WRITTEN QUESTION P-3659/01 by Helle Thorning-Schmidt (PSE) to the Commission. Directives on public supply and service contracts.
Date: 2002-01-09
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EC Directive, access to information, provision of services, public contract, report, statistics

C 172 E/104

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.7.2002

On the question of tariff rebalancing between ‘European’ and ‘Mediterranean’ products, the Commission
will take its stand on the Community’s general negotiating position of supporting a formula for reducing
bound tariffs of the same type as was used in the Uruguay Round. It also points out that in addition to
tariff protection a specific entry price provision, applies to tomatoes.

(2002/C 172 E/107)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3658/01

by Elisa Damião (PSE) to the Commission

(15 January 2002)

Subject: State support for ship-building

The specialised press has reported that the German Government is willing to subsidise sea transport and
the ship-building industry, and has submitted a proposal to this effect to Parliament.

In view of the distortion of competition this may cause and the fact that it is an example of a Member
State directly or
sectors, can the
indirectly protecting the ship-building and maritime transport
Commission supply information about the context of these practices and assess the consequences for the
industries of other Member States?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(20 February 2002)

The Commission is not aware of the proposal by the German Government to grant aid to sea transport
and the shipbuilding industry to which the Honourable Member refers.

In any case, Article 88(3) of the EC Treaty obliges Member States to inform the Commission, in sufficient
time to enable it to submit its comments, of any plans to grant or alter aid.

If, in accordance with this obligation, Germany notifies the Commission of a plan to grant aid to these
sectors, this will be examined in the light of the Guidelines on State aid to maritime transport (1) and
Council Regulation (EC) No 1540/98 of 29 June 1998 on aid to shipbuilding (2).

(1) OJ C 205, 5.7.1997.
(2) OJ L 202, 18.7.1998.

(2002/C 172 E/108)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3659/01

by Helle Thorning-Schmidt (PSE) to the Commission

(9 January 2002)

Subject: Directives on public supply and service contracts

Under:

= Council Directive 93/36/EEC (1) of 14 June 1993 (as subsequently amended) coordinating procedures

for the award of public supply contracts, and

= Council Directive 92/50/EEC (2) of 18 June 1992 (as

subsequently amended)

relating to the

coordination of procedures for the award of public service contracts,

Member States are required to forward annual reports to the Commission on the service contracts and
public supply contracts which they have concluded.

18.7.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 172 E/105

The purpose is to enable the Commission to assess the results of the application of the directives.

Has the Commission carried out such assessments in the light of these reports?

Is it also possible for the public to obtain access to those reports?

(1) OJ L 199, 9.8.1993, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 209, 24.7.1992, p. 1.

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(22 February 2002)

The Commission regularly carries out an evaluation of application and effectiveness of
the public
procurement directives, on the basis of the statistical reports from Member States, published notices in the
Official Journal Supplement S, and other available statistics.

The results of these evaluations have contributed to the Commission’s reports on the functioning of
Community product and capital Markets (1) and, as structural
indicators to the Contribution of the
Commission to the Spring European Council, Stockholm 23-24th March 2001 (2).

Access to the statistical reports from Member States is governed by the guidelines laid down in Regulation
(EC) No 1049/2001 (3). Before replying to requests for access to reports submitted before the date of
application of this Regulation (3 December 2001), the Member States concerned will be consulted for their
prior authorisation. For reports submitted after 3 December 2001 access will be granted unless there are
grounds for exception under Article 4 of the Regulation.

(1) COM(2001) 736.
(2) COM(2001) 79 final.
(3) Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to

European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, OJ L 145, 31.5.2001.

(2002/C 172 E/109)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3666/01

by Charles Tannock (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(15 January 2002)

Subject: The re-employment of scientists who worked in Soviet biotechnology weapons laboratories

On Wednesday 21 November The Wall Street Journal Europe published an article (Turning the Bad Into
Good) detailing the nature of the recent partnership agreement between Diversa Corp. a San Diego based
genomics company and the State Centre for Applied Microbiology in Obelinsk Russia. The idea is to
convert the former weapons plant, which used to produce large quantities of weapons-grade anthrax into a
factory for the production of peaceful technologies such as microbe-detection devices, antifungal enzymes
and antibiotics and to provide work for at least some of the many thousands of highly-qualified Soviet
scientists who are currently unemployed or working in dead-end jobs and who are prime targets for rogue
states or terrorist organisations such as Al-Quaeda.

the International Science and Technology Center,

Does the Commission commend the initiative of companies such as Diversa Corp. and has it done
anything to encourage similarly imaginative initiatives by European companies? Does it also believe that
the multinational consortium
the programme of
sponsored by the U.S., the European Union, Japan and Russia which awarded grants of about $62 million
in 2000, including one project that enabled former designers of computerised missile-guidance systems to
create computer-based analytical models of leukaemia prognosis, needs to be considerably expanded if the
skills of all these former Soviet scientists are to be harnessed to peaceful and productive purposes for the
general benefit of mankind?