WRITTEN QUESTION E-1845/01 by Karin Riis-Jørgensen (ELDR) to the Commission. Breaches of Community rules in the Netherlands.
Date: 2001-06-26
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Union membership, Netherlands, infringement of EU law, infringement procedure (EU), national implementing measure

20.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 364 E/217

(2001/C 364 E/237)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1845/01

by Karin Riis-Jłrgensen (ELDR) to the Commission

Subject: Breaches of Community rules in the Netherlands

(26 June 2001)

Further to my Question P-0843/01 (1) and the Commission(cid:146)s answer, I would ask a supplementary question
concerning the corresponding figures for the Netherlands.

With regard to possible breaches of Community rules, will the Commission provide details of instances in
which the Netherlands has drafted legislation and taken decisions which have ultimately had to be
reworked at the request of the Commission?

Where there were differences between Dutch legislation and Community rules, was it possible to resolve
those inconsistencies bilaterally or was it ever necessary to take matters to the court?

(1) OJ C 350 E, 11.12.2001, p. 49.

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(31 July 2001)

Further to its answer to the Honourable Member(cid:146)s Written Question P-0843/01, the Commission, while
reminding the Honourable Member that there is no means of obtaining the specific data requested, can
report that between 1979 and 2000 some 1 750 infringement proceedings were initiated against the
Netherlands and that during this period the European Court of Justice ruled on 32 infringement cases, 27
of its judgments being for the Commission. Nearly 200 infringement proceedings against the Netherlands
are currently in motion.

Nearly 60 % of infringement proceedings related to failure to notify national measures to transpose
Community directives, 10 % to transposal measures that did not comply with obligations under the
directives and nearly 30 % to incorrect application of Community law, whether general or individual. It is
chiefly in the last type of case (incorrect application) that the Commission may call on the Member State
concerned to amend its rules: the other categories (failure to notify and failure to comply with obligations)
relate to the obligation to transpose Community directives properly. Finally, it should be noted that some
60 % of these cases were shelved even before a letter of formal notice had been sent, as the complaints
proved to be without foundation.

(2001/C 364 E/238)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1848/01

by Angelika Niebler (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Use of geoinformation in the Member States

(26 June 2001)

Geoinformation (geographical and spatial data describing the features of a particular country) form an
essential part of the knowledge available in modern information and communications science.
It is
required at all levels of administration, the economy, science and by the public at large. It is the basis for
planning in numerous fields, such as for infrastructure projects in the energy, water and telecommuni-
cations sectors, waste management, telematics, environmental protection and nature conservation, and in
the insurance industry. Geoinformation is an increasingly important commodity worldwide. Its availability
is a crucial factor in taking decisions on location and investment. The USA spends USD 7 billion a year on
developing geodata infrastructure.