WRITTEN QUESTION E-2322/01 by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Pesticides directive.
Date: 2001-07-31
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU Member State, European standard, market approval, marketing, marketing standard, pesticide, pharmaceutical product, plant health product

16.5.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 115 E/61

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(12 October 2001)

Given the lack of Community legislation on the labelling of ingredients of alcoholic drinks, despite several
proposals from the Commission since 1982, the Commission is in favour of Member States maintaining or
adopting national laws on the labelling of ingredients of certain alcoholic drinks, provided these comply
with the rules of the EC Treaty.

With regard to wine, however, the following must be noted:

% there is existing Community legislation (a list of the various applicable legal

instruments will be
forwarded directly to the Honourable Member and to Parliament’s Secretariat) which governs very
precisely and exhaustively the compulsory and optional information to be used in the labelling of
wines, but does not provide for the labelling of ingredients. This legislation is about to be replaced, in
order to apply the new common organisation of the market in wine adopted by the Council in May
1999 (Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the common organisation of the
market in wine (1)), by rules which are currently under discussion and will be adopted very soon. The
draft version of these new provisions provides for an optional reference to sulphites in wine labelling;

% the Commission has just forwarded a proposal to Parliament and the Council to amend Directive
2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 March 2000 on the approximation
of the laws of the Member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs (2),
the main
the possibility of derogations, of
which provides for compulsory labelling, without
ingredients or substances which cause food intolerances or allergies. Alcoholic drinks,
including
wines, are included in this proposal, and sulphites are one of the substances in question.

In the Commission’s opinion, therefore, it would not be appropriate to adopt national measures applicable
to the labelling of wine ingredients.

(1) OJ L 179, 14.7.1999.
(2) OJ L 109, 6.5.2000.

(2002/C 115 E/065)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2322/01

by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(31 July 2001)

Subject: Pesticides directive

What percentage of pesticidal products currently authorised to be sold in Europe have not been registered
according to the requirements of Directive 91/414/EEC (1)?

Can the Commission provide details of the pesticides review that is currently taking place? Which Member
States are participating in this exercise, and has it yet been decided what the cost of reviewing a data
package will be in each country?

What is being done to ensure that the costs of the review will be affordable to small and medium-sized
businesses?

(1) OJ L 230, 19.8.1991, p. 1.

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(10 October 2001)

Council Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 1991 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the
market, provides that no plant protection product can be placed on the market in the Community unless

C 115 E/62

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

16.5.2002

the Member State in whose territory it is to be marketed has first authorised it. Member States have had to
apply, since the entry into force of the Directive in July 1993, in particular Article 4 of the Directive when
granting authorisations.

Full details of the review that is taking place are given in the Report from the Commission to the
Parliament and the Council on progress in the evaluation of the active substances of plant protection
products (1). All Member States participate in the exercise. The cost of the review in each Member State is
for the Member States themselves to decide and these costs will vary depending on the complexity of the
dossiers to be evaluated.

The Directive does not provide for any specific measures to be taken to ensure that costs of the review are
affordable. Rather, it provides that products or substances placed on the market have to be demonstrated
to be safe in the first place. The Commission recognises the possible problems that smaller companies may
face in demonstrating the safety of their products and has addressed the issue and possible solutions in the
above-mentioned report particularly in relation to data sharing.

(1) COM(2001) 444 final.

(2002/C 115 E/066)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2356/01

by Fernando Fernández Martín (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(6 August 2001)

Subject: Car-hire

Most European car-hire companies offer consumers prices which then vary considerably when the time
comes to pay. More specifically, when companies are asked for information on the cost of hiring a car, the
firms provide information only on the cost of hiring the vehicle and the franchise to be paid in the event
of an accident and propose insurance of some kind, finally asking for the customer’s credit card number as
a guarantee that they will receive payment for the services rendered.

When the time comes to pay the bill, a charge is made for things which had never previously been
mentioned by the car-hire company, such as airport fees, petrol, mileage, etc. Not only are consumers not
warned in advance of the cost of these services and their obligation to pay for them but, given that the
company concerned is in possession of their credit card number, it can charge for them even if the person
concerned does not give consent, leaving customers without any means of redress.

Furthermore, it is a scandal that the cost of refilling the fuel tank can be up to four times higher than the
actual market price for fuel.

Is the Commission aware of
Commission aware of this unfair treatment of consumers?

these improper practices on the part of car-hire companies? Is the

What regulations exist to combat these widespread improper practices? What action can consumers take if
they feel that they have been defrauded in this way?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(29 October 2001)

The Commission is aware of problems of the kind denounced by the Honourable Member in the car-hire
sector. With regard to the legal framework, the Commission Recommendation of 30 July 1997 concerning
transactions by electronic payment instruments and in particular the relationship between issuer and
holder (1) applies, for example, to payments made by credit card.

Article 5 of this Recommendation authorises the holder of a credit card to countermand a payment order
given using the card, where this order relates to a transaction for which ‘the amount was not determined
when the order was given’.