WRITTEN QUESTION P-0117/01 by Marit Paulsen (ELDR) to the Commission. European legislation on animal protection.
Date: 2001-01-18
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: animal welfare, application of EU law, national implementing measure, protection of animals, transport of animals, veterinary inspection, veterinary legislation

3.7.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 187 E/189

(2001/C 187 E/202)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0117/01

by Marit Paulsen (ELDR) to the Commission

(18 January 2001)

Subject: European legislation on animal protection

Yet again the media reports maltreatment of animals in the Member States (this time in Belgium). Yet
again there is a public outcry against such inconceivable cruelty. And yet again comes the Commission(cid:146)s
answer that it will be stopped.

The Commission(cid:146)s own report of 6 December 2000 on the situation regarding animal protection (1),
demonstrates with terrifying clarity how animals in several countries are subjected to inhuman suffering
and how the competent authorities continually fail to carry out proper inspections. The report also
proposes a number of possible measures to improve the situation, though without setting out a timetable.

When does the Commission, therefore,
intend to take a coherent approach and propose a uniform,
comprehensive regulation on animal protection (cid:129) together with the necessary mechanisms to verify
compliance (cid:129) for the benefit of both animal and public health in Europe?

Or does the Commission consider that such legislation is not necessary?

(1) COM(2000) 809.

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(7 March 2001)

The Commission is fully aware of its key role in improving the conditions in which animals are reared,
transported and slaughtered.

The Commission report on the protection of animals during transport, mentioned by the Honourable
Member, aims at analyzing the level of implementation by Member States of the Community legislation in
this field and recommends future actions. In this report the Commission considers further legislative
proposals essential for the improvement of the current situation.

Several initiatives have already been undertaken or are ongoing in the field of animal transport, taking into
account the international dimension of the problem. For this reason co-operation in the field of animal
protection during transport with the candidate countries has been established. Furthermore, in April 2000,
a mandate from the Council to negotiate the participation of the Community in the revised European
Convention for the Protection of Animals during International Transport was requested by the Commis-
sion. The proposal has already been discussed during three expert meetings in the Council and the Swedish
Presidency defined the dossier as a priority.

A draft Commission Decision to amend veterinary certificates for intra-Community trade of livestock in
order to refer to the fitness of the animals to be transported has already been discussed at the Standing
Veterinary Committee in January 2001.

In addition, and in line with the recommendations of the report, the Commission is preparing different
legislative initiatives.

During the first half of 2001, a proposal concerning improved ventilation provisions for long distance
transportation by road, amending Council Regulation (EC) No 411/98 (1), will be presented to the Council.
This will ensure that animals will be protected from extreme fluctuations in temperature and humidity,
a cause of major suffering.

C 187 E/190

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

3.7.2001

An additional proposal to the Council amending Council Directive 91/628/EEC of 19 November 1991 on
the protection of animals during transport and amending Directives 90/425/EEC and 91/496/EEC (2) will
also be presented aimed at
introducing a harmonized system for the
authorization of transporters in the Community and determining a precise definition of animals unfit for
transport. Additional measures for the protection of horses will also be introduced. Following the outcome
of a new opinion of the Scientific Committee on Animal Welfare, expected for the end of 2001,
a redefinition of travelling times and loading densities may be proposed, taking into account any new
scientific evidence.

improving the (cid:145)route plan(cid:146),

Member States(cid:146) compliance with the Community Directives is a key element for success. To verify this, the
Commission will closely follow the situation and react, when and where appropriate,
if the level of
enforcement of Community legislation has not improved. It must be emphasised, however, that Member
States must accept their obligations to ensure that animals are treated in a humane manner. Such
acceptance would be the single most positive measure leading to improved standards.

(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 411/98 of 16 February 1998 on additional animal protection standards applicable to

road vehicles used for the carriage of livestock on journeys exceeding 8 hours (OJ L 52, 21.2.1998).

(2) OJ L 340, 11.12.1991.

(2001/C 187 E/203)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0118/01

by Mauro Nobilia (UEN) to the Commission

(18 January 2001)

Subject: Right to reimbursement of illegally paid interest on loan contracts in Italy

Law No 108 of 7 March 1996 set down a threshold above which interest rates are deemed to be usurious.
This law also determined the procedures for calculating this threshold, which are based on a calculation of
the actual overall average rate for each quarter with reference to the figures for the previous quarter.

Credit institutions do not seem to have complied with this requirement when fixing interest rates for loans
taken out after the date of entry into force of the abovementioned law.

On 17 November 2000 the Court of Appeal ruled that all loans with interest rates higher than those laid
down in the law were illegal and therefore subject to cancellation, regardless of the date of the contract.
This means that even loans concluded before the entry into force of the law are subject to this ruling.

Subsequently, the Italian Government introduced a decree establishing that the valid interest rate for loans
should be that set at the time of the contract, thereby excluding the possibility of repayment of sums
unduly paid prior to the entry into force of the law. The decree also stipulates that interest illegally paid
after April 1997, the date of entry into force of the law in question, should not be repaid by banking
institutes.

Finally, the decree stipulates that all fixed-rate loans still active on 2 January 2001 with rates higher than
those permitted under the law should be automatically renegotiated at a rate calculated on the basis of the
annual average rate for long-term treasury bonds over the last 25 years.

Will the Commission say:

1. Whether the information set out above is accurate?

2.

If so, is the approach adopted by the government not tantamount to protecting a (cid:145)cartel(cid:146)?

3. Does the decree issued by the Italian Government not represent a breach of Community rules on

consumer protection and access to consumer credit?