WRITTEN QUESTION E-1685/01 by Christoph Konrad (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Adverse effect on competition of system of awarding ECMT (European Conference of Ministers of Transport) licences.
Date: 2001-06-14
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Conference of Ministers of Transport, international transport, transport company, transport licence, transport regulations

14.2.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 40 E/77

(2002/C 40 E/076)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1679/01

by Isidoro SÆnchez Garc(cid:237)a (ELDR) to the Council

(15 June 2001)

Subject: Remarks concerning the Structural Funds and the Spanish regions

In the interests of the transparency which should characterise all actions of the Community institutions,
and in particular the Council, can the Council provide a text of the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council
held at the beginning of May 2001 in Sweden, and, especially, the remarks made by the Spanish minister,
Mr PiquØ, concerning the Structural Funds and the Spanish regions?

Reply

(8 October 2001)

No Council meeting was held in Sweden at the beginning of May.

The Honourable Member is probably alluding to an informal meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Union
held in Nyk(cid:246)ping on 5 and 6 May 2001. The Honourable Member is reminded that informal meetings of
Ministers are designed to permit as free an exchange of views as possible on general questions. These
meetings are not Council meetings and do not replace the Council(cid:146)s normal activities. As a result, they
have no official agenda, no documents are produced either before or after the meeting by the Council, and
such meetings cannot under any circumstances give rise to formal conclusions or decisions, and any press
releases have to make this clear.

(2002/C 40 E/077)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1685/01

by Christoph Konrad (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(14 June 2001)

Subject: Adverse effect on competition of system of awarding ECMT (European Conference of Ministers of

Transport) licences

1. What is the Commission(cid:146)s opinion of the ECMT scheme in the context of EU enlargement?

How does the Commission view the fact that large batches of ECMT licences are awarded to only a

2.
relatively small number of East European transport undertakings?

How does the Commission view the development of the ECMT licence system, which was originally
into a

3.
introduced on the basis of a resolution of
systematically entrenched branch of the economy that has the effect of distorting competition?

the Council of Ministers to assist

liberalisation,

If current practice in relation to the award of ECMT licences is continued, does the Commission

4.
consider that new transport undertakings will have fair opportunities for access to the market?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(3 September 2001)

1.
The European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) is not subject to Community law and the
award of ECMT licences is decided by the ECMT member states and not by Community bodies. Since those
States which are currently candidates for accession are going to have free access to the market, their road
hauliers will no longer need ECMT licences for operating in the enlarged Community market and will
therefore use their ECMT licences only for transport between ECMT countries that are not members of the
Community.

2.
There are no (cid:145)large batches(cid:146) of ECMT licences, and with so few of them available they only allow a
limited number of operators, in western, central or eastern Europe, to carry out international transport
operations between ECMT countries for one year.

C 40 E/78

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

14.2.2002

It is true that transport operations carried out under ECMT licences are not conducted in the same
3.
competition conditions. These conditions are not the same in any of the ECMT(cid:146)s 40 member countries. On
the contrary, the misuse of ECMT licences (e.g. for cabotage purposes) is distorting competition. Effective
control of the use of ECMT licences is in the hands of the competent authorities of the ECMT countries.

Given that the number of ECMT licences being granted is increasing slowly but surely and that the
4.
award of these licences to transport undertakings is decided annually by the competent authorities of the
ECMT countries, it is very likely that new transport firms will have access to ECMT licences.

(2002/C 40 E/078)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1692/01

by Gerhard Schmid (PSE) to the Council

(15 June 2001)

Subject: Work of the European Police Academy (EPA)

The European Police Academy (EPA) was launched on 1 January 2001 as a network.

I would therefore like to ask the Council the following questions:

1. Has the EPA, or at least its governing board, already begun work?

2.

If so, which national training institutes for high-ranking police officers form the network?

3. Where has the permanent secretariat, which is to support the EPA in its administrative tasks, been set

up, or where is it to be set up?

4. How will the language problem at seminars and other events be solved, or how has it been solved?

5. Are there syllabuses and, if so, what form do they take?

6. Where are the seminars and other events held?

Reply

(8 October 2001)

The Council would invite the Honourable Member to put his questions directly to the governing board of
the European Police Academy (EPA).

(2002/C 40 E/079)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1693/01

by Adriana Poli Bortone (UEN) to the Commission

Subject: Coastline of Gallipoli and the island of Sant(cid:146)Andrea

(14 June 2001)

The Italian Government has authorised (cid:129) even granting funding via the (cid:145)Sviluppo Italia(cid:146) scheme (at least
according to press reports) (cid:129) projects to build holiday homes on the coastline of Gallipoli and the island
of Sant(cid:146)Andrea (Apulia, Italy).

This is all the more serious in view of the fact that the area has been classified as a site of Community
interest, under the code number COD IT 9150015, and therefore an area subject to special environmental
protection.

Is the Commission willing to take swift action to ascertain the compatibility of these buildings with the
needs of environmental protection?