WRITTEN QUESTION E-1493/01 by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission. Management of biodegradable waste.
Date: 2001-05-18
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU law, biodegradability, environmental law, packaging, waste management, waste recycling

20.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 364 E/127

How does the Commission propose to ensure the adoption of a procedure which would lend transparency
to staff selection criteria and provide appropriate justification for the process of exclusion?

Does the Commission intend to publish the original criteria for recruitment?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(23 July 2001)

The Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) applies the Staff Regulations and the
Conditions of Employment of other servants of the European Communities (CEOS). However, the OHIM
enjoys a large degree of administrative autonomy including in its recruitment policy.

According to the instrument establishing the agency (cid:129) the Community Trade Mark Regulation (cid:129) the
Commission(cid:146)s role is limited to checking the legality of the decisions of the President and the Budget
Committee, for which no appeal is provided. Issues concerning recruitment of staff are subject to appeal to
the court of First Instance. The Commission does not hold voting rights in the Administrative Board of the
OHIM.

Without further detailed information the Commission is not in a position to comment on the reports
mentioned by the Honourable Member. However, the OHIM has informed the Commission that, on the
particular occasion referred to in the question, the Office erroneously sent out letters of rejection to
unsuccessful candidates without including the usual justification for rejection which was that other, more
suitable, candidates had been selected from among the applications received.

In the past,
Commission understands, however,
consideration.

the OHIM has chosen to use internal competitions for recruitment of officials. The
that procedures for external competitions are currently under

Additional information on the selection procedures of the OHIM is best obtained directly from the Agency.

(2001/C 364 E/141)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1493/01

by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission

(18 May 2001)

Subject: Management of biodegradable waste

The Commission(cid:146)s draft proposals for a directive on this subject have a primary aim of reducing the
amount of organic material going to landfill.

In what ways do they recognise and accommodate the need for certain sectors, such as packaging, to meet
EU recycling targets?

Answer given Mrs de Wallstr(cid:246)m on behalf of the Commission

(18 July 2001)

treatment of biodegradable waste. The working document on the biological

The Commission has so far taken no decision on whether to adopt a Proposal for a Directive on the
biological
treatment of
biodegradable waste (second draft of February 2001), elaborated by Directorate general (DG) Environment,
outlines some of the issues that may be of relevance, should the Commission decide to propose a Directive
on the matter to Council and Parliament.

Insofar as packaging recycling is concerned, the Commission notes that the opinion of Member States
(as expressed so far in the Commission working groups on biodegradable waste management) on so-called
(cid:145)bio-plastics(cid:146)
is divided. While in principle recognising that packaging made of compostable plastics
fulfilling CEN standard EN 13432 on (cid:145)Packaging (cid:129) Requirements for packaging recoverable through
composting and biodegradation (cid:129) Test scheme and evaluation criteria for the final acceptance of

C 364 E/128

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.12.2001

packaging(cid:146) is perfectly fit for being composted, some Member States have misgivings about the practical
arrangements that would guarantee such an approach. In particular, the impact on the purity of the
biowaste fraction separately collected is questioned. Consumers may not distinguish between packaging
meeting the standard from other types of a similar visual appearance.

The Commission is aware of this possible conflict between a higher material recycling rate of packaging
and compost quality. Should the Commission decide to present a Proposal for regulating composting and
anaerobic digestion of biowaste to Council and Parliament, this aspect will be duly evaluated.

(2001/C 364 E/142)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1495/01

by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission

(18 May 2001)

Subject: Animal testing and the Chemicals Strategy

In view of the fact that much public concern about the proposed Chemicals Strategy is focused on the very
large number of animals which will suffer and die in order to carry out safety testing, how have the views
of the Commission regarding the requirement for animal testing changed since its proposals were first
published, and what steps is it now considering to reduce the number of animals required for testing
purposes?

Answer given by Mrs Wallstr(cid:246)m on behalf of the Commission

(25 July 2001)

The Commission is indeed aware of the public concern over the use of laboratory animals for testing
chemical products. This concern was reflected in the correspondence received during the preparation of
the White Paper. However, the Commission was already committed, and remains committed, to promoting
the welfare of laboratory animals, in particular through the provisions of Council Directive 86/609/EEC of
24 November 1986 on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the
Member States regarding the protection of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes (1).
It is important to reduce the number of animals used in experiments, to replace animal experiments by
non-animal methods and to refine experimental methods to reduce suffering is important in this respect.

It was against this background that the proposals in the White Paper were prepared. Indeed one of the
political objectives of this paper was that (cid:145)Protection of human health and the environment, including
wildlife, should be balanced against protection of the welfare of laboratory animals(cid:146).

The following elements of the new strategy have been developed with a view to keeping animal testing to
a minimum:

(cid:129) existing information on the toxicity and ecotoxicity of substances, including epidemiological studies,

will be taken into account,

(cid:129) the general
appropriate,

testing requirements will be modified to incorporate exposure-driven testing where

(cid:129) tailor-made testing programmes for substances will be developed under the control of authorities for

level 1 and 2 testing,

(cid:129) the development of further alternative testing methods using fewer or no animals will be encouraged

and supported,

(cid:129) existing substances will be grouped to minimise testing, where appropriate,

(cid:129) for existing substances of between 1t and 10t annual production, testing will generally be limited to

in-vitro methods.