WRITTEN QUESTION E-0369/01 by Philip Bushill-Matthews (PPE-DE) to the Council. Reducing burdens on business.
Date: 2001-02-14
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU industrial policy, business administration, entrepreneurship, fiscal policy, simplification of formalities, small and medium-sized enterprises, tax system

C 261 E/96

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.9.2001

The regional aid schemes concerned are approved by the Commission as falling under the derogation
foreseen in Article 87(3) (ex Article 92) of the EC Treaty.

The inclusion of requirements in grant agreements that grants paid in respect of specific investments be
repayable if they are not maintained for a number of years is explicitly foreseen under paragraphs 4,10
and 4,14 of the relevant Commission(cid:146)s guidelines, namely the Guidelines on national regional aid (1). This
provision is aimed at preventing misuse of public money, namely by transferring equipment bought
through State aid to another region, which is not eligible to support. At the same time, the five-year clause
stems from the necessity to ensure the investment aided has an impact on regional development in that
specific region, which would be endangered, were the undertaking allowed to move somewhere else within
a short time.

(1) OJ C 74, 10.3.1998.

(2001/C 261 E/101)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0369/01

by Philip Bushill-Matthews (PPE-DE) to the Council

(14 February 2001)

Subject: Reducing burdens on business

Could the Presidency please outline clear examples, from each Member State, of specific progress achieved
on Recital 14 of the Lisbon Summit conclusions regarding a reduction in the costs of doing business and
removing unnecessary red tape?

Reply

(31 May 2001)

The Honourable Member(cid:146)s question refers to conclusions drawn by the Presidency at the close of the

1.
Lisbon European Council on 23 and 24 March 2000, and specifically to the following:

The competitiveness and dynamism of businesses are directly dependent on a regulatory climate
conducive to investment, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Further efforts are required to lower the
costs of doing business and remove unnecessary red tape, both of which are particularly burdensome
for SMEs. The European institutions, national governments and regional and local authorities must
continue to pay particular attention to the impact and compliance costs of proposed regulations, and
should pursue their dialogue with business and citizens with this aim in mind. Specific action is also
needed to encourage the key interfaces in innovation networks, i.e. interfaces between companies and
financial markets, R&D and training institutions, advisory services and technological markets.

2.

The conclusions list a whole series of measures for achieving this objective:

(cid:129) a benchmarking exercise, the first results of which were presented in December 2000;

(cid:129) a Commission communication on an entrepreneurial, innovative and open Europe;

(cid:129) a multiannual programme in favour of enterprise and entrepreneurship;

(cid:129) a European Charter for small companies;

(cid:129) a review of EIB and EIF financial instruments.

18.9.2001

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 261 E/97

All these measures have been implemented within the time limits specified by the Lisbon European
Council, and the European Parliament was duly involved in the process, especially in the adoption of the
multiannual programme for enterprise and entrepreneurship, and in particular for the small and medium-
sized enterprises (SMEs) (2001-2005).

3.
Regarding the outcome of these measures at Member State level, the Honourable Member(cid:146)s attention
is drawn to the fact that the Commission will evaluate the implementation of the multiannual programme
and will submit to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the
Committee of the Regions:

(cid:129) every two years, an evaluation report on progress made in taking account, in a coordinated manner,
of enterprise policy in Community policies and programmes as a whole, and of the implementation of
the European Charter for Small Enterprises, and

(cid:129) an external evaluation report by the end of December 2004.

(2001/C 261 E/102)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0374/01

by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission

(15 February 2001)

Subject: Natural products and scientific assessment

Following the submission of an application by a Belgian firm, it appears that the Scientific Committee on
Food has (cid:145)banned(cid:146) the use of stevioside, a natural sweetener made of extracts of stevia rebaudiana, which
has been used for decades in many countries. This decision dismays consumers, who have serious
misgivings about the assessment criteria used by those with the power of decision and fail to see why it
is permissible for an artificial sweetener such as aspartame, for example, to be used without restrictions,
despite numerous reports of serious side-effects. Consumers have the impression that double standards are
applied, when it comes to authorising foodstuffs, depending on whether they are produced by powerful
agro-pharmaceutical companies or by small or medium-sized firms.

1.

Does the Commission share consumers(cid:146) misgivings?

Does it agree that the current system for approving substances is influenced more by the power of

2.
the manufacturers than by the need for consumer protection?

Does it not fear that,

3.
lead to the
disappearance of many of the most effective supplements available at present, as has already happened in
the case of sweeteners?

if the same system is applied to food supplements,

it will

4.
Does it not believe that, so long as the directive on food supplements requires strict controls on
admissible substances and (cid:145)sources of nutrients(cid:146), it will always be the power of the large and powerful
pharmaceuticals proposing the use of a new substance that determine whether or not it will be accepted?

5.
That being so, does it not fear that the traditional food supplements industry, which consists of small
and medium-sized undertakings, will be squeezed out of existence by the overwhelming strength of the
multinationals operating in the same sector?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(26 April 2001)

On the basis of applications from two different companies, the Commission requested the Scientific
Committee on Food to examine the safety of stevioside as a sweetener and Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni
plants and leaves as novel food. The most recent opinions of the Scientific Committee date from June
1999.