WRITTEN QUESTION P-1399/01 by Charles Tannock (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Fisheries protection.
Date: 2001-05-02
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU Member State, application of EU law, common fisheries policy, fishing controls

C 318 E/240

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.11.2001

More specifically, it sent the Honourable Member:

(cid:129) the answer to Question E-0488/01 on 8 May 2001,

(cid:129) the answer to E-0490/01 on 26 April 2001,

(cid:129) the answer to E-0313/01 on 11 May 2001 and

(cid:129) the answer to E-0491/01 on 14 May 2001.

Written Question E-0315/01 was not addressed to the Commission.

In 2000, the average response time was five weeks for priority questions and seven weeks for other
questions. The Commission will seek to improve these times in 2001.

(2001/C 318 E/263)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1397/01

by VØronique Mathieu (EDD) to the Commission

Subject: Assessment of damage caused by game in Europe

(2 May 2001)

Does the Commission have statistics concerning the damage caused by species classified as (cid:145)game(cid:146) in the
forestry and agricultural sectors, broken down by Member State of the Union?

If so, does the Commission intend to publish them?

If the Commission does not possess such data, does it intend to carry out a study on this subject?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(30 May 2001)

The Commission does not have any figures on the damage in the agricultural and forestry sectors caused
by species classified as (cid:145)game(cid:146).

No study in this field is planned at present.

(2001/C 318 E/264)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1399/01

by Charles Tannock (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(2 May 2001)

Subject: Fisheries protection

Can the Commission indicate how many Fisheries Inspection Officers are responsible for inspecting fish
landed in each of the Member States listed below, where the officers are based, and what measures the
Commission has taken to ensure that Community fishing rules are respected by fishing vessels from all
Member States:

(cid:129) Denmark

(cid:129) France

(cid:129) Ireland

(cid:129) Italy

(cid:129) Portugal

(cid:129) Spain

(cid:129) UK?

13.11.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 318 E/241

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(30 May 2001)

With reference to the requested information on the number of fisheries inspection officers in the Member
States listed in the question, the Commission is sending the figures direct to the Honourable Member and
to Parliament(cid:146)s Secretariat.

The Commission, would caution against simple comparisons of the figures for each Member State.
A number of other factors should also be taken into account, such as the structure of the national control
system, including the full (cid:129) or part-time nature of fisheries control responsibilities, the type of fisheries to
be controlled, as well as whether the fisheries are subject to total allowable catch (TAC) and quota and
how TAC and quota are allocated and managed by the Member States in question.

The figures presented in the annex represent the numbers of fisheries inspectors authorised to participate
in landing inspections. In Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy and the United Kingdom these inspectors are
permanently based along the coastline, predominantly in the ports most important for fisheries purposes.
In Portugal, the national fisheries inspectors are based in Lisbon and thus carry out their landing inspection
missions from the capital. In Spain, some of the national fisheries inspectors also are based in Madrid
while the majority of them have been assigned to the delegations of central government in the coastal
Autonomous Communities.

The question of measures taken by the Commission to ensure full compliance of the Community fishing
rules is rather a large one to be comprehensively dealt in a reply such as this one. Commission inspectors
are continuously carrying out verifications in all Member States within the framework of Article 29 of
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 of 12 October 1993 establishing a control system applicable to the
common fisheries policy (1). In order to describe more fully the circumstances in the different Member
States regarding fisheries monitoring, inspection and surveillance, and also pursuant to Article 35 of the
said regulation, the Commission intends to submit in the coming months a report to the Council and the
Parliament on the monitoring of the implementation of the common fisheries policy. This report will in
particular contain an evaluation of the relative efficiency of the different national and regional control
authorities in the Member States.

(1) OJ L 261, 20.10.1993.

(2001/C 318 E/265)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1434/01

by Guido Viceconte (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Sale of the Puglian water supply company

(11 May 2001)

The Italian Government intends to hive off the Puglian water supply company without going through
proper tendering procedures and to sell it off at cut price to ENEL, in which the state has a majority
holding.

Is the Commission aware of the Italian Government(cid:146)s intention not to issue a public invitation to tender?

Would it not agree that such an approach is contrary to the principles of free competition laid down in
the EU Treaty?

If it does agree, what action does it intend to take on the matter?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(18 June 2001)

The directives on public contracts refer solely to contracts according to which government authorities
purchase goods or services. However, that does not mean that transactions involving the sale of goods or
services are exempted from being conducted, like purchases, in compliance with the EC Treaty, especially