WRITTEN QUESTION P-0843/01 by Karin Riis-Jørgensen (ELDR) to the Commission. Breaches of Community rules.
Date: 2001-03-13
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Denmark, application of EU law, infringement of EU law, infringement procedure (EU), national implementing measure

11.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 350 E/49

As regards the two precise questions posed by the Honourable Member, the Commission can confirm that
the United Kingdom transmits yearly to the Commission a full public report on the results of their residue
control plans, as do all other Member States in various forms.

(1) OJ L 125, 23.5.1996.

(2001/C 350 E/050)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0843/01

by Karin Riis-Jłrgensen (ELDR) to the Commission

(13 March 2001)

Subject: Breaches of Community rules

With regard to possible breaches of Community rules, will the Commission provide details of instances in
which Denmark has drafted legislation and taken decisions which have ultimately had to be reworked at
the request of the Commission and, if a summary of that information is available, could the Commission
forward it to me?

Where there were differences between Danish legislation and Community rules, was it possible to resolve
those inconsistencies bilaterally or was it ever necessary to take matters to the court? Is there a summary
available of the methods used to resolve any inconsistencies there may have been?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(23 April 2001)

Breaches of the Community rules are so many and varied that there is no specific list or instrument
showing the cases where legislation or decisions adopted by a Member State have had to be reworked at
the request of the Commission in the course of infringement proceedings.

Some information may be gleaned, however, from the statistics on infringement proceedings which are to
be found in the annual reports on monitoring the application of Community law (1). Over the period
1979-1999, for example, about 1 300 infringement proceedings were initiated against Denmark. Over the
same period the Court of Justice gave judgment on 11 applications lodged in this context, ruling in favour
of the Commission in nine of the cases. About one hundred infringement procedures against Denmark are
currently in progress.

Almost 50 % of all infringements involved a failure to notify national measures transposing Community
in 10 % of cases the said measures did not comply with the
directives (non-notification), whilst
requirements laid down in the directives (non-compliance) and almost 40 % of cases related to improper
application of the Community rules, either in general or in particular respects. It is mainly in such cases of
improper application that the Commission may request Member States to amend national measures since
cases of (cid:145)non-notification(cid:146) and (cid:145)non-compliance(cid:146) are covered by the obligation to transpose Community
directives correctly. It should also be pointed out that some 40 % of cases are cleared up before a letter of
formal notice is sent out, the complaint having been found to be unjustified.

(1)

For the 1999 report, see OJ C 30, 30.1.2001.