WRITTEN QUESTION P-0450/01 by Stefano Zappalà (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Port operations and the provision of temporary port services.
Date: 2001-02-13
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU law - national law, Italy, monopoly, national implementing measure, port administration, provision of services, restriction on competition, temporary employment

C 235 E/208

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

21.8.2001

Furthermore, the Commission does not normally open or pursue infringement proceedings in respect of
cases where, following the Commission(cid:146)s initial intervention, the Member State concerned subsequently
complies with its obligations.

The Commission continues to keep the compliance by the United Kingdom with its obligations under
Community law in relation to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) under the closest scrutiny and
would not hesitate to open infringement proceedings if some new or continuing deficiency in relation to
such compliance were to be discovered.

(2001/C 235 E/244)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0450/01

by Stefano Zappal(cid:224) (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(13 February 2001)

Subject: Port operations and the provision of temporary port services

Law No 186 of 30 June 2000 governing port operations and the provision of services consisting of
temporary port work, was first brought before the Italian Senate in the form of a text that had already
been agreed with the Italian Minister of Transport and Navigation, Claudio Burlando, and the Commis-
sioner responsible for competition policy, Karel Van Miert. The proposed Law No 3409 amended, among
other things, Article 16 of Law 84/94 and introduced a new definition of (cid:145)port services(cid:146) under which they
must be (cid:145)connected with the carrying out of port operations whether or not they are an intrinsic part of
the cycle of port operations themselves(cid:146).

This formulation covered any activity, whether or not it was included in the cycle of port operations,
which can be carried out on a contract basis by any port enterprise authorised in accordance with Arti-
cle 16.

The rules therefore allowed activities, whether or not they are part of the cycle of port operations, to be
outsourced, as explicitly referred to in paragraph 16 of the Decision of the European Commission of
21 October 1997.

The text adopted by the Italian Senate on 15 July 1999 was forwarded to the European Commission on
28 July 1999.

Commissioner Karel Van Miert, in a letter of 24 August 1999 to the Italian Minister of Transport and
Navigation, expressed serious doubts about the compatibility with Community rules of the Senate(cid:146)s
amendments to the original text of the proposed Law No 3409.

the European Commission stressed the fact

In particular,
(cid:145)port services(cid:146)
considerably narrowed the original definition thereby preventing authorised port enterprises from provid-
ing, on a contract basis, services consisting of the performance of one or more operations relating to the
operating cycle of the terminal enterprise.

the new definition of

that

Despite these reservations, the text of Law No 3409 was adopted definitively without amendments by the
Italian Chamber of Deputies on 30 May 2000.

In view of the above, and of the foregoing legal considerations, can the Commission say whether it
considers it appropriate for it to deliver a negative opinion on the substance of the draft regulation in
in
question, which the Italian Government has recently submitted to the Commission for evaluation,
relation to the section which states that port services consist of (cid:145)activities separate from those that form
part of the cycle of port operations(cid:146). These rules would prevent a port enterprise from contracting out one
or more port operations that are part of its operating cycle, thereby restricting such contracts to the
monopoly operator (the former Port Company) authorised to provide services consisting of temporary port
work in accordance with Article 17 of Law No 84/94.

21.8.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 235 E/209

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of Commission

(15 March 2001)

On 21 October 1997 the Commission adopted a decision finding that various clauses in Italian port
legislation concerning labour were incompatible with the competition rules of the EC Treaty (1). One of the
clauses concerned the granting of exclusive rights for providing temporary labour in ports to firms which
were also authorised to carry out port operations. On 12 February 1998 the Court of Justice confirmed the
principle of this incompatibility, declaring that the articles [82] and [86] of the Treaty ((cid:133)) preclude
a national provision which reserves to a dock-work company the right to supply temporary labour to
other undertakings operating in the port in which it is established, when that company is itself authorised
to carry out dock work (2).

In order to put an end to the infringement established by the decision of 21 October 1997, the Italian
Government brought in a bill
in particular as regards
temporary work. The Commission stated that when this bill was adopted the infringement would be
terminated.

in July 1998 which amends port legislation,

The Italian Parliament amended the bill and on 30 June 2000 passed Law No 186. The new version differs
from the initial bill, notably with respect to organisation and free access to various activities (including
port operations and services).

This being a matter of bringing national law into line with Community law, it should be remembered that
it is for the Member State to identify the appropriate measure or measures and to implement them. The
Commission(cid:146)s role is to check whether the measure adopted puts an end to the infringement. In this case,
the information available to the Commission suggests that Law No 186 together with the adoption of the
implementing regulation will effectively put an end to the infringement established in the decision of
21 October 1997 because it is explicitly provided that the role of exclusive supplier of temporary labour
cannot be combined with that of port operations and services provider.

(1) Decision 97/744/CE of 21.10.1997 (OJ L 301, 5.11.1997).
(2) Case C-163/96 Silvano Raso and others [1998] ECR I-0533.

(2001/C 235 E/245)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0461/01

by Rosemarie M(cid:252)ller (PSE) to the Commission

(13 February 2001)

Subject: Ban on the biocide tributyltin (TBT)

There is a consensus amongst scientists that tributyltin (TBT) acts as a strong environmental hormone
which disrupts human and animal hormone systems. However, the chemical is still used as a biocide in
paints used to combat algae growth on ships(cid:146) hulls and as a preserving agent for heavy textiles. A world-
wide ban on the use of TBT, to enter into force as early as 1 January 2003, is being sought by the
International Maritime Organisation (IMO). At least one Member State of the EU has announced a national
ban on the use of TBT for 2001 and has notified the Commission accordingly.

Does the Commission support the objective of a world-wide ban on the use of TBT entering into force on
1 January 2003? Because of the length of the legislative procedure and of a transitional period within the
EU, should not a legislative proposal for a ban on the use of TBT be submitted forthwith?