WRITTEN QUESTION E-2663/01 by Armando Cossutta (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Public service contracts and the Mafia in Italy.
Date: 2001-10-01
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EC Directive, Italy, Mafia, access to information, application of EU law, fight against crime, invitation to tender, organised crime, public contract

C 115 E/142

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

16.5.2002

(cid:1) that British soldiers called to assist in the slaughter were being fed on legally imported beef from

Argentina, which practises vaccination against foot-and-mouth?

If so, and bearing in mind that vaccinated animals are perfectly safe for human consumption and that as
Commissioner Byrne has testified to the European Parliament, foot-and-mouth is not a risk to human
health, that the extent of the slaughter not only caused enormous psychological stress to many farmers
and soldiers but increased the risk of BSE transmission and that the Dutch government’s policy of early
vaccination has been an unqualified success, will the Commission not only undertake an immediate review
of its no-vaccination policy without waiting for the outbreak in the UK to end, but also consider
intervention on public health grounds so that millions more animals are not needlessly slaughtered?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(12 November 2001)

The number of cases of foot and mouth disease in the United Kingdom has diminished rapidly in recent
months and the most recent outbreak occurred on 30 September 2001. The introduction of vaccination at
this stage is, therefore, most unlikely to lead to the saving of millions more animals as suggested by the
Honourable Member. Moreover, vaccination cannot be introduced solely at the Commission’s initiative.
Instead, it must be requested by a Member State(s). It should be noted in this respect that all applications
to the Commission for the introduction of vaccination in the course of the recent outbreaks were
approved, subject to the conditions agreed with the Member States in the Standing Veterinary Committee.

A summary of the grounds for the non-use of vaccination in the United Kingdom is to be found on the
website of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The Commission has already, repeatedly, undertaken to carry out a fundamental review of the current
Community approach towards vaccination once the current outbreak has been eradicated. As part of this
review process a major conference is taking place under the Belgian Presidency on 11-12 December 2001.
The review will also take into account the experience in the Member States where outbreaks occurred. This
includes, in addition to the UK, the Netherlands where a limited policy of vaccination was used and the
vaccinated animals were slaughtered and France and Ireland where outbreaks were eradicated without
recourse to vaccination.

Once this review has taken place the Commission will present a proposal for a Council directive on Foot
and Mouth Disease which will be transmitted to the Parliament for its opinion. The future approach
towards vaccination, drawing on the experience of the recent outbreaks, will be a major part of the
directive. The proposal is expected to be finalised in the first quarter of 2002.

(2002/C 115 E/146)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2663/01

by Armando Cossutta (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(1 October 2001)

Subject: Public service contracts and the Mafia in Italy

In a public statement, the Italian minister responsible for public works, Mr Lunardi, said that, given the
situation in Italy, one would have to ‘live with the Mafia’ when carrying out the major public works
programme that had been announced by the Berlusconi government.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 115 E/143

Leaving aside the extremely serious political and legal implications of this statement (cid:1) which, let it be said,
refers solely to the Italian State (cid:1) can the Commission say:

1. whether it considers that in accepting to ‘live with’ the Mafia where public service contracts are

involved, the Italian Government is acting in breach of the relevant Community legislation;

2. how it intends to ensure that tendering procedures for public works contracts in Italy do not bear the
taint of Mafia influence and that any company in the Union is able to take part in the safe knowledge
that its bid can be rejected only on objective and wholly legal grounds?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(12 November 2001)

The Commission would like to emphasize that it attaches great importance to preventing those linked to
criminal organisations from participating in procedures for the award of public contracts.

In this regard, the Commission would point out that, in Article 46(1) of its proposal for a Directive of the
European Parliament and of the Council relating to the coordination of procedures for the award of public
supply, public service and public works contracts, it introduced an obligation aimed at excluding from
participation in the invitation to tender any tenderer who has been the subject of a definitive judgment for
participation in a criminal organisation,
the European
Communities.

for corruption or for financial

fraud against

This proposal follows up the conclusions of the European Council meeting in Tampere in October 1999
and corresponds to the political priorities set out in the action plans to combat organised crime, which
were adopted by the Council in June 1997 and March 2000, and in the Commission Communication of
1997 on the Union’s anti-corruption policy (1).

Moreover, in order to render effective the provision in the above-mentioned Article 46(1), the Commission
intends to propose that a new directive be adopted to introduce a new system of exchange of information
between Member States and European institutions so that the awarding authorities in the Member States
are able to obtain the information necessary to check whether an economic operator should be excluded
from participation in an invitation to tender by reason of a conviction for one of the offences referred to
in the above-mentioned Article 46(1).

In this context, the Commission notes that the Italian Government has always demonstrated its full
commitment to achieving the above-mentioned objectives.

(1) COM(1997) 192.

(2002/C 115 E/147)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2671/01

by Laura González Álvarez (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

Subject: Environmental impact of the extension of Barcelona airport

(2 October 2001)

Depana, an association for the defence of the natural heritage, has submitted a large number of complaints
concerning the planned extension of Barcelona airport (El Prat).

This association has been working for several years on an alternative sustainable development plan for the
Llobregat delta. It has now submitted its own alternative proposal concerning extension of the airport and
planning strategy for the surrounding area, in line with the findings of its work over those years and with
a view to minimising the impact of the airport on the area.