WRITTEN QUESTION E-0145/01 by Toine Manders (ELDR) and Jules Maaten (ELDR) to the Commission. Inflammable clothing.
Date: 2001-01-31
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Committee for Standardisation, clothing industry, consumer protection, inflammable product, labelling, product safety

C 187 E/194

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

3.7.2001

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(15 March 2001)

Eurostat calculates the first estimates of quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) for the euro zone and the
15 Member States three times per quarter in accordance with the following schedule:

(cid:129) an initial estimate covering at least 75 % of GDP is made within 70 days after the end of the reference

quarter;

(cid:129) a second estimate covering 90 % is made after 100 days;

(cid:129) a third estimate covering 95 % is made after 120 days.

(2001/C 187 E/209)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0139/01

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(31 January 2001)

Subject: Timeliness of economic statistics

Given that the statistics for GDP, employment and productivity for the euro area are taken into account
largely by the foreign exchange market when assessing the value of the euro against the dollar and the yen,
and given that
the
Commission please state the frequency and actual time-lag between the period concerned and publication
of national output, employment, productivity and earnings figures in the United States of America, Canada
and Japan?

therefore compete with the figures produced for other areas, will

they must

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(3 April 2001)

A table that gives the release dates for the United States of America, Japan and Canada for the key statistics
mentioned in the question is sending direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament(cid:146)s Secretariat.

The Commission, in full awareness of the attention devoted by foreign exchange markets to statistics such
as the gross domestic product (GDP), employment or productivity, is concerned about the fact that euro
area statistics are, in most cases, released later than in the United States, Japan and Canada. Therefore the
Commission and the European Central Bank have recently jointly proposed an action plan, which was
subsequently approved by the Ecofin Council. The implementation of this plan should lead to improve-
ments in the data collection and statistics compilation in the National Statistical Institutes of the Member
States as well as in the Statistical Office of the European Communities (Eurostat). These improvements will
make a faster release of these key statistics possible.

(2001/C 187 E/210)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0145/01

by Toine Manders (ELDR) and Jules Maaten (ELDR) to the Commission

Subject: Inflammable clothing

(31 January 2001)

A terrible fire at a cafe bar in Volendam in the Netherlands recently cost ten people their lives as well as
endangering the lives of dozens of others or leaving them permanently disfigured. One of the causes of the
fire was the presence of dangerous, inflammable products, including clothing. In response to the incident,
the Dutch clothing industry announced that it would be taking voluntary steps to indicate on the labels of
clothing the inflammability of the material used.

3.7.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 187 E/195

Could the Commission examine the feasibility, and desirability, of European legislation laying down
1.
a requirement throughout Europe for the inflammability of clothing to be indicated on the label, in order
that consumers are aware of the risks?

Following on from question 1, could the Commission look into whether it is feasible, and desirable,

2.
for all consumer products which may be inflammable to carry similar warning labels for consumers?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(7 March 2001)

Clothing is not subject to specific Community legislation as far as its inflammability is concerned. It falls
under the scope of Council Directive 92/59/EEC of 29 June 1992 on general product safety (1), which
imposes a general safety obligation. This Directive refers to European standards, conformity with which
confers presumption of conformity with the general safety obligation in the new version of the Directive
which is currently being revised.

In December 2000, the Commission issued a mandate to the European Committee for Standardisation,
with a view to creating European standards concerning the inflammability of night-dresses in response to
statistics demonstrating the particular risk associated with this item of clothing. The Commission now
intends to study the need for a new mandate covering the inflammability of other types of clothing. To do
this,
initiate consultation with Member States and other interested parties, such as consumer
associations and industry federations, to gather their opinions on this subject and to obtain data and
statistics on accidents that have occurred over the last few years.

it will

The Commission considers that warning labels could supplement the available technical solutions, if these
solutions do not completely eliminate the risk. The standards body could provide for warnings in the
absence of any other satisfactory solution.

(1) OJ L 228, 11.8.1992.

(2001/C 187 E/211)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0147/01

by Vincenzo Lavarra (PSE) to the Commission

(23 January 2001)

Subject: Asbestos risk linked with Fibronit plant in Bari

The EU attaches particular importance to policies aimed at improving the quality of urban life and
generally protecting the environment and public health and promoting health and safety at work.

The Commune of Bari, meanwhile, intends to give permission to build on the site currently occupied by
the former Fibronit plant, which is no longer in use, partly because of the very high levels of asbestos
present in the remaining structures and toxic substances present in the subsoil.

Obviously, clearing the former Fibronit industrial plant, which is situated right in the middle of town next
to the heavily populated districts of San Pasquale and Japigia, and the subsequent construction work would
lead to dangerous amounts of asbestos dust being released into the environment, which would be
deleterious to the health of residents and construction workers alike.