WRITTEN QUESTION P-4158/00 by W. G. van Velzen (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Discrimination in the conclusion of mobile telephone subscriptions.
Date: 2001-01-09
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Belgium, contract, free movement of workers, identity document, radio telecommunications

C 174 E/242

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

19.6.2001

in the past charged rates of interest higher than market values had committed an unlawful act (an offence
deemed to have been committed on the date of payment of the interest), thus paving the way for the
principle propounded to become retroactive. This situation led consumers(cid:146) associations to call for the
repayment of the interest paid at higher rates on loans contracted even before the Law against Exorbitant
Interest Rates adopted in April 1996 came into force. On the other hand, the Associazione Banche Italiane
(Association of Italian Banks), which represents all the Italian credit institutions, confirmed the validity of
the conditions agreed upon initially by the contracting parties, stating in addition that the implications of
the Court of Cassation(cid:146)s judgment were untenable for many credit institutions and would necessitate a
corresponding reduction in savers(cid:146) interest on long-term funds and deposits and lead the banks to raise the
rates on new loans. The ABI therefore exerted great pressure to have Law No 108/96 amended, together
with an amnesty for unlawful acts committed by member institutions against consumers of banking
services.

Can the Commission therefore:

(cid:129) Verify whether the above statements are true?

(cid:129) Ascertain whether the past and present uniform conduct of the credit institutions can be deemed to
constitute the essential elements of an agreement between undertakings capable of distorting
competition within the Union market?

(cid:129) Examine the possibility of adopting, as part of current Community law, measures to protect the
interests of individuals and undertakings which have wrongfully paid sums of money to credit
institutions on the basis of interest rates declared unlawful because they are above the exorbitant
interest rate threshold laid down by the law?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(7 February 2001)

Two complaints have been lodged with the Commission by, on the one hand, the ABI (Italian Banking
Association) and the AIBE (Italian External Banking Association) and, on the other, the European Banking
Federation regarding Italian Law No 108/96 on usury. They were registered under No 2000/5209. By
letter of 22 December 2000, the Commission called on the Italian Government to comment on this entire
matter.

The Commission is aware of the various difficulties which the provisions in question, their interpretation
or their modification can cause for Community law and it intends to gather the information necessary to
conduct a thorough investigation.

On the basis of its findings it will certainly adopt any measures which might prove necessary.

It will also take steps to ensure compliance with the rules on competition laid down in Articles 81 and 81
(former Articles 85 and 86) of the EC Treaty, particularly in the light of the information recently made
available to it by a consumer association.

(2001/C 174 E/260)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-4158/00

by W. G. van Velzen (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(9 January 2001)

Subject: Discrimination in the conclusion of mobile telephone subscriptions

People, such as Members of the European Parliament, who work a few days a week in EU Member States
other than the country in which they live, are unable to take out a subscription for a mobile telephone in
some EU Member States, Belgium for instance, because they do not have a Belgian identity card or lease.

19.6.2001

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 174 E/243

Does the Commission not agree that this is an infringement of the free movement of persons, goods

1.
and services enshrined in the EU Treaty?

2.
Does the Commission not consider that any proof of identity with an indication of an address and
bank or giro account in an EU Member State should be sufficient to allow a mobile telephone operator to
conclude a contract?

3. What measures will the Commission take to stop this abuse and thus promote full freedom of
movement in the EU in this sphere?

4.
There is also one mobile operator in Belgium that first demands a guarantee and then does not allow
customers to make calls with the EU and not just in Belgium until after three monthly bills have been paid:

(a) does the Commission consider that a mobile operator can be justified in imposing restrictions on
customers with standard subscriptions with regard to mobile calls within the EU? If not, on what
Treaty provisions or directives does the Commission base its opinion?

(b) what measures can the Commission take to remove restrictions of this kind?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(21 February 2001)

The Commission takes note of the problem that persons from Member States who work a few days a week
in other Member States are unable to take out a subscription for a mobile telephone in some of these
Member States, for example Belgium, simply because they do not have a Belgian identify card or a lease.

The Commission will examine these questions with a view to establishing whether this is a commercial
practice of the mobile telephone operators concerned, or whether this results from national legislation in
the Member States concerned, as well
to the reasons motivating this practice. This will allow the
Commission to make a legal assessment of the issues raised by the Honourable Member and the scope of
action to be undertaken by the Commission.

As soon as the Commission has carried out this analysis, it will provide a more detailed answer.

(2001/C 174 E/261)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0002/01

by Rolf Linkohr (PSE) to the Commission

(17 January 2001)

Subject: Recycling of medical devices

Each year in the European Union, about 8 bn euro worth of medical devices, which do not need to
1.
be disposable, are thrown away after being used just once. Current knowledge indicates that, from the
point of view of both sterilisation and technical reliability, such devices could be re-used.

Is the Commission aware that, in the European Union as a whole, re-using medical devices could save
several billions of euro?

Does it intend to take action to promote the re-use of such devices? After all, this is a matter which

2.
concerns not only health policy but also the functioning of the internal market?