WRITTEN QUESTION E-0998/01 by Paulo Casaca (PSE) to the Commission. 1999 discharge ‐ agriculture.
Date: 2001-03-30
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Community budget, dairy production, fraud against the EU, management accounting, olive oil, olive-growing

18.9.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 261 E/221

(2001/C 261 E/251)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0973/01

by Neil MacCormick (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(20 March 2001)

Subject: Driving and diabetes

I refer to my Written Question E-2542/99 (1) and to the answer by Mrs Palacio which referred to the
Commission(cid:146)s answer E-495/98 (2) to Mr Howitt. In answer to my question, the Commission confirms that
no developments since 1998 have prompted it to change its position from that which it indicated to
Mr Howitt.

However, the Commission(cid:146)s statements to Mr Howitt (and also to Mrs Waddington at the same time)
indicate expressly that the Commission had no substantial evidence at that time to support the belief that
people with insulin-dependent diabetes had a greater propensity to be involved in accidents than other
drivers.

Is it still the case that the Commission has no such evidence? Is there, in fact, any such evidence?

(1) OJ C 225 E, 8.8.2000, p. 161.
(2) OJ C 310, 9.10.1998, p. 75.

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(20 April 2001)

Council Directive 91/439/EEC of 29 July 1991, on driving licences (1), and more particularly its Annex III,
deals with minimum standards of physical and mental fitness for driving power driven vehicles, which also
includes Diabetes Mellitus. These minimum standards have been based upon advice by medical experts in
this field, rather than upon statistical evidence relating to traffic accidents involving people with insulin
dependent diabetes.

The need for further investigation in this field was expressed by the Council in its Resolution of 26 June
2000 (2) on road safety which requested the revision of
the minimum requirements of Annex III.
Consequently, the Commission decided to launch research on diabetes in the context of the 5th Research
and Technological Development Framework Programme. The results of this, and other national studies,
will be analysed by a special Working Group of the Committee on the driving licence, composed of
experts in this field. Depending on the conclusions of this special working group, this may lead to a
revision of the minimum requirements of Annex III of Directive 91/439/EEC, in due time.

(1) OJ L 237, 24.8.1991.
(2) OJ C 218, 31.7.2000.

(2001/C 261 E/252)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0998/01

by Paulo Casaca (PSE) to the Commission

(30 March 2001)

Subject: 1999 discharge (cid:129) agriculture

The information provided by the Commission in connection with question 2.7 of the second questionnaire
on the granting of the discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European
Union for the 1999 financial year does not reply to the questions raised in various aspects. Can the
Commission therefore clarify the following points:

With regard to question 2.7(d): Can the Commission clarify the concept of production aid in the context
of its answer in relation to the support scheme for olive oil? With regard to both olive oil and milk, is the
Commission referring to the reports made by the Member States during 1999 or to irregularities occurring
in 1999?

C 261 E/222

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.9.2001

Table 2 on the clearance of accounts process is also difficult to understand. Can the Commission make
these comparisons in the context of fraud and irregularities, excluding market mechanisms intended to
restrict surplus production?

Can the Commission make a comparison between the two sectors based on the same timescale? Can the
Commission confirm that, as regards the milk sector, the Member States notified only € 4,2 million in
fraud in 1999? Can the Commission confirm that no deduction was made from the milk sector in 1999 as
part of the clearance of accounts process? Can the Commission explain how the organisation of payment
schemes can justify the disparities between the milk sector and the olive oil sector?

Given the difference in scale between these sectors, the Commission(cid:146)s figures show that the Member States
are detecting hundreds of times more irregularities involving olive oil than involving milk. Does the
Commission consider it reasonable to assume that olive oil producers are hundreds of times more
predisposed to commit irregularities than milk producers?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(1 June 2001)

The Commission is collecting the information it needs to answer the question. It will communicate its
findings as soon as possible.

(2001/C 261 E/253)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1018/01

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(30 March 2001)

Subject: Short-term unemployment rates

1. Will the Commission provide a time series of the short-term unemployed (defined as those seeking
work for less than one year and also, if available, for less than six months) for each EU Member State for
each quarter of the last ten years?

2. Will it also express this series as a short-term unemployment rate (i.e. as a percentage of the labour
force)?

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(16 May 2001)

Annual series on the number of long-term unemployed (those seeking work for one year or more) and the
corresponding unemployment rate were compiled by Eurostat for the synthesis report presented to the
Stockholm European Council, the long-term unemployment rate being one of the structural indicators
shown in the annex to the report. Similar annual data on short-term unemployment (less than twelve
months) can be obtained by simple calculation.

Compilation of reliable quarterly series cannot be envisaged until such time as a continuous labour force
survey is introduced in all the Member States.