WRITTEN QUESTION E-0427/01 by Massimo Carraro (PSE), Fiorella Ghilardotti (PSE) and Armando Cossutta (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Transfer of Nuclear Safety personnel from the JRC in Ispra to Petten.
Date: 2001-02-16
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Joint Research Centre, administration of the Institutions, personnel administration, reassignment

13.11.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 318 E/49

The short-listed candidates were then interviewed by the President, the Member of the Commission
responsible for Economic and Financial Affairs, and the Member of the Commission responsible for
Personnel and Administration, who together made a recommendation for appointment to the Commission.
In accordance with the rules set down in the Staff Regulations, the Appointing Authority had first to
consider the internal candidates before taking into consideration the external ones (1).

(1) According to Article 29.1 of the Staff Regulations the appointing authority is first obliged to consider whether
a vacant post (cid:145)can be filled by promotion or transfer within the institutions(cid:146). It shall (cid:145)then follow the procedure for
competitions(cid:146). Article 29.2 foresees that (cid:145)a procedure other than the competition procedure may be adopted by the
appointing authority for the recruitment of grade A 1 or A 2 officials, and,
in exceptional cases, also for
recruitment to posts which require special qualifications(cid:146).

(2001/C 318 E/051)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0427/01

by Massimo Carraro (PSE), Fiorella Ghilardotti (PSE)
and Armando Cossutta (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(16 February 2001)

Subject: Transfer of Nuclear Safety personnel from the JRC in Ispra to Petten

On 7 December 2000, in response to a Written Question submitted by the European Parliament (P-3619/
00 (1)) the Commission declared its intention not to undermine the operation and role of the JRC in
Ispra and undertook to avoid any reduction in staffing levels.

Is Commissioner Busquin aware that in January 2001 a decision was suddenly taken to transfer Nuclear
Safety activities and staff working in this area from Ispra to Petten?

Can the Commission say why this decision was taken?

Why did the Commission not consider it necessary to consult Parliament prior to the decision being taken?

What will the effects of this decision be in terms of the availability of the staff in Ispra?

(1) OJ C 151 E, 22.5.2001, p. 196.

Answer given by Mr Busquin on behalf of the Commission

(17 April 2001)

In its answer to Question P-3619/00 of 7 December 2000, the Commission did not declare any intention
to avoid transferring staff.

Instead, in the process of reviewing its priorities, a project launched at the start of 2000, at its meeting of
26 July 2000 the Commission adopted the recommendations of the Steering Group set up to examine the
matter.

In this context, the Commission has requested that Commissioner Busquin should instruct the Joint
Research Centre (JRC) to carry out a feasibility study into closing the Petten site or eliminating 200 jobs by
scaling down JRC activities across the board.

The feasibility study into the closure of the Petten site has been completed and its conclusions have been
submitted to the Commission in the form of a communication which was adopted on 22 January 2001 (1).

The conclusions of the feasibility study include recommendations to transfer the activities relating to
research into reducing vehicle emissions from Petten to Ispra, and to transfer the Nuclear Safety unit from
Ispra to Petten. This arises from a commitment to achieve consistency between the portfolios of activities
of the various JRC sites.

C 318 E/50

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.11.2001

Since this departmental redeployment measure was an internal matter, the Commission did not consult the
other institutions on transferring personnel.

On the basis of the conclusions of the Steering Group the Commission will propose amending research
staff tables as of 2002 to the budgetary authority.

A detailed audit of the other JRC activities has been carried out. The proposed concentration of activities is
intended to ensure the long-term future of the JRC, within the scope of its mission to provide scientific
and technical support for EU policies.

(1) C(2001) 125, 22.1.2001.

(2001/C 318 E/052)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0438/01

by Andrew Duff (ELDR) to the Commission

(16 February 2001)

Subject: Single market

A European Union citizen tried to buy a Eurostar ticket for a London to Brussels round-trip and discovered
that the ticket would cost him less if he were to buy the ticket in Brussels. Eurostar justifies the price
disparity by reference to the variable market conditions in each country. However, when he contacted the
Eurostar ticketing facilities in Belgium, hoping to buy the ticket with the use of his credit card over the
telephone, he was surprised to find that Eurostar would not mail him the ticket to a destination outside
Belgium, even though he was fully prepared to pay for the mailing and packaging fee. Not having any
contact in Belgium, the citizen was forced to buy the ticket in England and therefore incur a higher cost
for the same service.

Is the Commission aware of this situation? Is this not a violation of the Single market? Is Eurostar(cid:146)s
behaviour legal?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(11 May 2001)

The Commission can assure the Honourable Member that it is always concerned by business practices that
are aimed at dividing the Single Market along national boundaries or that discriminate against consumers
in certain Member States.

The question refers to a private business practice that should be assessed under the Community
competition rules. Under these rules it is not illegal for a provider of transport services to apply different
prices on different markets, such as travel in different directions on the same route. Nor is it necessarily
a breach of Community law for a company to sell an identical product at different prices in different
Member States.

A refusal to sell or transmit a ticket to a customer in another Member State may be illegal in certain
circumstances, however.
In particular, Eurostar may be in breach of the competition rules if it has
concluded a restrictive agreement with independent distributors of its services or if there is a concerted
practice to prevent them selling tickets outside their home Member States. It could also be a breach of the
competition laws if Eurostar(cid:146)s behaviour results from a horizontal agreement with its competitors or if it
could be shown to have abused a dominant position on the market.

While the Commission does not have evidence of such behaviour in this case it would be interested in
receiving further information.