WRITTEN QUESTION E-3417/01 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Sales below cost.
Date: 2001-12-21
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Greece, competition law, competitiveness, frontier region, selling at a loss, single market

C 147 E/172

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.6.2002

The ‘Der Spiegel’ article refers to a number of features of the Commission’s personnel policy, without
mentioning the fact that the package of proposals (foreshadowed in a series of consultation documents
adopted on 28 February 2001) puts forward changes to precisely these items which it regards to be
anomalous or anachronistic.

For example:

’ First, where children attend educational establishments free of charge, the Commission proposes the
abolition of the education allowance. Officials whose children attend one of the European schools or
other public sector schools would consequently not receive this allowance.

’ Second, the Commission has proposed the severe curtailment of officials’ ability to transfer part of
their salary to their country of origin with the application of a weighting factor. This would, in future,
be limited to specified and essential expenditure such as a parent’s proven payment of child
maintenance. In addition, the weighting factor relating to retired officials will no longer be based on
the cost of living in capitals, but on the average for each Member State as a whole ’ a change which
is both fair and cost effective.

’ Third, the ‘Der Spiegel’ article derides the Commission proposal that formal recognition should be
given in the Staff Regulations to same-sex marriages that are contracted under the law of those
Member States which make such statutory provision. The implied prejudice of the author of the article
is evident. However, Community policy ’ endorsed by Parliament ’ is to contest discrimination of all
types, and the Commission’s proposal is certainly consistent with that. The Commission can therefore
see no justification for discriminating against staff who have legally contracted a same-sex marriage
under the law of one of the Member States.

It is also significant that the article gives no real attention to the very major changes in individual
appraisal, promotion, mobility and career structure that are being pursued as essential points of Reform.
Any magazine feature which purports to deal with civil service reform but does not focus on such core
issues has all of the authority and usefulness of a newspaper report of a football match that fails to
mention which teams were playing.

(1) COM(2000) 200 final.

(2002/C 147 E/179)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3417/01

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(21 December 2001)

Subject: Sales below cost

The Greek Parliament has introduced a law, No. 2941 of 12 September 2001, prohibiting from 1 October
2001 the sale of goods below cost, with certain exceptions. This law was passed following consultations
between the representative bodies of the commercial and manufacturing sectors and was supported by all
parties in the Greek Parliament without exception. Legal provisions prohibiting sales below cost have been
in force for years in some Member States, such as France, with the aim of protecting consumers and
competition from unfair practices.

for a regulation (1) of 2 October 2001 concerning sales
In the light of the Commission’s proposal
promotions in the Internal Market, which allows sales below cost, will the Commission examine whether
such commercial practices can be considered unfair since offers and inducements to consumers ultimately
lead to continual centralisation and monopoly situations. As the Member States have introduced
legislation, by general consent, to prohibit sales below cost in order to guard against monopoly situations,
why has the Commission not opted to apply the subsidiarity principle?

(1) COM(2001) 546 final.

20.6.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 147 E/173

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(26 February 2002)

The Commission thanks the Honourable Member for his update on the Greek legal situation in Greece
concerning sales below cost. The Commission was aware of the new ban on sales below cost that was
introduced in that Member State as of 1 October 2001.

The Honourable Member refers to the Commission’s proposal for a regulation on sales promotions in the
Internal Market (1) which proposes to lift general bans on sales below cost and replace them with strict
information requirements.

The Commission recognises that, under certain circumstances, sales below cost can be used to prevent
entry or incite exit in a market. Such predatory pricing is illegal under competition law in all Member
States. However, sales below cost campaigns can also be pro-competitive. Product or service suppliers
seeking to enter a foreign market where their brand is not known will resort to temporary loss-leading
campaigns to establish a foothold. Likewise, innovative products or services competing with existing lines,
often have to resort to such loss-leading campaigns to get clients or customers to try the new improved
product or service.

The Commission therefore considers that such bans should be liberalised subject to strict information and
transparency requirements. It wishes to ensure that loss-leading campaigns can continue to be used to
stimulate competition by breaking into non-domestic existing markets or developing new product or
service markets. It has therefore proposed that sales below costs should be allowed but that these should
be made subject to strict information and transparency requirements that would help for more effective
application of anti-trust law in this area.

The Honourable Member questions why the Commission feels obliged to harmonise this area instead of
In response the Commission wishes to point out that before
applying the principle of subsidiarity.
proposing this Regulation,
regulatory issues on sales
the Commission discussed these and other
promotions within the Expert Group on commercial communications made up of experts nominated by
the Member States. That Expert Group recognised and made public its opinion that differing national
regulations in this field would give rise to Internal Market barriers. It is the Commission’s view that these
differences in national laws limiting the value of discounts not only prevent companies from undertaking
cross-border sales promotion campaigns but also reduce cross-border price transparency following the
introduction of the Euro.

This undermines consumer confidence in cross-border trade which prevents the internal market working
to the full benefit of both businesses and consumers. For these reasons the Commission believes that it is
justified in proposing this harmonisation to achieve the Internal Market in this field of sales promotions.

(1) COM(2001) 546 final.

(2002/C 147 E/180)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3418/01

by Ioannis Marínos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(21 December 2001)

Subject: Respect for linguistic diversity in Europe

2001 was designated the ‘European Year of Languages’. Since its inception, the Union has shown a keen
interest in maintaining linguistic diversity in Europe and a large part of its budget is spent on translation
and interpretation to facilitate the use of the 11 official languages of the Union.

It is well known that tens of thousands of Pomaks live in Greece. The majority are Muslims who speak
their own language which has survived the passage of
is a language used for everyday
communication with an alphabet, grammatical rules and spelling rules. Educational books have also been
published in Pomak for the use of primary school children. However, no provision is made within the
official Greek education system to teach Pomak, which is condemning the language to extinction.

time.

It