WRITTEN QUESTION E-0816/02 by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Council. Development in Galicia and the example of Ireland.
Date: 2002-03-25
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Cohesion Fund, Galicia, Ireland, Structural Funds, gross domestic product

14.11.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 277 E/91

(2002/C 277 E/099)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0814/02

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

Subject: Cohesion strategies and fisheries policy: the case of Galicia

(25 March 2002)

The first progress report on economic and social cohesion, published in January 2002, considers that the
cohesion strategies should not be confined to structural policy and mentions, as part of this strategy, other
Community policies which should make greater efforts to achieve the cohesion objectives, in particular
agricultural policy and rural development, as well as environment and transport policies.

In this context, why does the report not consider fisheries policy, which has a substantial impact on
coastal ) mainly Atlantic ) regions, which in certain cases, for example Galicia, belong to both the
Objective 1 regions and the cohesion countries?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(11 June 2002)

The First progress report on economic and social cohesion, adopted by the Commission on 30 January
2002 (1), is not a full update of the Second Report on Economic and Social Cohesion (2) but a response to
the desire expressed by the Member States to be informed of the preparation of the Commission’s
proposals on the future cohesion policy.

The First progress report updated the figures on the regional disparities in economic and social terms and
on certain factors affecting the competitiveness of the regions using the latest available statistics. The
report also provided an opportunity to give information on the progress of the discussion on the future of
cohesion policy launched by the Commission when it published the second cohesion report referred to
above.

There is, however, no question of altering at this stage the analyses of Community policies set out in the
Second Report on Economic and Social Cohesion. The references to the common agricultural policy and
rural development, the environment and transport which appear in the interim report, are derived from
the documents sent to the Commission in the course of the discussion which began a year ago

(1) COM(2002) 46 final.
(2) COM(2001) 24 final.

(2002/C 277 E/100)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0816/02

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Council

Subject: Development in Galicia and the example of Ireland

(25 March 2002)

The first progress report on cohesion, published in January 2002, points out that between 1988 and 2000
the per capita GDP in Ireland rose from 64 % to 119 % of the Community average, which means that it is
now one of the richest countries in the Union, after being one of the poorest, an Objective 1 region and a
country eligible for Cohesion Fund intervention. This situation cannot have happened by chance, but
rather as the result of tangible actions and factors which should be borne in mind in other Union
countries.

What conclusions does the Council draw from the Irish experience which might be applied to regions such
as Galicia, which, despite having a per capita GDP in 1988 similar to that of Ireland, also being an
Objective 1 region and belonging to a cohesion country, Spain, still registers only 65 % of the average per
capita GDP for the EU?

C 277 E/92

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

14.11.2002

Reply

(22 July 2002)

The Council would ask the Honourable Member to refer in part to the reply already made to him (in
response to question E-0062/02),
in which it explained the overall framework in which it intends to
continue its consideration of this issue.

The Council shares the Honourable Member’s positive view of the beneficial effect of the Community’s
structural intervention in Ireland, which has been achieved in combination with successful domestic macro
and micro economic policies. This shows that for the effectiveness of the Structural and Cohesion Funds to
be maximised, spending of these Funds needs to well co-ordinated with appropriate domestic policies.

(2002/C 277 E/101)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0824/02

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

Subject: Conversion of a French driving licence in Germany

(25 March 2002)

Is the Commission aware that a driving licence lawfully obtained in France can only be converted into a
German driving licence without the need for a further test if its holder can prove that, at the time of
obtaining the licence, he had his normal place of residence in France? Does it consider this to be
compatible with the principle of freedom to provide services in the internal market?

Will it amend Article 7 of Directive 91/439/EEC (1) so that a driving licence can be obtained in another
Member State irrespective of the applicant’s normal place of residence?

Background:

) The holder of the driving licence has both German and French nationality. He lives mostly in
Germany, but regularly (at weekends) and for longer periods (during school holidays) visits his
grandparents in France, where he asked a driving school whether he could obtain a Class B driving
licence and whether this could then be converted in Germany. He was told that this was possible.

) The competent district authority in Germany is refusing to convert the driving licence, arguing that its
holder cannot prove that he had his place of residence in France at the time he obtained the licence or
that he obtained it during a six-month period of residence abroad as a student (§4, paragraph 3, of the
in conjunction with §28,
German Regulation on International Motor Vehicle Traffic (IntKfzVO),
paragraph 4, of the German Regulation on Driving Licences (FeV)).

) The relevant German rules would not prevent the holder of the driving licence from obtaining a
licence in any other town or city in Germany, and he would not need to have his normal place of
residence there. However, they do not allow him to obtain a driving licence in another Member State
without having his normal place of residence in the country concerned.

(1) OJ L 237, 24.8.1991, p. 1.

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(8 May 2002)

Council Directive 91/4397 EEC of 29 July 1991 on driving licences (1), which entered into force on 1 July
1996, introduced the principle of mutual recognition of driving licences. It is clear that all licences issued
by Member States which are valid in the country where they were issued must be mutually recognised.