WRITTEN QUESTION E-0412/01 by Hans Modrow (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. EU action against BSE in cattle.
Date: 2001-02-15
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU financing, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, scientific research

4.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 340 E/23

the rate of 70 % of the recruitment fee. Since this means in particular that ancillary wage costs and a profits
component are now included in the basis of assessment, the end result is to at least double the local
authority tax burden.

An employee leased by a staff leasing agency established elsewhere on Community territory to an Austrian
firm for work in Austria will be significantly less well-off in terms of liability for local authority tax than
an employee recruited directly by the same firm in Austria.

Even if the abovementioned Austrian-based firm were, for example, to commission an Austrian-based
electronics undertaking to carry out a repair, a much lower amount would be payable in local authority
tax than if the repair were carried out by an electrician who had been recruited through a staff leasing
agency established elsewhere in the Community.

Is the discrimination operating here to obstruct competition from staff
elsewhere in the Community permissible under European law?

leasing agencies established

Answer by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(15 May 2001)

Municipal tax is provided for by Austrian federal law. As there are no specific Community provisions, the
tax is within Austria(cid:146)s political discretion. The Member States must nevertheless observe the general
principles of Community legislation, including the prohibition of discrimination. However, in the situation
foreign staff leasing agencies are not discriminated against
referred to by the Honourable Member,
compared with employees in Austria, as the situations are not comparable: only the situations of staff
leasing firms are comparable. Austrian law does not provide for different
treatment of such firms
according to whether they are based abroad or in Austria. The Commission therefore assumes that it is not
mainly foreign firms that might incur a higher tax burden.

(2001/C 340 E/030)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0412/01

by Hans Modrow (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(15 February 2001)

Subject: EU action against BSE in cattle

BSE has been known to occur in cattle since the mid-1980s. When cases began to multiply in the UK in
particular, the EU reacted with an export ban on British beef, which was half-heartedly imposed before
being eventually lifted. Despite wide-ranging public concern about BSE and despite the high sensitivity to
this issue on the part of producers and consumers alike, scientific research has been absolutely neglected.

The Commission consequently is asked:

1. Why has research into the causes of BSE been so criminally neglected?

2. What action has been agreed to catch up with the research backlog in as short a time as possible?

3. What research status is assigned to investigating the effects of brain toxins on cattle, and in what

manner will the results be made public?

4. What research is being conducted into how BSE is transmitted to humans, the better to enable it to be

combated successfully?

5.

In what ways are products other than animal meal that are exposed to the risk of toxic contamination
being used?

C 340 E/24

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

4.12.2001

Answer given by Mr Busquin on behalf of the Commission

(17 May 2001)

1.
Research on human and animal transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) has been supported
within the Community research programmes since 1990 with a total Community contribution of € 53 880
million (€ 2 120 million during the Second and Third framework programme, € 50 700 million within the
European Action Plan on TSE adopted by the Council and the Parliament in November 1996 (1) and
implemented by three specific calls for proposals, and € 1 060 million within the Fifth framework
programme (2)). In addition, nine new proposals are currently under negotiation with a total contribution
of € 10,6 million. Therefore, a total contribution of € 64,48 million has been allocated to TSE research in
the research programmes.

The Joint Research Centre of the Commission (JRC) has engaged in an extensive programme for the
evaluation of post-mortem tests on bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) infection and the establish-
ment of appropriate measures for quality assurance in the ongoing monitoring programme. It is also
engaged in programmes for the evaluation of methods for the detection of meat and bone meal in animal
feed and for the assessment of heat treatment of animal meat and bone meal.

In line with the conclusions of the Research Council of 16 November 2000, an expert group with
2.
representatives from Member States, experts from the Ad hoc Group of TSE of the Scientific Steering
Committee and from the Joint Research Centre has been set up in order to:

(cid:129) examine the state of TSE research across Member States,

(cid:129) encourage exchange of information between research teams; and

(cid:129) identify on-going research topics which need strengthening as well as new research areas.

Research into the pathogenesis and in particular

3.
involved in
neuroinvasion, neurodegeneration and neuronal death is an important area of research both at national
and in the framework of Community projects.

the mechanisms and factors

Research results are made public through publications in scientific journals.

4.
Considerable effort has been undertaken into research on transmission both at national and
Community level
in view of performing risk assessment and of combating the disease. The research
the
includes different aspects of
determination of the oral infective dose, the verification if TSEs can be transmitted to other food animals,
the investigation of
transmission and the investigation of other mechanisms of
transmission.

transmission, notably the determination of

lateral and vertical

infectivity of

tissues,

5.
Council Directive 1999/29/EC of 22 April 1999 on the undesirable substances and products in
animal nutrition (3) establishes maximum levels for undesirable substances and products for feedingstuffs
and feed materials. Only feedingstuffs and feed materials complying with the provisions of the above
mentioned Directive can be used for animal nutrition. Consequently, the risk of toxic contamination is
minimised. Moreover, the Commission submitted on 17 December 1999, for adoption by the Parliament
and Council, a proposal for a Directive of the Parliament and of the Council on undesirable substances and
products in animal nutrition (4) significantly strengthening the provisions of above mentioned Directive.

(1) COM(96) 582 final.
(2) OJ C 137, 7.6.1997.
(3) OJ L 115, 4.5.1999.
(4) OJ C 89 E, 28.3.2000 as amended by COM(2000) 861 final.