WRITTEN QUESTION E-3187/01 by Hanja Maij-Weggen (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Bush meat.
Date: 2001-11-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Africa, game meat, import policy, petition, protected species, protection of animal life

4.7.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 160 E/69

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(7 January 2002)

The Commission has financed in 2000 a study, for a total cost of € 92,000, for the design of an overall
waste management strategy for Malta. This study was finalized in May 2001 and has been published by the
Maltese authorities. Following public discussions, Malta adopted the strategy and is designing a waste
management plan for its implementation.

This plan is developed along three lines of actions:

# the management of municipal and toxic waste;

# the management of construction and demolition waste;

# the closure, remediation, restoration, landscaping and after-care of the existing landfill sites including

the Qortin landfill in Gozo.

The Maltese government
technical
specifications so as to be able to launch tenders by the end of the year, in order to contract specialized
companies to implement the decided actions.

is working, with the help of consultants, on the drafting of

Besides that, the Commission has agreed to finance a pre-accession project in 2002 for the strengthening
of the Maltese administrative capacity in environment. This project, for a total cost of € 1,4 million, will,
among other actions, provide a substantial support to strengthen the newly created Waste Management
Services Agency and allow it to attribute the contracts and monitor their implementation in the best
possible way.

The Commission is monitoring closely the developments in this area.

Future discussions concerning the implementation of the Community’s acquis in the waste field will
include examination of how the orientations of the waste strategy are being translated into reality and in
particular how and which funds will be secured to ensure closure, remediation, restoration, landscaping
and after-care of the existing landfills.

(2002/C 160 E/078)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3187/01

by Hanja Maij-Weggen (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(20 November 2001)

Subject: Bush meat

Can the Commission confirm that on 6 November it received 340 000 signatures from European citizens
protesting against increasing European sales of African bush meat, which represents exports of four
million tonnes a year?

Does the Commission know that this meat comes from wild animals in Africa, including some that are
under threat of extinction?

Is the Commission prepared to introduce an import ban on this meat or strict, controlled import quotas
because otherwise certain groups of African wild animals will become extinct within ten years as a result
of these exports?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(13 February 2002)

The Commission confirms that a petition of 1 800 000 signatures on the bushmeat crisis was handed over
to the Member of the Commission responsible for Development and Humanitarian Aid by the European
Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) at the
occasion of a press conference at the Development Council on 8 November 2001.

C 160 E/70

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

4.7.2002

The Commission is not aware of how the figure of four million tonnes imports, in any form of meat, is
arrived at. It is not part of official statistics and the Commission is not aware of other sources either. In
strictly respecting the international and Community rules on the subject of endangered species no
bushmeat can legally be imported into the Community. A total of approximately 40 000 tonnes of beef
from domestic species are exported each year to the Community under strict veterinary and customs
surveillance in the exporting African states as well as in the Community.

Some of the species endangered by the bushmeat crisis,
like gorillas, chimpanzees and elephants, are
included in Annex A to Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 of 9 December 1996 on the protection of
species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein (1) on the implementation of the Convention on
international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora (CITES). The introduction into the
Community of specimens or parts of derivatives of these species is strictly controlled under this regulation.
Import for commercial trade of endangered species included in its Annex A is prohibited.

Under these circumstances the introduction of import quotas does not seem to offer a solution to the
problem of the bushmeat crisis, which should find its remedies by actions on the ground in the countries
where this activity is prevalent.

At present, the Commission finances several conservation projects in Africa in general and particularly in
the Central African region which address this issue to a certain extent.

For example:

# The ‘Ecofac’ Programme (Ecosystèmes Forestières Afrique Centrale) has several components in and

around major protected areas to combat, control or prevent poaching.

# The project ‘ABAC’

(Alternatives au Braconnage en Afrique Centrale) specifically aims to reduce
poaching by making meat more regularly available on a controlled basis. This should reduce pressure
on animals living in the wild.

# The project ‘MIKE’ (Monitoring Illegal Killing of Elephants) provides information on levels and trends
in the illegal killing of elephants and assesses their causes in order to inform CITES decisions and the
management of habitats containing these and other threatened species in Africa. This should
ultimately provide the basis for enabling sustainable management of elephants and elephant products
in Africa, and thus also be helpful in combating poaching.

(1) OJ L 61, 3.3.1997.

(2002/C 160 E/079)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3193/01

by Raffaele Costa (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(20 November 2001)

Subject: European contributions to associations and companies

An examination of the 2001 budget reveals that the European Union allocates over EUR 32 million
(64 billion lire) to 24 associations whose goal is to promote European civil society. Which criteria does the
Commission use to assess whether one association is more deserving of funding than another? What
criterion is used in monitoring the ways in which these associations make use of the funding?

Answer given by Ms Schreyer on behalf of the Commission

(29 January 2002)

On most of these lines, the Commission wishes to launch open calls for proposals in order to select the
organisations best placed to promote the idea of the European civil society at limited cost. These calls for
proposals clearly define the selection criteria to be met by the organisations. It was in that spirit that the
draft preliminary budget for 2002 was drawn up.