WRITTEN QUESTION E-2758/01 by Jonas Sjöstedt (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Phasing out of import quotas for clothing.
Date: 2001-10-09
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: import restriction, quantitative restriction, textile product, trade policy

C 160 E/38

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

4.7.2002

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(26 November 2001)

Council Directive 96/96/EC of 20 December 1996 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States
relating to roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles and their trailers (1) and for passenger cars requires that
all Member States shall inspect their vehicles at least when the car is four years old and then every two
years thereafter. Member States can require stricter standards for their own registered vehicles and around
half the Member States require the car to be tested at a greater frequency or at an earlier start date than the
minimum of the Directive. The roadworthiness test includes vehicle tail-pipe emission testing, as well as
safety inspections for braking and lighting performance, etc.

The Directive, in establishing minimum standards, guarantees free circulation. A vehicle that has a valid
roadworthiness certificate from one Member State can circulate in the Community, and elsewhere.
However, because the standards are minimal and because Member States can require higher standards for
their registered vehicles, then they can, and do require that vehicles pass their own roadworthiness test as a
condition of re-registration. Consequently, a car with a valid roadworthiness certificate, from say a German
or French testing Authority would need to undergo a further roadworthiness test as a condition of re-
registering in Sweden. Consequently, Sweden is within its rights to require cars to undergo their
roadworthiness test (under the conditions of Directive 96/96/EC) before the car can be re-registered in
Sweden.

Sweden is not within its rights to require any standard that they do not require for their own vehicles. If
the first Swedish roadworthiness test commences when their cars are three years old (as opposed to when
the car is four years old, which is the minimum start point of Directive 96/96/EC), then Sweden could test
cars that are at least three years old as a condition of re-registration. However, they should not, indeed can
not legally test cars from another Member State (that are type approved under Community law) any sooner
than they would test their own registered vehicles: to do so would be a distortion of competition.

In its case law, the Court of Justice sets out the conditions in which 1 in the absence of complete
harmonisation 1 an approval procedure laid down in a Member State for vehicles imported from another
Member State and already approved or authorised for use in that State may be considered as being in
conformity with Articles 28 to 30 (ex-Articles 32 to 36) of the EC treaty. For instance, the ‘checking
procedure should not entail unreasonable cost’ (2). However, on the basis of the information contained in
the Honourable Member’s question the Commission cannot assess the special circumstances in which some
of 500 individuals mentioned had to pay ‘up to 12 600 kronor’.

Had it been established that the amount to be paid for the exhaust emissions test discriminated against or
was prejudicial to the imported vehicles compared with similar or competing national vehicles, Article 90
(ex-Article 95) of
the EC Treaty prohibiting tax discrimination would then apply. The facts in the
Commission’s possession do not point to such discrimination.

(1) OJ L 46, 17.2.1997.
(2) See Case 406/85 (Gofette and Gilliard), ECR 1987, p. 2525.

(2002/C 160 E/043)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2758/01

by Jonas Sjöstedt (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(9 October 2001)

Subject: Phasing out of import quotas for clothing

According to the international free trade agreement signed by the EU import quotas on clothing are to be
phased out by 2005. However by the end of 1997 the EU had phased out quotas only on products such as

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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knitted men’s suits, dolls’ clothing and woven hosiery; not exactly high volume products. On what clothing
products have import quotas been phased out since the end of 1997, when the situation was as described
above?

Answer given by Mr Lamy on behalf of the Commission

(15 November 2001)

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (‘ATC’) provides for the
integration of the textiles and clothing sector into General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994
by a staged process of integration, namely a minimum of 16 % of the volume of 1 190 imports on
1 January 1995, 17 % on 1 January 1998, 18 % on 1 January 2002 and the remainder on 1 January 2005.
Any quotas maintained on products that are integrated must be removed and thus, by 1 January 2005, the
whole sector will fall under GATT rules and disciplines and all quotas will have been removed. The ATC
does not affect quotas maintained in respect of non-WTO Members.

To date the Community has removed quotas on 12 categories of product affecting five WTO Members,
being those products included in the second stage of integration to which the Honourable Member refers.
The products covered included: handkerchiefs, wool, narrow woven fabrics, crocheted clothing accessories,
tights, swimwear, women’s crocheted suits, ski suits, corsets, tents, coated fabrics and camping goods.

In addition, from 1 January 2002, as part of its third stage integration programme under the ATC, the
Community will remove quotas on a further 11 product categories affecting nine WTO Members. These
quotas cover gloves, underwear, anoraks, pyjamas and night-dresses, skirts, woven pile fabrics, woven
synthetic fabrics and fibres of various kinds, baby clothes and tracksuits.

Further, as a result of the accession of China and Taiwan to the WTO, a further 32 quotas applied to
China and 15 applied to Taiwan will be removed.

The Community is also committed to improved market access by way of bilateral negotiations under
negotiating directives given by the Council of Ministers to the Commission on 9 November 2000. To date
the Community agreed a Memorandum of Understanding on market access with Sri Lanka and is in the
process of finalising a similar agreement with Pakistan.

(2002/C 160 E/044)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2768/01

by Jonas Sjöstedt (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(9 October 2001)

Subject: Final disposal of nuclear waste

What progress has been made in the discussions on sharing facilities between several Member States?
Agreements of this nature are normal in the USA where groups of States combine and share the costs of
disposal of radioactive waste. But there is no such arrangement between EU Member States at present. The
sole exception is that Belgium has an agreement with Luxembourg for the final disposal of the latter’s
nuclear waste. Concentrating final disposal in a few countries would undoubtedly be cheaper than if every
country disposed of its own waste. No Member State today can fill its disposal facilities with national
waste.

Opinion is divided on the question whether the import and export of nuclear waste is in conflict with
national law. France, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Finland have all adopted legislation restricting the
import and export of nuclear waste and radioactive material, but the issue is whether it is not in simple
legal terms subject to the free movement of persons, services and goods on the EC internal market. If