WRITTEN QUESTION E-3409/00 by Sebastiano Musumeci (UEN) to the Commission. Obligations on olive mill-owners under Regulation (EC) No 2366/98.
Date: 2000-11-07
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European standard, agricultural production, oil mill, olive oil

C 163 E/108

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

6.6.2001

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(15 December 2000)

687 national experts are currently working at the Commission and financed through the operational and
research provisions of the Commission budget. Their engagement relates to the various needs, and they are
working in all Commission services, except
Interpreting and Conference Service and the
the Joint
Translation Service.

There are no grades of classification. National experts are considered, in a general way, as equivalent to the
A officials category, without any difference of grades.

655 national experts originate from the public sector and 32 are from the private sector. Tasks given to
national experts are not attributed on the basis of nationality.

On 13 November 2000 the nationality of seconded national experts was as follows:

Belgium

Denmark

Germany

Greece

Spain

France

Ireland

Italy

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Austria

Portugal

Finland

Sweden

United Kingdom

Other

21

25

115

21

49

126

11

51

1

42

26

17

34

28

105

15

687

Total:

A table giving an overview of the distribution of these experts by Directorate general is sent directly to the
Honourable Member and to the Parliament(cid:146)s secretariat.

(2001/C 163 E/117)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3409/00

by Sebastiano Musumeci (UEN) to the Commission

(7 November 2000)

Subject: Obligations on olive mill-owners under Regulation (EC) No 2366/98

Regulation (EC) No 2366/98 (1) imposes several burdens on olive mill-owners, including purchasing an
electronic weighing system, installing separate electricity meters for each different type of activity and
issuing certificates for each individual pressing.

6.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 163 E/109

In some cases these burdens result in the mill reducing its activities, or even ceasing operating.

In view of the employment level in this sector, which is already precarious, does the Commission not
consider that provision should be made for granting financial compensation to olive-milling undertakings
for fulfilling the obligations laid down by the above regulation?

(1) OJ L 293, 31.10.1998, p. 50.

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(15 December 2000)

The Commission has already answered similar questions concerning the obligations of mills, under the
terms of Commission Regulation (EC) No 2366/98 of 30 October 1998 laying down detailed rules for the
application of the system of production aid for olive oil for the 1998/1999, 1999/2000 and 2000/2001
marketing years, and in particular on the rules laid down in Article 7 of the above Regulation (automatic
weighing systems and electricity meters).

Consequently, the Commission invites the Honourable Member to consult the replies to Written Questions
P-3026/00 by Mr Musotto (1) and E-3065/00 by Mr Berlato (2).

(1) OJ C 136 E, 8.5.2001, p. 161.
(2) OJ C 151 E, 22.5.2001, p. 52.

(2001/C 163 E/118)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3410/00

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(7 November 2000)

Subject: Rise in PCB pollution despite ban on production

Is the Commission aware of the discovery by scientists that the level of pollution of Lake Michigan in

1.
the US with PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) is far higher than previously reckoned with (1)?

Does the Commission know of similar pollution of European lakes, in particular in Scandinavia and

2.
the Alpine region?

Can the Commission account for the increase in pollution with PCBs in spite of a ban on further

3.
production? To what extent is it a matter of chemical reactions between different types of waste?

4. What measures are envisaged by the Commission if the current rules intended to prevent pollution
with PCBs are found to be inadequate?

(1) Source: New York Times, 22.5.2000.

Answer given by Mrs Wallstr(cid:246)m on behalf of the Commission

(12 December 2000)

The Commission is aware of this particular contamination problem in Lake Michigan as well as many
others (for example, the contamination of the Hudson River and the Housatonic River by General Electric(cid:146)s
manufacturing plants) in the United States, although it may not have followed the investigation in the
United States in detail as it is only partially comparable to the situation in the Community waters.