WRITTEN QUESTION E-0807/01 by Charles Tannock (PPE-DE) to the Council. The operation of the Rapid Reaction Force.
Date: 2001-03-28
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European defence policy, NATO, defence budget, international relations, rapid reaction force

C 340 E/98

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

4.12.2001

Nor should it be forgotten that the flat-rate reference income, which is the reference income in calculating
compensatory aid, was increased by 5 % for the 1998 marketing year and by 8 % from the 1999 marketing
year.

Production aid is a type of (cid:145)deficiency payment(cid:146). It covers the difference between the flat-rate reference
income and the average price obtained in marketing Community production for a given year.

The answers to points 2 and 3 also cover this point.

The duties to be recovered should cover the difference between the rate of duty applicable outside the
quota in force at the time of actual import and the preferential duty paid when the quotas were used with
the forged certificates.

For the 210 000 tonnes of fraudulent imports identified at this stage, approximately € 160 million of
customs duties has been lost. Recovery proceedings have been launched in the Member States concerned.

When it learned of rumours that forged import licences had been used, the Commission made inquiries in
the Member States. These replied that, in their view, no frauds had been perpetrated and imports had been
carried out in line with the rules.

However, owing to the persistence of these rumours, other more detailed investigations carried out by the
for Agriculture
European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)
uncovered the first evidence of these frauds.

in collaboration with the Directorate-General

As soon as it had more detailed information on the cases of fraud, and in particular of the nature of those
frauds, the Commission felt that it was essential to take a number of measures immediately to strengthen
the monitoring of import licence arrangements in the banana sector. A Regulation was adopted by the
Commission to this effect on 25 July 2000 (1). It covers mainly the checks to be carried out by the body
issuing the import licences on the authenticity of all licences/licence extracts used in the Community, the
distribution of the list of operators registered for the banana import arrangements with the customs offices
and the procedure to be followed by the customs services in the event of doubt as to the authenticity of
the licences/extracts presented for the release into free circulation of the bananas.

(1) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1632/2000 amending Regulation (EC) No 2362/98 laying down detailed rules for
the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 404/93 regarding imports of bananas into the Community
(OJ L 187, 26.7.2000).

(2001/C 340 E/113)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0807/01

by Charles Tannock (PPE-DE) to the Council

(28 March 2001)

Subject: The operation of the Rapid Reaction Force

Last weekend, at Camp David, Tony Blair and President Bush held a joint press conference having
previously discussed, amongst other things, the implications of the European Rapid Reaction Force.
President Bush said, with the Prime Minister standing next to him, that the latter had (cid:145)assured me that
there would be a joint command, that the planning (of the Rapid Reaction Force) would take place within
NATO, and that should all NATO not wish to go on a mission, that would then (my italics) serve as
a catalyst for the defence forces moving on their own.(cid:146)

On the previous Thursday, Tony Blair told the Canadian Parliament that (cid:145)the initiative on European
defence is not a standing army (cid:133) there will be no separate EU planning structures.(cid:146)

Does the Council believe that these interpretations of the workings of the Rapid Reaction Force are
consistent with the Presidency Report on the European Security and Defence Policy as agreed by the
Member States at Nice?

4.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 340 E/99

President Bush also said:
a vision would encourage our NATO allies and friends to bolster their defence budgets, perhaps.(cid:146)

(cid:145)I was very hopeful when we discussed the Prime Minister(cid:146)s vision that such

Does the Council believe that there is any evidence for this?

Reply

(16 July 2001)

The Honourable Member is kindly invited to refer to the reply to the Written Question No E-0796/01 on
the workings of the Rapid Reaction Force.

(2001/C 340 E/114)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0811/01

by Mar(cid:237)a Sornosa Mart(cid:237)nez (PSE) to the Commission

(19 March 2001)

Subject: Golf courses and water management in the European Union

In the autonomous community of Catalonia (Spain), a total of 41 of the 55 existing golf courses have been
reprimanded for infringing restrictions on the use of water (450 m3 of water per hectare per month is
deemed more than sufficient for maintaining the course) and for illegally using water from sites for which
they lacked the necessary authorisation. Furthermore, in the autonomous community of Valencia, it is
calculated that if the water use of the recently-built theme part Terra M(cid:237)tica continues at its present rate,
by next year it will double the deficit in water of a region that is seriously affected by drought. In addition,
the park plans to build several golf courses in the surrounding area, and more courses are planned in other
areas of the region, including Peæ(cid:237)scola, Benidorm and Finestrat. In areas with little water and low rainfall,
the water used by an average golf course is equivalent to the domestic consumption of a town of 15 000
inhabitants. In order to satisfy such a high demand in this area which is lacking in water resources (cid:129) for
golf courses and similar facilities (cid:129) the Spanish Government has just adopted a National Hydrological
Plan, which will divert 1050 hm3 of water to these areas. The cases of Valencia and Catalonia are just
examples of the situation in the Community as a whole, where golf is growing at a rate of 15 % per year.
Golf courses have a high environmental impact, since in order to maintain the greens and fairways large
quantities of fertilisers, weed-killers and other chemical substances are necessary which, when filtered into
the subsoil, pose a pollution risk to aquifers and a considerable threat to flora and fauna.

The new framework directive on water, Directive 2000/60/EC (1) lays down the following key objectives
for Community water policy:

(cid:129) promoting sustainable water use based on long-term protection of available water resources;

(cid:129) the progressive reduction of pollution of groundwater

(cid:129) the need to take into account the characteristics of river basin districts, the environmental impact of

human activity and economic analysis of water use.

What initiatives does the Commission intend to take to ensure compliance with the above provisions of
Directive 2000/60/EC with regard to golf courses, particularly in those areas with low rainfall and
problems of drought or desertification?

(1) OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1.