of energy products. Such
a convergence is expected to lead to fairer conditions of competition between Member States.

(1) OJ C 139, 6.5.1997.

(2001/C 163 E/065)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3238/00

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(12 October 2000)

Subject: Higher safety standards for car ferries and the Stockhom Agreement

Following the disasters at sea during the 1990s and negotiations within the International Maritime
Organisation, the SOLAS Convention was amended in regard to the stability of car ferries. In 1996,
Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Ireland and the UK signed an agreement laying down
more stringent stability requirements in the event of vessels taking in water. In the light of the fact that the
Stockholm Agreement lays down more stringent safety standards for car ferries than Directive 98/18 (1),
will the Commission harmonise vessel safety regulations at the higher level?

(1) OJ L 144, 15.5.1998, p. 1.

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(16 November 2000)

The Stockholm agreement (SA), mentioned by the Honourable Member, was established in the context of
Resolution 14 of the 1995 Safety of life at sea (SOLAS) Conference, allowing contracting governments to
conclude such an agreement if they consider that prevailing sea and weather conditions require specific
stability requirements for roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) passenger ships in a designated area. It is presently applied
by Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, United Kingdom and Norway.

Directive 98/18/CE of 17 March 1998 on safety rules and standards for passenger ships, introduced, in
line with the revised SOLAS Convention, specific safety rules and standards for passenger ships regarding
stability and also fire protection and life saving appliances. Taking into consideration the SA, Article 7 of
the Directive authorises a Member State or a group of Member States to apply higher safety standards
taking into account the specific local circumstances, following notification to the Commission.

C 163 E/66

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

6.6.2001

Furthermore Council Directive 1999/35/CE of 29 April 1999 on a system of mandatory surveys for the
safe operation of regular ro-ro ferry and high-speed passenger craft services (1), made mandatory the
application of the SA for all services to and from ports in the area covered by the agreement.

At the time of the conclusion of the Stockholm agreement, the Commission issued a statement noting its
regional application and expressing the opinion that the same level of safety should be ensured for all ro-
ro passenger vessels operating in similar conditions. It also announced its intention to examine the
prevailing local conditions, environmental and operational under which ro-ro passenger ferries sail in all
European waters. The statement concluded that in the light of the examination the Commission would
take a decision with regard to the need for further initiatives.

In December 1999, the Commission contracted a study to examine the implementation of the SA and to
produce a survey of the prevailing sea and weather conditions in the European waters not covered by the
agreement. The study is due for completion before the end of this year and its results will be taken into
consideration by the Commission in its further initiatives relating to the safety of ro-ro passenger vessels.

The above is also in line with the statement made by the Commission on 5 October 2000, during the
debate on the Parliament resolutions B5-0783, 0787 and 0791/2000, regarding its intention to re-examine
in the course of 2001 the safety rules covered by Directive 98/18/CE.

(1) OJ L 138, 1.6.1999.

(2001/C 163 E/066)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3246/00

by Neil MacCormick (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(20 October 2000)

Subject: Quarry aggregates levy

Quarry operators in my constituency (Scotland) have complained to me that the recently introduced levy
on quarry aggregates will impact unfairly on operations in Scotland and other relatively remote parts of
the UK, while relatively favouring operations in the south-east of England. That being so, the question
arises whether a levy on quarry products is in effect a tax rather than a charge. Will the Commission
confirm that any tax of this kind would have the character of a value added tax? If so, will this tax then be
illegal under Article 33 of the sixth EC Directive on Value Added Tax?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(5 December 2000)

The Court of Justice has on several occasions been required to rule on the compatibility of certain levies
applied by Member States with Article 33 of the Sixth VAT Directive (Council Directive 77/388/EEC) on
the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes (cid:129) Common system of value
added tax: uniform basis of assessment (1). Case law has been established on the matter, and from this it is
possible to distinguish the criteria recognised by the Court for determining whether a tax or levy
constitutes a turnover tax and is as such incompatible with the above-mentioned Article of the Directive.
In a recent judgment, the Court described the following as characterising a turnover tax such as VAT:
the general application of the levy to transactions; the setting of
its amount in proportion to the
transaction price; collection at each stage of the production/distribution process; and the deduction of the
taxes paid at earlier stages of the process.

In so far as the levy to which the Honourable Member is referring does not meet the above criteria,
it cannot be considered as incompatible with Article 33 of the Sixth VAT Directive.

(1) OJ L 145, 13.6.1977.