WRITTEN QUESTION E-2566/01 by Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Appalling hygiene in the Rendi central meat market in Greece.
Date: 2001-09-21
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Central Greece, European Commission, exchange of information, fresh meat, health legislation, marketing standard, wholesale trade

C 115 E/122

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16.5.2002

conclusions since these figures may as well reflect improvements in the respective services. Unfortunately,
reliable estimate on the scale of problematic drug use in Greece is still missing.

Most of the drug policy in the Union falls within the competence of the Member States. The Community
Programme for Drug Prevention has funded many networks of professionals, cities and non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) aiming at developing best practices in drug prevention and sharing information
between them. Research into the effectiveness of drug treatment has been funded by the Framework
Programme for Research and Development. There are also many non-drug specific programmes that have
funded drug-related activities; e.g. the URBAN programme has funded the setting up of a rehabilitation
centre in Greece.

The Union Action Plan on Drugs 2000-2004 (1) lists more than a hundred concrete measures to be taken
to tackle drugs. The Commission, together with the Europol and the EMCDDA, has already drawn up a
follow-up table listing the targets of the Action Plan together with a timetable and the responsible party
for their implementation. A similar table for the Member States is under discussion. The table could also
prove to be useful for the candidate countries in preparation for membership. Concerning, in particular,
the law enforcement cooperation, the Commission and the Member States have listed their goals in the
‘Scoreboard to review progress in an area of’Freedom, Security and Justice‘in the Union’ (2) based on the
conclusions of the Tampere European Council of 15 and 16 October 1999.

The Commission will organise an evaluation of the Union Action Plan in the mid-term (2002) and on
completion (2004). In this context, also the strategies and policies on drugs in the Union will be evaluated.
The Commission is working closely with the EMCDDA and Europol to develop tools for this evaluation.
The Action Plan on Drugs calls for all drug related actions to be evaluated. Evaluation is a tool for
identifying best practices and benchmarking achievements and learning from experience. This information
must then be shared between all the actors in the drugs field in the Union as well as with the candidate
countries.

(1) COM(1999) 239 final.
(2) COM(2000) 782 final.

(2002/C 115 E/125)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2566/01

by Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(21 September 2001)

Subject: Appalling hygiene in the Rendi central meat market in Greece

According to my information (press reports and administrative memos), the wholesale meat market in
Athens, which belongs to the Athens Central Market Organisation under the supervision of the Ministry of
Trade, does not fulfill the criteria laid down in Commission Decision 96/658/EC (1), and is operating
unlawfully and without the approval of the competent authority required under Article 4 of that Decision.

The market lacks space and equipment, and its employees do not comply with personal hygiene rules. The
open spaces are permanently littered with rubbish, which swarms with insects and mice. The meat is
exposed to the open air, cut up among customers, visitors and even dogs, and transported to retailers in a
heap in dirty vehicles and sometimes in the boots of cars. Despite this situation, the market continues to
operate and its authorities have no regard for compliance with Community standards.

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1. What measures will the Commission take to ensure that Greece complies with the applicable
Community legislation?

2. What are the public health risks associated with the above conditions?

3.

Has funding been earmarked under the third CSF to build new premises?

(1) OJ L 302, 26.11.1996, p. 22.

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(29 October 2001)

The Commission was unaware of the existence of the circumstances in the wholesale meat market of
Rentis described by the Honourable Member.

Community legislation sets down the standards and norms to be applied in the production of meat and
this legislation is addressed to the Member States.
the
implementation of Community requirements, and to take corrective action where necessary. The
Commission has written to the Greek authorities and requested a prompt clarification of the situation. It
will apprise the Honourable Member of information it receives thereafter. The Commission will, in light of
the response it receives, consider what further steps to take. These would be additional to the ongoing
efforts to improve Greek compliance with Community legislation.

is for the central authorities to control

It

The Commission does not manage individual projects under the Community Support Framework (CSF). It
is, therefore, not in a position to confirm whether or not funding was earmarked under the CSF 3 for this
project. It is for the Greek authorities to decide the inclusion of the project in the relevant programme.

(2002/C 115 E/126)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2573/01

by Robert Goebbels (PSE) to the Commission

(13 September 2001)

Subject: Europe by Satellite invitation to tender

On 22 August, through its Press and Communications DG, the Commission issued an invitation to tender
relating to the Europe by Satellite (broadcast since 1996 on the Eutelsat Hot Bird satellite) project. The
documents relating to the invitation to tender are quite bulky and apparently not all of them were made
available until late August. Given that 1 October has been set as the deadline for submission of what will
be highly technical bids, one is obliged to ask whether the relevant Commission departments really
intended to give all interested service providers a chance to compete for the contract, or whether the
moment chosen to issue the invitation to tender (August) and the very little time given to potential bidders
to react to the tender documents were in fact designed to deter potential rivals of the current operator of
the Europe by Satellite service?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(18 October 2001)

The Commission contracts the provision of ‘Europe by Satellite’ satellite television broadcasting services
out to an external service provider. The current contract was signed in March 1999, renewable four times
for a period of one year, i.e. capable of being extended until 2004 at most. However, considering technical
developments and trends in market prices in this field, the Commission has preferred to launch a new
competitive tender offer without waiting until 2004.

In order to ensure a smooth transition between the current contractor and a potential new contractor from
March 2002, the Commission, in 2001, announced its intention to launch an invitation to tender by
publishing the prior information notice in the Official Journal (1), in accordance with Council Directive
92/50/EEC of 18 June 1992 relating to the coordination of procedures for the award of public service
contracts (2), and then launched the tender procedure with the publication of a contract notice in the
Official Journal of the European Communities (3).