WRITTEN QUESTION E-1224/01 by Carles-Alfred Gasòliba i Böhm (ELDR) and Concepció Ferrer (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Vehicle registration.
Date: 2001-04-26
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: competence of the Member States, vehicle registration

11.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 350 E/93

(2001/C 350 E/099)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1211/01

by Joan Colom i Naval (PSE), Concepci(cid:243) Ferrer (PPE-DE)
and Carles-Alfred Gas(cid:242)liba i B(cid:246)hm (ELDR) to the Commission

(24 April 2001)

Subject: Vehicle registration

Regulation (EC) No 2411/98 on the recognition in intra-Community traffic of the distinguishing sign of
the Member State in which motor vehicles and their trailers are registered (1) does not prohibit Member
States from laying down special provisions to enable regional origin to be indicated on a part of the
registration plate other than that specified in the Annex to the Regulation.

The recently proclaimed Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union states that one of the
Union(cid:146)s tasks is to safeguard cultural diversity.

Article 151 of the EC Treaty stipulates that (cid:145)The Community shall contribute to the flowering of the
cultures of the Member States, while respecting their national and regional diversity and at the same time
bringing the common cultural heritage to the fore(cid:146).

Does the Commission agree that the inclusion of a regional distinguishing sign on the new Spanish
registration plates would be more in keeping with the letter and the spirit of the Treaty?

(1) OJ L 299, 10.11.1998, p. 1.

(2001/C 350 E/100)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1224/01

by Carles-Alfred Gas(cid:242)liba i B(cid:246)hm (ELDR)
and Concepci(cid:243) Ferrer (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(26 April 2001)

Subject: Vehicle registration

In view of the dynamism and the high profile of regions in all the EU Member States, and given that many
of the Member States are structured on the basis of such regions, it would be a good idea if such identities
were reflected on EU number plates.

The European Union should propose harmonisation of an EU number plate which would include the
regions.

Is the Commission prepared to acknowledge Europe(cid:146)s realities and to endorse such a proposal?

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-1211/01 and E-1224/01
given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(21 June 2001)

The specifications of vehicle registration plates fall mainly under the competence of Member States, which
apply their own legislation within the framework of the Vienna Convention of 1968 on road traffic,
concluded under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. This Convention
in addition to its
provides that every motor vehicle in international traffic shall display at the rear,
registration number, a distinguishing sign of the Member State in which it is registered. (e.g.: (cid:145)E(cid:146) for Spain).

In the light of the principle of subsidiarity, the Community only intervenes in the field of registration
plates when it is necessary in order to ensure the free movement of goods and persons within the
Community.

C 350 E/94

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

11.12.2001

In recent years several Member States have introduced a model registration plate which, on the extreme
left, displays a blue zone containing 12 yellow stars representing the European flag plus the distinguishing
sign of the Member State of registration, the so called Euro Plate.

Because some Member States did not recognise the distinguishing sign on the Euro plate Council
Regulation (EC) No 2411/98 of 3 November 1998 on the recognition in intra-Community traffic of the
distinguishing sign of the Member State in which motor vehicles and their trailers are registered (1) was
adopted. The purpose of the Regulation is to give equal status,
to the
distinguishing signs contained within the Euro plates and the distinguishing signs required by the Vienna
Convention.

in intra-Community traffic,

This is the only Community legislation on the subject of registration plates. Given the success of the
Vienna Convention, the Commission has no plans to propose legislation harmonising national registration
plates, and therefore to consider the question of regional or any other signs being included in them.

(1) OJ L 299, 10.11.1998.

(2001/C 350 E/101)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1222/01

by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission

(26 April 2001)

Subject: Badgers and TB

Can the Commission indicate if it has carried out any studies into whether or not badgers spread TB?

If it has, can the Commission say what the results of such studies were?

If not, can the Commission indicate whether it has any plans to carry out any studies?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(29 June 2001)

The Commission is aware that badgers are suspected of spreading tuberculosis. Studies into whether or not
and how badgers spread tuberculosis have been carried out by the British Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries
and Food (MAFF). Studies and reports (Krebs report) are published on MAFF(cid:146)s website (www.maff.gov.uk/
animalh/tb).

The evidence so far strongly supports the view that, in the United Kingdom, badgers are a significant
source of infection in cattle. It is not however possible to state quantitatively what contribution badgers
make to cattle infection. Other wild life species also carry the disease, and the possibility of some
contribution from these species cannot be ignored.

The Commission is currently funding FAIR-CT98-4373 (cid:145)Concerted Action for the setting up of a European
veterinary network on diagnosis, epidemiology and research of mycobacterial diseases(cid:146). One of
the
workshops held in the framework of this concerted action was (cid:145)Tuberculosis and Wildlife(cid:146) which took
place on 23-25 March 2000 in Dublin. Several aspects of tuberculosis in badgers were addressed at this
workshop. Information on this concerned action is available at http://www.ucm.es/info/venom/.

With reference to Action 29 listed in the Action plan on Food Safety (1) a task force was created in 2000
for monitoring disease eradication in the Member States. Subgroups of
the Task force have been
important co-financed diseases (sheep and goat brucellosis, bovine
established for the three most