WRITTEN QUESTION P-0825/02 by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission. Jim Currie.
Date: 2002-03-19
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU environmental policy, European official, duties of civil servants, political morality, regulations for civil servants

29.8.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 205 E/221

(2002/C 205 E/241)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0823/02

by Karl von Wogau (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(25 March 2002)

Subject: Evaluation of plant protection product safety

Is the Commission aware that the absence of an evaluation of plant protection product safety has led to
uncertainty amongst both consumers and farmers?

By when does it expect to have completed the safety evaluation?

How does it assess the distortions of competition and the uncertainty amongst consumers and farmers to
which this situation has given rise?

Plant protection product residues were found in various types of fruit in Baden-Württemberg. A number of
farmers admitted to buying plant protection products in Italy, where, it is claimed, the active substances
can be bought at a seventh or even, in some cases, a tenth of their German price and active substances no
longer authorised for use in Germany can be bought without any problem. It has been pointed out,
however, that fruit from trees and bushes treated with such products can be marketed in any Member
State, putting German farmers at a disadvantage. On the one hand, they are not allowed to use all
pesticides, which could result in lower quality crops, and, on the other hand, they have to pay substantially
more for plant protection products authorised for use in Germany. The end products are in direct
competition with each other on the foodstuffs market.

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(24 April 2002)

The Commission is fully aware that the review of plant protection products should proceed as quickly as
possible in order to ensure that only products which meet the high safety requirements of Council
Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 1991 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the
market (1) can remain on the market. In its Report to Council and Parliament made in June 2001 (2) the
Commission has addressed the reasons for delay and has proposed measures to finalise the review in 2008.

For the aspects concerning distortions of competition, the Commission would like to refer the Honourable
Member to the answer given to written question P-0567/02 by Mr Langen (3).

(1) OJ L 230, 19.8.1991.
(2) COM(2001) 444 final.
(3) OJ C 160 E, 4.7.2002, p. 223.

(2002/C 205 E/242)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0825/02

by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission

(19 March 2002)

Subject: Jim Currie

The decision by Jim Currie, former Director-General of DG Environment, to join the board of British
Nuclear Funds Ltd just four months after stepping down from his position, is bound to cause concerns
about possible conflicts of interest, will create the impression that DG Environment is too close to
industry, and will call into question the Commission’s impartiality in determining environmental policy.

C 205 E/222

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

29.8.2002

Further to the statement made by Commissioner Wallström to the European Parliament on 12 March, is
the Commission satisfied that Mr Currie has complied in full with Article 16 of the regulations and rules
applicable to officials of the European Community?

Is the Commission calling upon Mr Currie to step down from his position, and if not, why not?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(19 April 2002)

Former permanent officials and other servants who have left the service are required to comply with
Articles 16 and 17 of the Staff Regulations.

Article 16 provides that, after termination of service with the Institution,
obligations of integrity and discretion in relation to the acceptance of certain duties or functions.

the official must respect

Article 17 relates to the necessary discretion with regard to the information acquired during the course of
the official’s (former) duties.

In the specific case referred to by the Honourable Member, the Commission can confirm that it is in the
process of examining whether the former Director-General of DG Environment at the Commission will be
in a position to comply with the relevant provisions of the Staff Regulations (Articles 16 and 17) in joining
the board of directors of British Nuclear Fuels UK as an independent non-executive member. This
examination should be finalised in the course of April. Meanwhile, the Commission has received a reply to
its letter to the former official in which he indicates that he has not yet accepted the post in question.

The Commission advises the Honourable Member that, in considering such cases, the Commission expects
its officials to refrain from accepting employment if this could lead to a conflict of interest with their
former post in the Commission. Such a conflict is generally considered to be evident if the new activity is
related to a dossier for which the official was responsible in the Commission and involves him/her in
intervening against the position of the Commission with regard to this dossier. The same situation occurs
where the official might profit from confidential information gained during his/her previous functions.
Where the Commission suspects a violation of its professional rules it acts immediately to check the matter
and, if necessary, takes measures to penalise such a violation.

In its proposal for modification of the Staff Regulations in the context of Administrative Reform, the
Commission proposes to further strengthen Article 16 by placing an obligation on a former official to
notify the Institution if he or she proposes to take up a professional activity within two years of
termination of service. Similarly, it is proposed that Article 17 be strengthened in respect of the divulgation
of information not yet in the public domain.

(2002/C 205 E/243)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0828/02

by Salvador Garriga Polledo (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Teaching entrepreneurial skills in schools

(26 March 2002)

At the recent meeting in Aranjuez (Spain) of EU Ministers responsible for small and medium-sized
businesses, remarks were made regarding the need to encourage entrepreneurial skills in school children,
starting at primary level.

Such a suggestion should certainly be seized upon and be put into practice, even if this would require a
well-defined strategy in order to ensure that the intended benefits of the initiative are reaped.