WRITTEN QUESTION P-1532/01 by Luciana Sbarbati (ELDR) to the Commission. Safety at work.
Date: 2001-05-15
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU employment policy, health policy, occupational accident, occupational safety, public awareness campaign, worker information

4.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 340 E/235

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(3 July 2001)

The Commission is elaborating a Communication on the impact of enlargement on regions bordering
candidate countries and envisaged Community actions. This Communication, which was called for by the
European Councils of Nice of December 2000 and G(cid:246)teborg of June 2001, and which was supported by
the Parliament, will analyse the economic situation of the Community(cid:146)s border regions. The Commission
will, on the basis of this analysis, put forward proposals on how to optimise existing instruments and how
to ensure better co-ordination in order to strengthen the economic competitiveness of frontier regions.

The existing regulations, guidelines and frameworks concerning State aid control, notably the Guidelines
on national regional aid (1) and the Commission Regulations (EC) No 69/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the
application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to de minimis aid (2) and (EC) No 70/2001 of
12 January on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid to small and medium-
sized enterprises (2) already offer a wide range of possibilities to Member States to award aid in order to
diminish the impact of the type of problems described by the Honourable Member.

(1) OJ C 74, 10.3.1998; amended in OJ C 258, 9.9.2000.
(2) OJ L 10, 13.1.2001.

(2001/C 340 E/272)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1532/01

by Luciana Sbarbati (ELDR) to the Commission

(15 May 2001)

Subject: Safety at work

According to Eurostat (on 31 March 2000) between 1994 and 1996 the risks of accidents at work in the
EU fell by 7 % (fatal accidents by 13 %), men are three times more likely to have accidents than women
and firms with more than 250 employees are safer. In 1998 there were 4,7 million accidents, 5 476 of
them fatal. According to these estimates the annual costs in the EU (medical expenses, sick pay and
compensation paid for permanent invalidity or death) total nearly € 20 billion, not to mention the social
costs of accidents (assistance, rehabilitation and reintegration into employment, where possible, etc.). In
Italy alone an average of three people die at work every day (not counting domestic accidents, those not
reported because people are working unofficially and road accidents involving people who travel in the
course of their work).

The European Agency for Health and Safety at Work is trying to show that the introduction of provisions
in these areas may help to improve the working environment and reduce the costs of compulsory
insurance which firms are obliged to take out to show that safety pays.

Can the Commission say whether in addition to the EU(cid:146)s legislative role (cid:129) to offer workers social
protection and employers economic protection (cid:129) it might be appropriate to step up its non-legislative role
by publishing information material, promoting comparative studies and providing better training for
workers and employers?

The European Week for Safety and Health at Work to be held in autumn at the end of an information
campaign involving all the Member States, the Commission and Parliament, trade unions and employers(cid:146)
organisations may be a good start.

Does the Commission not consider that it is wrong to accept different minimum safety levels in different
Member States or in firms of different sizes? If one understood exactly what the competences of the EU
and of the Member States are, the Community(cid:146)s objectives would be better defined and the compliance
with them required of the Member States could be regulated by periodic inspections and checks to be
carried out by the competent authorities.

C 340 E/236

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

4.12.2001

Does it not consider that more space should be given to issues of health and safety at work in the future
guidelines for employment on the basis of an analysis of the best practices in the Member States?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(28 June 2001)

The Commission fully agrees with the Honourable Member(cid:146)s concern regarding accidents at work in the
Community.

Nevertheless, the data for 1998 (1), which are the most recent available, show that the improvement at
European level has continued both in terms of the rate of accidents at work involving more than three
days(cid:146) absence (4 089 accidents per 100 000 employees in 1998, compared with 4 229 in 1996 and 4 539
in 1994) and in terms of the rate of fatal accidents at work (5,0 fatal accidents per 100 000 employees in
1998, compared with 5,3 in 1996 and 6,1 in 1994, including traffic accidents and accidents on all means
of transport during work).

These statistical indicators show that the application at European level of Community legislation on safety
and health protection of workers at work has had a positive effect in terms of improving working
conditions by reducing accident rates. The legislation thus improves the health and safety of workers at
work when correctly applied.

The Commission believes that non-legislative measures are essential to the correct and effective application
of European legislation on health protection and safety of workers at work. To this end, several non-
legislative measures had been provided for in its Community programme concerning safety, hygiene and
health at work (1996-2000) (2). These took the form of (cid:145)non-binding guides(cid:146), for example to address the
needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), information, education and training measures, and
studies on changes in the working environment, i.e. the emergence of new risks to health and safety, such
as stress, musculoskeletal disorders, repetitive work, violence in the workplace, psychosocial problems or
new forms of work such as teleworking.

The Commission is aware of this issue and has since 1992 supported several initiatives to boost awareness
among the various social partners, at European level and in close cooperation with the Member States,
with a view to improving the effectiveness of the measures adopted in this field.

These included:

(cid:129) the European Year of Health and Safety at Work in 1992;

(cid:129) (cid:145)PRevent(cid:146) actions (3) in SMEs as part of the Safety Actions for Europe (SAFE) Programme in 1997 and
1998, which will continue under the new initiative for SMEs that has been allocated a specific heading
in the Community budget and will be managed by the European Agency for Safety and Health at
Work in Bilbao;

(cid:129) several (cid:145)European Weeks(cid:146), which the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work in Bilbao is now
responsible for organising. In 2000 the subject of the European Week was musculoskeletal disorders,
and in October 2001 the theme will be the prevention of accidents at work;

(cid:129) several publications have also been promoted by the Commission, such as an internal audit manual
for SMEs (4), guidelines on work-related stress (5), recommendations on exposure limits to chemical
agents (6), guides on training in risk sectors (7) or the results of research in the ECSC industries (coal
and steel) (8), in order to promote greater knowledge and better training among all the social partners.

The Commission feels that it is the task of the Member States to promote and ensure the correct and
effective application of national provisions implementing the Community directives. The Commission is
also concerned that there may be differences in minimum safety levels across Member States, and it is
always prepared to examine situations of this kind, within the limits of the powers conferred on it by the
Treaties.

4.12.2001

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 340 E/237

The Commission fully agrees with the Honourable Member on the need to give issues relating to health
and safety at work a greater role in employment policy, and would like to draw her attention to the new
guideline 14c) of the guidelines for Member States(cid:146) employment policies for the year 2001, which deals
with this question.

Finally, the Honourable Member(cid:146)s attention is drawn to the fact that a new Community strategy on safety
and health at work is being drawn up. This strategy will establish a framework for future action to achieve
an ongoing improvement in the quality of work and thus in health and safety conditions for European
workers in the workplace.

(1) ESAW data (European Statistics on Accidents at Work) from Eurostat.
(2) Communication from the Commission on a Community programme concerning safety, hygiene and health at work

(1996-2000), (OJ C 262, 7.10.1995).

(3) Awareness actions on safety and health at work in general as well as the promotion and exchange of best practices

in SMEs.
(4)
Internal audit manual for SMEs (cid:129) Luxembourg 1995.
(5) Guidance on work-related stress (cid:129) Luxembourg 2000.
(6) Occupational exposure limits, recommendations of the Scientific Committee for Occupational Exposure Limits to

chemical agents 1994-1997 (cid:129) Luxembourg 1998.

(7) Health and safety training in the fisheries sector (cid:129) Luxembourg 1993, Health and safety in the construction sector

(cid:129) Luxembourg 1993.

(8) Closing conference (cid:129) ECSC Social Research (cid:129) Luxembourg 1999.

(2001/C 340 E/273)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1544/01

by Raina Echerer (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(14 May 2001)

Subject: EU regulation on unbundled access to the local loop (cid:129) situation in Austria

Regulation (EC) 2887/2000 (1) of 18 December 2000 on unbundled access to the local loop took effect on
2 January 2001, is binding in all its parts and took effect in every EU Member State. The aim of this
regulation is to create fair competition in Internet services in local access networks. The designated
operator in each country, Telekom Austria in the case of Austria, is required to provide an offer in keeping
with this aim.

According to information from Austria, Telekom Austria is not complying with the regulation. Access is
still insufficiently unbundled, so that network components or facilities unnecessary for the provision of the
service still have to be paid for. Administrative and technical access to the local
loop is too time-
consuming and complicated. There are not enough collocation possibilities for all those who need them.
Tariffs have not yet been adjusted to actual costs. The calculation is insufficiently transparent. Interested
parties with little economic clout still have problems in accessing the local loop.

What is the Commission(cid:146)s source of information on Austria? Can the Commission be sure of receiving an
objective assessment of the situation in Austria?

What does the Commission propose to do in order to achieve full implementation of the regulation in
Austria?

(1) OJ L 336, 30.12.2000, p. 4.

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(21 June 2001)

According to Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2887/2000 of the Parliament and of the Council of
loop (1), notified operators shall publish from
18 December 2000 on unbundled access to the local
31 December 2000, and keep updated, a reference offer for unbundled access to their local loops and
related facilities (RUO), which shall at least include the items listed in the Annex. The offer shall be