WRITTEN QUESTION E-3270/00 by Graham Watson (ELDR) to the Council. Pilots above the age of sixty entering or flying over French airspace.
Date: 2000-10-23
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: France, air space, common transport policy, crew, means of public conveyance

C 163 E/68

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

6.6.2001

Subsequent events have rendered the Constitutional Court(cid:146)s decision irrelevant. They have allowed the FRY
to turn over a sad page in its history in the direction hoped for by the international community and to
which the European Union in particular had actively committed itself.

(2001/C 163 E/069)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3265/00

by Helle Thorning-Schmidt (PSE) to the Council

(16 October 2000)

Subject: Proposal for a directive on physical agents

A new report by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work highlights vibrations as one of the
most important problems in the work environment which require preventive measures by most countries.
In 1992, the Commission submitted a proposal for a directive on physical agents, including vibrations.
A European Parliament opinion on the subject has been awaiting consideration by the Council since 1994.
Will the Council set out its timetable for work on this proposal for a directive and say whether it will
complete the task during the French Presidency?

Reply

(26 February 2001)

The Council is very mindful of the fact that vibrations represent an important problem for health and

1.
safety at work and that it is necessary for Member States to undertake preventive work on this.

2.
The proposal for a Directive on the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure
of workers to the risks arising from physical agents, and in particular from vibration, has already been the
subject of intensive discussions in the various Council bodies. The Council would inform the Honourable
Member that, at its meeting on 27/28 November 2000, it reached unanimous political agreement on
a draft common position concerning the amended proposal for a Directive setting minimum health and
safety requirements for workers exposed to risks arising from mechanical vibrations. The purpose of this
Directive is to combat the effects of vibrations causing muscular and skeletal disorders which are now the
primary source of occupational illnesses.

(2001/C 163 E/070)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3270/00

by Graham Watson (ELDR) to the Council

(23 October 2000)

Subject: Pilots above the age of sixty entering or flying over French airspace

Currently, no pilot over the age of sixty may fly over or into France while in charge of a public transport
operation. This causes particular problems for British pilots, who are clearly at a geographical disadvan-
tage.

Can the Council clarify whether France has the right to deny permission to a pilot over the age of sixty,
who holds a valid JAA licence and meets JAA requirements, to fly to other JAA countries,
including
through French air space and to French destinations? Alternatively, does France have a right under the JAA
Agreement to impose more stringent rules than those laid down by the JAA in JAR-FCL?

6.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 163 E/69

Reply

(12 February 2001)

The Honourable Member is referred to the reply given by the Council on 22 November 1999 to
Written Question E-1636/99 on the same subject (1).

Since that time the legal situation has not changed either at Community or international level.

(1) OJ C 170 E, 20.6.2000, p. 59.

(2001/C 163 E/071)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3272/00

by Francesco Turchi (UEN) to the Commission

(20 October 2000)

Subject: UMTS licences

The ever-expanding market in telecommunications is of great economic importance and UMTS licences are
crucial to the further development of this sector, as they represent the future of mobile telephony.

Various European Union governments have awarded UMTS licences on the basis of public auctions
organised by themselves rather than on the basis of rigorous scrutiny of the necessary documentation.

This has tended to result in UMTS licences being awarded to operators with significant public sector
involvement, as was the case in Italy, where Wind is controlled by ENEL, which in turn is controlled by the
Italian Ministry of the Treasury.

Does the Commission agree that this constitutes a distortion of the market and of competition, and what
measures does the Commission intend to take in response to this state of affairs?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(14 December 2000)

According to Article 295 (ex-Article 222) of the EC Treaty, (cid:145)this Treaty shall in no way prejudice the rules
in Member States governing the system of property ownership(cid:146). However, Article 86 (ex-Article 90),
paragraph 1, of the EC Treaty provides that in the case of public undertakings, Member States shall neither
enact nor maintain in force any measure contrary to the EC Treaty rules and in particular, to the
competition rules contained in Articles 81 to 89 (ex-Articles 85 to 94).

to the granting of

Furthermore, with respect
third generation mobile licences, neither Decision
No 128/1999 (1) nor any of the Community directives related to mobile services (2) and licensing (3)
requires Member States to adopt a specific licensing procedure (i.e. a comparative selection (cid:129) (cid:145)beauty
contest(cid:146) or a competitive bidding (cid:129) (cid:145)auction(cid:146)). However, Member States, when awarding third generation
mobile licences, are required to comply with the EC Treaty and a certain number of general principles of
Community law. In particular, the number of third generation mobile licences may be limited only for
reasons of demonstrated lack of frequency spectrum and licences should be granted on the basis of
objective, non-discriminatory, detailed and proportionate criteria.
In addition, when establishing such
licensing procedures Member States should give due weight to the need to maximise benefits for users
and to facilitate the development of competition.