WRITTEN QUESTION P-2196/01 by Luciano Caveri (ELDR) to the Commission. BSE.
Date: 2001-07-17
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Switzerland, agreement (EU), bovine spongiform encephalopathy, disease prevention, health control, live animal, originating product, veterinary legislation

C 93 E/76

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.4.2002

In view of the fact that the 2000-2006 financial regulation restricts such transfers to the appropriations
which were not used in 2000, and since appropriations which were not authorised in previous years
cannot now be entered in the budget, would the Commission answer the following questions:

1. What was the financial-implementation rate of Portugal’s CSF in 2000 and the first half of 2001?

2.

If a lower financial-implementation rate is recorded for Portugal’s CSF in 2001, what implications
would this have? Will Portugal lose any funding which is not used in 2001?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(17 September 2001)

The rate of implementation of commitment appropriations under the Community support framework
(CSF) for Portugal in 2000 and 2001 was 100 % because all the programmes in the CSF were adopted and
committed. Commitments totalled € 3 202 million in 2000 and € 3 125 million in 2001. Payments totalled
€ 1 337 million in 2000 and € 254 million up to 20 June 2001. The initial payment of € 1 378 million
was fully paid for all the programmes.

It is still too early to assess progress in the actual implementation of this CSF. When the Monitoring
Committee met on 6 July 2001, the Portuguese authorities told the Commission that the implementation
of programming for 2000 was 28 % on 30 June 2001. They expected full implementation by the end of
2001.

Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural
Funds (1) ensures the commitment of
the Community appropriations for each programme adopted,
irrespective of the progress of implementation in any given year. There is therefore no direct risk of losing
funds in the situation described by the Honourable Member in his question. However, delays in
implementing programmes may result in the loss of funds for those programmes as a result of automatic
decommitment: this rule applies when applications for payment made up to the end of year ‘n+2’,
including the initial advance, do not absorb the commitment made in year ‘n’ and previous years.

(1) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999.

(2002/C 93 E/094)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2196/01

by Luciano Caveri (ELDR) to the Commission

(17 July 2001)

Subject: BSE

On 5 July this year BSE was discovered in a 14 year-old cow of the brown and white breed ‘castana
svizzera’ from Switzerland. This was not the first time that cases of this disease have been found in cattle
from Switzerland.

Can the Commission therefore say what agreements exist between the European Union and Switzerland to
ensure that all supervisory and preventive measures for cattle in Switzerland meet the safety standards laid
down in the European Union and what guarantees to this effect have been provided by the Swiss
authorities?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(2 October 2001)

The sectoral agreements of 21 June 1999 between Switzerland and the Community include an agreement
relating to trade in agricultural products. Annex 11 of this agreement relates to animal-health and
zootechnical measures applicable to trade in live animals and animal products. The appendices to Annex

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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11 do not currently include specific rules on Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). The Article 19
Joint Veterinary Committee has decided to incorporate these rules. This will be done as soon as the
agreements come into force.

The Swiss authorities have, however, set up an extensive arsenal of anti-BSE measures since 1990. This
process was supplemented in spring 1999 with the introduction of an active BSE-monitoring system based
on the use of rapid tests for the detection of BSE. This measure has also been taken up at Community level
to improve the monitoring systems already in existence within the Community. The Commission’s Food
and Veterinary Office undertakes regular inspection missions to Switzerland in order to audit the system
set up by the Swiss authorities and assess its effectiveness.

As with all third countries, imports from Switzerland are governed by Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 laying down rules for the prevention, control
and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (1). In particular, this Regulation
provides that imported products of animal origin should be accompanied by a health certificate testifying
that they contain neither specified risk material nor mechanically separated ruminant meat. It also provides
that the import of live bovine animals requires a health certificate testifying that the feeding of ruminants
with protein derived from mammals has been banned and that this ban has been effectively enforced, and
furthermore that the bovines in question are identified by means of a permanent identification system and
are not the descendants of BSE-suspected females.

(1) OJ L 147 31.5.2001.

(2002/C 93 E/095)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2199/01

by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission

(23 July 2001)

Subject: Soil standards and biowaste

The Commission has published two outlines of a proposed draft directive on the biological treatment of
biowaste, but it has now been suggested that this work may be superseded and overtaken by preparation
of a draft directive on soil standards.

Will the Commission indicate its thinking about the development of policy in these areas, its priorities and
its outline timetable for publication of further outlines and final proposals?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(24 September 2001)

With the adoption of the Communication on the Sixth Environment Action Programme (6 EAP) ‘2001-
2010: Our future, our choice’ (1), the Commission has indicated a number of areas for priority action in
the environmental field. One of these is how to enhance the protection of soil in the Community. The
Commission is currently working on a Communication on soil which it is anticipated may be adopted by
the Commission during the first half of 2002. At present, Community action specifically aimed at soil is
limited (e.g. Sewage Sludge Directive) (2) and there is little information at Community level on the state of
soils. The forthcoming Communication will consider soil functions, degradation processes and current
policies while outlining some options for the future to be debated with the Parliament, the Council and
stakeholders.

(1) COM(2001) 31 final.
(2) Council Directive 86/278/EEC of 12 June 1986 on the protection of the environment and in particular of the soil,

when sewage sludge is used in agriculture E OJ L 181, 4.7.1986.