WRITTEN QUESTION E-0376/01 by Luciano Caveri (ELDR) to the Commission. BSE.
Date: 2001-02-15
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU programme, animal production, biodiversity, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, cattle, environmental protection, mountain region, rural region

21.8.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 235 E/193

the governments concerned and the Commission are lending it their specific, active support. As far as the
Commission knows, the Brenner tunnel project is not earmarked for Autobrennero, especially since the
amount of profit would not cover all the investment needed.

According to the Commission(cid:146)s information, the Brenner railway currently has unused capacity at certain
times.

The Verona-Munich rail link via the Brenner tunnel is an integral part of the trans-European rail freight
network defined in Directive 91/440/EC amended. Any railway undertaking which is licensed in one of the
Union countries will thus be granted access to this line on equitable, non-discriminatory conditions as
from 2003, in order to provide international freight services. On that date, the whole of the line(cid:146)s capacity
will be reallocated among all the railway operators applying for access.

The new directive on the allocation of railway infrastructure capacity and the levying of charges for the use
of railway infrastructure (1), provides for infrastructure managers to cooperate on the allocation of
international capacity. As from that date, Italian, Austrian and German rail infrastructure managers will
therefore have to coordinate their applications for capacity on the Brenner axis, to ensure optimum use of
the line. The Commission takes the view that, on this line as on the whole of the European network,
improved capacity management and the opening up of access to all operators will enable rail transport to
play a more important role compared with road transport.

Regarding the environment, the Commission has recommende (2) the signature of the transport protocol of
the Alpine Convention. This protocol aims, inter alia, at ensuring sustainable mobility in the Alps and at
transferring transport from road to rail, and in Art. 11 the contracting parties agree to abstain from the
construction of major new road infrastructure for trans-Alpine traffic.

(1) OJ L 75, 15.3.2001.
(2) COM(2001) 18 final.

(2001/C 235 E/226)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0376/01

by Luciano Caveri (ELDR) to the Commission

(15 February 2001)

Subject: BSE

The recent uproar over (cid:145)mad cow disease(cid:146) has caused serious misgivings about the application of purely
commercial criteria to livestock farming, an attitude which has led to the current crisis in the production
sector while also placing the emphasis on certain high-yield breeds of cattle at the expense of other,
traditional breeds.

This attitude, in addition to having proved to be a danger to health, has jeopardised, and to some extent
destroyed, Europe(cid:146)s extraordinarily extensive legacy of biodiversity. This is particularly important
in
mountainous regions, where the presence of traditional
local breeds is linked to long-standing Alpine
farming practices which are beneficial in terms of conservation and result in very high-quality milk and
cheese products, often designated as being of protected origin.

In view of the foregoing, has the Commission taken any action in the past to protect these traditional
breeds of cattle? Does the Commission agree that it would be useful in future, in the context of new
legislation, to devise suitable policies to enable such breeds to be preserved and put to the best possible
use?

C 235 E/194

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

21.8.2001

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(28 March 2001)

farm animals,

From 1993 and throughout the programming period which ended in 1999 the Commission approved
programmes in most Member States to promote rearing breeds of
including cattle,
threatened with extinction. The programmes were designed to contribute towards achieving one of the
agri-environmental objectives referred to in Article 1(c) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2078/92 of 30 June
1992 on agricultural production methods compatible with the requirements of the protection of the
environment and the maintenance of the countryside (1), namely to promote ways of using agricultural
land which are compatible with protection and improvement of genetic diversity. The Community(cid:146)s effort
on this matter is continuing in the 2000-2006 period under Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of
17 May 1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee
Fund (EAGGF) and amending and repealing certain Regulations (2), which incorporates into a single
regulatory instrument all rural development support measures and also the objectives of Regulation (EEC)
No 2078/92.

Under Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999, and in particular the agri-environmental measures referred to in
Articles 22 to 24, support is granted to farmers who commit themselves for at least five years to
agricultural production methods designed to protect the environment and to maintain the countryside; that
support is also intended to promote genetic diversity. Article 13 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1750/
1999 of 23 July 1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/
1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund
(EAGGF) (3) provides for agri-environmental support for commitments to rear local farm animal breeds in
danger of extinction. Most of the rural development programmes which Member States have drawn up and
which the Commission has approved for the 2000-2006 programming period provide for agri-environ-
mental premiums for rearing local breeds, including cattle, threatened with extinction.

In view of the above, the Commission considers that it has already taken the steps needed to protect cattle
breeds which are under threat.

(1) OJ L 215, 30.7.1992.
(2) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999.
(3) OJ L 214, 13.8.1999.

(2001/C 235 E/227)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0379/01

by Markus Ferber (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(15 February 2001)

Subject: Vice-President Loyola de Palacio and the flax affair in Spain

Is the Commission aware that Vice-President Loyola de Palacio has instituted legal proceedings, as a private
individual, before a Spanish court in order to shed light on who is responsible under criminal law for the
flax affair in Spain?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(22 March 2001)

Yes, the President of the Commission is aware that Ms de Palacio has started proceedings before a Spanish
court in order to establish who is responsible under criminal law for the flax affair.