WRITTEN QUESTION E-1113/01 by Lord Inglewood (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Geographical restrictions on assisted property purchase.
Date: 2001-04-06
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: England, State aid, Wales, investment aid, real property, tax system

C 340 E/174

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

4.12.2001

diseases, was adopted in 1993 with the main objective to establish at Community level the control
measures to be taken in the event of outbreaks of disease. The aim of this legislation was not necessarily to
eradicate ISA from Community waters, rather to prevent the spread of the disease if present and to
eradicate the agent from infected farms.

(1) OJ L 67, 9.3.2001.

(2001/C 340 E/198)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1113/01

by Lord Inglewood (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Geographical restrictions on assisted property purchase

(6 April 2001)

Is it compatible with EU law for a UK local authority to offer grants for the purchase of property to
tenants of condemned public housing, subject to the restriction that assistance will only be provided if the
property to be purchased is located within England or Wales?

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(11 June 2001)

Article 56 (ex Article 73b) of the EC Treaty prohibits all restrictions on capital movements. Capital
movements would include cross border purchases of real estate. According to the jurisprudence of the
Court of Justice restrictions include indirect barriers to conducting operations such that the freedom
granted by the EC Treaty is rendered illusory. The Commission does not consider, however, that the local
authority measures cited by the Honourable Member, involving grants to tenants of condemned public
housing to purchase property within a delimited area of a Member State, are contrary to the freedom most
involved. It is the Commission(cid:146)s understanding that there is no nationality distinction made between
tenants of the condemned public housing involved. Taxation and expenditure policies at national and local
level will generally involve incentives or disincentives to conducting specific operations generally in
specific areas under the jurisdiction of the entity involved in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity
set out in Article 5 (ex Article 3b) of the EC Treaty. Thus, for instance, all
industrial grants provided
nationally or locally will involve establishment of the facility in a delimited area, rather than elsewhere
within the Community, from taxes raised in the same or similar areas. While in this case State aids could
be an issue, there has never been any question of maintaining that national measures, such as these, might
be contrary to EC Treaty freedoms.

(2001/C 340 E/199)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1114/01

by Carlos Carnero GonzÆlez (PSE) to the Council

(9 April 2001)

Subject: Anti-homosexual measures by the Namibian government

According to recent media reports, the President of Namibia, Sam Nujoma, has given orders to the police
to arrest, imprison and deport all gays and lesbians on the grounds that homosexuality is unconstitutional.

These measures are in violation of the human rights of the citizens of Namibia and contravene the basic
principles of the rule of law, and must, therefore, be considered totally unacceptable by the international
community.