WRITTEN QUESTION P-3630/01 by Hans-Peter Martin (PSE) to the Council. President of the Convention.
Date: 2002-01-08
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European convention, appointment of staff, president of an institution

20.6.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 147 E/213

Council Directive 89/105/EEC of 21 December 1988 relating to the transparency of measures regulating
the prices of medicinal products for human use and their inclusion in the scope of national health
insurance systems (1) requires there to be a certain transparency of national decisions on prices of
medicinal products and their reimbursement within the Community.

It is envisaged to proceed in 2002 with an evaluation of this Directive in order to investigate whether it
needs to be amended.

(1) OJ L 40, 11.2.1989.

(2002/C 147 E/224)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3627/01

by Sebastiano Musumeci (UEN) to the Commission

Subject: Measures to support crisis distillation in Sicily

(8 January 2002)

The wine-growing sector in Sicily is going through a serious crisis because of the problems facing
cooperative wine-growers’ associations and individual producers.

Distillation can provide an immediate, albeit temporary, solution to the problem that will ward off a total
collapse of the sector pending the necessary specific and definitive measures to secure the future of wine-
growing in Sicily, which can compete in terms of quality but is penalised by fierce competition from Spain
in terms of cost and quantity.

The Italian government has asked the European Commission for authorisation to introduce crisis
distillation for 8 million hectolitres of wine.

Does the Commission not consider that
it should authorise the Italian Ministry of Agriculture to
supplement the intervention price with a national subsidy to bring it up to the price for optional
distillation?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(31 January 2002)

The Commission has already been informed of the difficulties on the wine market in Sicily and thanks the
Honourable Member for drawing its attention to the seriousness of the situation. On 17 January 2002 the
Italian authorities asked the Commission to open crisis distillation. This request will be closely examined in
the light of the information needed to take a decision on the matter.

As regards the state aid referred to by the Honourable Member, designed to increase the Community
distillation price should crisis distillation take place, the Commission can only take a decision after
considering the facts of the case. As a general rule the Commission considers aids of this kind to be an
operating aid, i.e. one that is incompatible with the single market and interferes with the mechanisms
governing the common organisation of the markets.

(2002/C 147 E/225)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3630/01

by Hans-Peter Martin (PSE) to the Council

(8 January 2002)

Subject: President of the Convention

Is the correct that at the EU summit in Laeken the Council took only a few minutes to discuss and agree
on the appointment of Mr Valéry Giscard d’Estaing as president of the Convention and is it also true that
only one name was put forward for the office of president and that the name of Wim Kok was therefore
not even mentioned?

C 147 E/214

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.6.2002

Why were only former heads of government considered when the president and vice-presidents were
appointed and not serving members of parliament?

Why is there not a single woman among the president and two vice-presidents?

Reply

(18 March 2002)

After a substantive discussion of all the relevant issues and taking into account a number of different
options, the European Council meeting in Laeken agreed to appoint Mr Valéry Giscard d’Estaing as
president of the Convention.

The ‘Council’ is in no position to speculate on the subjective motives of the participants.

(2002/C 147 E/226)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3654/01

by Mario Borghezio (NI) to the Commission

(15 January 2002)

Subject: Fire at Paris hotel B checks on observance of European fire prevention standards

On 17 December 2001 four people, including two young Italian women, died in a fire B probably of
criminal origin B at the Hôtel du Palais in Paris.

This tragic occurrence has pointed up the frequent and deliberate failure to apply the strict European rules
on fire risks and their prevention in full, or, indeed, at all, especially at hotels.

Does the Commission not consider that checks should be made concerning the real observance of the anti-
fire standards in the Member States?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(18 February 2002)

The Commission has been informed about the fire which claimed the lives of four people and injured
seven at the Hôtel du Palais in Paris during the night of 17 December 2001.

According to the initial police findings, it was an act of arson and the perpetrator, a habitual offender, was
apprehended on the spot.

Given these tragic circumstances, the Commission is unable to comment on the way in which safety
standards were implemented in the case in question. This is particularly so when there is a deliberate
intention to start a fire, in which case even rigorous application of the preventive arrangements in force
may prove insufficient.

However, generally speaking, the Commission shares the concerns expressed by the Honourable Member
and is currently working, in collaboration with the Member States, on improvements which could be made
to the main Community instrument applicable: Council Recommendation 86/666/EEC of 22 December
1986 on fire safety in existing hotels (1).

The first phase of this work was concluded with the adoption, on 27 June 2001, of a Commission report
on application of the Recommendation (2). This report points out that the Recommendation has helped to
improve safety, particularly in areas where it was most needed, and also identifies grey areas which ought
to be addressed. In this connection, the report raises points for consideration with a view to furthering the
Commission’s work on the subject.