WRITTEN QUESTION P-0841/01 by Malcolm Harbour (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Directives and regulations.
Date: 2001-03-13
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: impact study, proposal (EU), type of business

C 40 E/14

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

14.2.2002

Answer given by Mrs Wallstr(cid:246)m on behalf of the Commission

(29 May 2001)

Under Article 2 of Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of
certain public and private projects on the environment (1), as amended by Council Directive 97/11/EC of
3 March 1997 (2), Member States are obliged to ensure that, before consent is given, projects likely to have
significant effects on the environment by virtue, inter alia, of their nature, size or location are made subject
to a requirement for development consent and an assessment with regard to their effects. Projects covered
by this provision are identified in the annexes of the Directive.

Article 4 of the Directive states that projects listed in Annex I are made subject to an assessment in
accordance with Articles 5 to 10. For projects listed in Annex II, the Member States shall determine
through: (a) a case-by-case examination, or (b) thresholds or criteria set by the Member State whether the
project shall be made subject to an assessment in accordance with Articles 5 to 10.

In particular, Article 6, paragraph 2, of the same directive provides: Member States shall ensure that any
request for development consent and any information gathered pursuant to Article 5 are made available to
the public within a reasonable time in order to give the public concerned the opportunity to express an
opinion before the development consent is granted.

On the basis of the information given by the Honourable Member, the work to which the question makes
reference, a project to convert a former industrial plant into a hazardous waste treatment plant and an
electric power station, could fall within the scope of Directive 85/337/EEC, as amended. It could be a
project of the classes listed in Annex I of the Directive (class 2 Thermal power stations and other
combustion installations with a heat output of 300 megawatts or more or class 10 Waste disposal
installations for the incineration or chemical treatment as defined in Annex IIA to Directive 75/442/EEC
under heading D9 of non-hazardous waste with a capacity exceeding 100 tonnes per day) or it could be a
project of the classes listed in Annex II of the Directive (class 11b Installations for the disposal of waste (cid:129)
projects not included in Annex I or class 3a Industrial installations for the production of electricity (cid:129)
projects not included in Annex I).

Not being aware of the situation described by the Honourable Member, the Commission will take the
appropriate steps in order to gather detailed information about it and to ensure the observance of
Community law.

(1) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985.
(2) OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.

(2002/C 40 E/013)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0841/01

by Malcolm Harbour (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(13 March 2001)

Subject: Directives and regulations

Would the Commission please indicate:

(cid:129) how many directives and regulations were originally proposed during 2000 and in January and
February 2001, by the directorates-general for which the following Commissioners were responsible:
Mr Bolkestein, Mr Byrne, Mrs Diamantopoulou, Mr Liikanen, Mr Solbes Mira and Mrs Wallstr(cid:246)m,

(cid:129) how many directives and regulations, for which a Business Impact Assessment was made before they

were enacted, over the same period?

(cid:129) What was the cumulative cost to business for those directives or regulations where an Impact

Assessment is available?

14.2.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 40 E/15

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(30 April 2001)

Between 1 January 2000 and 28 February 2001, the Commission adopted, on the responsibility of the
Members referred to by the Honourable Member, 99 proposals for directives and regulations which were
transmitted to the Council for adoption and, where necessary to Parliament.

Of these proposals, 49 were considered likely to have economic repercussions on business and were the
subject of an impact assessment.

The Commission has been evaluating the business impact of legislative proposals since 1986. It endeavours
to make Commission departments, Parliament and the Council more aware of firms(cid:146) concerns before
legislative proposals are adopted.

Every proposal of this type which could significantly affect businesses in terms of additional costs arising
from alignment or new administrative procedures is the subject of an impact evaluation setting out the
main problems involved and thereby enabling the Commission, the Council and Parliament to ascertain the
proposal(cid:146)s potential impact and to gauge its implications.

The system of business impact assessment has proved its worth in evaluating the impact of legislative
the
proposals on small and medium-sized undertakings (SMEs) but must also be seen as part of
Commission(cid:146)s steadfast commitment to the improvement of Community legislation. The need to have a
more comprehensive impact evaluation system has become evident, particularly in the light of the
conclusions of the Lisbon European Council in March 2000 which state that (cid:145)The European institutions (cid:133)
must continue to pay particular attention to the impact and compliance costs of proposed regulations and
should pursue their dialogue with business and citizens with this aim in mind (cid:133)(cid:146) The impact evaluation
system is therefore being revised as part of a pilot project.

This pilot project was launched and will be developed at the same time as the existing system for business
impact assessment (BIA), which has been used since 1986. The aim of the project is to contribute to the
debate on the quality of legislation while improving the existing arrangements by incorporating the most
recent impact analysis techniques. The pilot project for evaluating the impact of proposals on business
activities will draw on the know-how of Commission departments,
improve consultations with non-
government bodies and give decision-makers clearer guidance on the foreseeable implications which
proposed legislation will have for European firms and their competitiveness.

(2002/C 40 E/014)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0855/01

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(22 March 2001)

Subject: Income tax rates

Does the Commission have any evidence about the revenue-maximising top marginal income tax rate in
any or all of the Member States?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(15 June 2001)

The Commission has no data about tax revenue produced by the top marginal income tax rate in force in
each Member State, nor on the rates which would be likely to produce maximum revenue. Such data have
to do with the tax bases as well as different tax provisions which fall entirely under the Member States(cid:146)