WRITTEN QUESTION E-0788/01 by Christoph Konrad (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Excessive bureaucracy and financial costs when re-registering a motor vehicle in Spain.
Date: 2001-03-13
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Spain, application of EU law, free movement of goods, motor car, national law, technical barriers to trade, used goods, vehicle registration

C 261 E/196

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.9.2001

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(2 May 2001)

The import of fishery products from third countries is regulated since 1991 by Council Directive 91/493/
EEC of 22 July 1991 laying down the health conditions for the production and the placing on the market
of fishery products (1).

1.
This Directive establishes the sanitary conditions and the control checks to be carried out on fishery
products to be marketed in the Community. This concerns both Community production and imports from
third countries. The Directive provides that the health provisions applied to imports of fishery products
from third countries shall be at least equivalent to those governing the Community production.

To lay down the specific import conditions of fishery products from a third country the Commission

2.
is required to verify the above equivalency, taking particular account of the following:

(cid:129) the legislation of the third country;

(cid:129) the organisation of the competent authority of the third country and of its inspection services;

(cid:129) the actual health conditions during the production, storage and dispatch of fishery products intended

for the Community;

(cid:129) the guarantees given by the third country regarding the compliance with the standards laid down in

the Annex to Directive 91/493/EEC.

if all the conditions are
After an evaluation mission by Community inspectors in the third country,
fulfilled, the competent authority of the third country is recognised by a Commission Decision. The
competent authority is thus empowered to inspect fishery products on the basis of Community standards,
and to sign health certificates for the export of such products to the Community.

(1) OJ L 268, 24.9.1991.

(2001/C 261 E/223)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0788/01

by Christoph Konrad (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(13 March 2001)

Subject: Excessive bureaucracy and financial costs when re-registering a motor vehicle in Spain

1.
Does the Commission intend to reduce the cumbersome excess of bureaucratic red-tape that vehicle
owners encounter when trying to re-register a car in Spain? (Required visits to the town hall, the tax office,
the Spanish MOT, the competent transport department, a special engineerings office for a technical
examination of the car and a licensed workshop)

2. What is the Commission(cid:146)s opinion of the resulting high charges of about 100 000 Pesetas (DM 1200)
in total that vehicle owners must pay the bodies listed above?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(8 May 2001)

In view of the many complaints received in recent years, the Commission has the opportunity to examine
the administrative obstacles encountered by European citizens in Spain when registering a vehicle
previously registered in another Member State.

18.9.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 261 E/197

In this context, it should be pointed out, firstly, that following a number of infringement proceedings
initiated by the Commission, the Spanish authorities amended their legislation on the registration of
vehicles in 1999 to bring it into line with the case law of the Court, based on the relevant Commission
interpretative communication (1). Thus, the Spanish authorities adopted the Real Decreto 1204/1999 of
7 July,
for Transport and the General Vehicles
Regulation (Real Decreto 2822/1998), which have substantially simplified the procedure for registering
vehicles imported to Spain.

the Instruction 98/V-20 of

the Directorate-General

Following this simplification and according to the information provided by the Spanish authorities to the
Commission, it appears that any registration procedure can be completed in a matter of days and without
any excessive charges, provided that the vehicle owner fulfils certain requirements (successful technical
inspection, payment of taxes, etc.).

The procedure takes longer and is more expensive in cases where the vehicle presented for registration has
not previously been formally approved in a state of the European Economic Area. Indeed, in such a case
the national authorities may require that the vehicle be subject to individual type-approval, which must
not consist of destructive tests. In these specific cases, the Commission recognises the need for individual
type-approval on condition that there are no excessive charges and that documents issued in other states
of the European Economic Area are taken into account.

The specific example of high charges, mentioned by the Honourable Member, seems to refer either to the
procedure before simplification or to cases in which individual
If new
complaints were to reveal
that high charges were still being levied following the above-mentioned
administrative simplification, other than in cases of individual type-approval, the Commission will not
fail to investigate such cases as necessary to ensure compliance with Community law.

type-approval

is necessary.

(1) OJ C 143, 15.5.1996.

(2001/C 261 E/224)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0795/01

by Baroness Sarah Ludford (ELDR) to the Commission

Subject: Greek and Turkish missing persons

(7 March 2001)

What is the Commission doing (cid:129) whether as part of the Cyprus accession negotiations process or
otherwise (cid:129) to seek further progress in the resolution of the issue of both Greek and Turkish Cypriot
missing persons?

Some 2000 persons in total (both sides combined) have been missing since 1974. The humanitarian
interest in resolving the question of their fate is clear and non-resolution is a factor of continuing poison
in relationships on the island.

How can the Commission offer to facilitate and advance a solution on missing persons in the interests of
reconciliation?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(2 May 2001)

The Commission would refer the Honourable Member to its answer to Written Question E-0506/01 by
Mr Davies (1) on the question of missing persons in Cyprus.

In particular it would like to underline that the agreement on an Accession Partnership with Turkey now
provides the framework for the discussion of a wide range of matters of interest to both the Union and
Turkey, within the framework of the (cid:145)enhanced political dialogue(cid:146), provided for by that Agreement. The
Commission intends to make full use of this facility in the future.

(1) See page 131.