WRITTEN QUESTION E-0866/02 by Francis Decourrière (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Passing on the family business — French law.
Date: 2002-04-03
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: France, capital transfer tax, small and medium-sized enterprises, tax harmonisation, tax system, transfer of property

29.8.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 205 E/227

(2002/C 205 E/248)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0864/02

by Graham Watson (ELDR) to the Commission

Subject: Possible harmful effects of Xanthine Oxidase in Milk

(3 April 2002)

Is the Commission aware of the possibly harmful effect of Xanthine Oxidase in homogenised milk?

Will it take steps to ensure that milk labelling shows whether milk has been homogenised?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(21 May 2002)

The Commission would like to inform the Honourable Member that, as outlined in the Commission’s reply
to written question E-2907/00 by Mr Clegg (1), it is not aware of any research showing that homogenised
milk poses a threat to the health of the population.

Neither is the Commission aware of any scientific evidence of harmful effects of the physiological enzyme
xanthine oxidase in homogenised milk. If such evidence in the future would establish that the process of
homogenisation poses a threat to the health of the population, the Commission would of course then
examine what course of action should be followed.

Concerning the labelling of homogenised milk, the Commission wishes to inform the Honourable Member
that the proper information of the consumer is already foreseen in paragraph 3 of Article 5 of Directive
2000/13/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 20 March 2000 on the approximation of the laws of
the Member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs (2): ‘The name under
which the product is sold shall include or be accompanied by particulars as to the physical condition of
the foodstuffs or the specific treatment which it has undergone (e.g. powdered, freeze-dried, deep-frozen,
concentrated, smoked) in all cases where omission of such information could create confusion in the mind
of the purchaser’.

(1) OJ C 136 E, 8.5.2001.
(2) OJ L 109, 6.5.2000.

(2002/C 205 E/249)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0866/02

by Francis Decourrière (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Passing on the family business > French law

(3 April 2002)

In March 1998 the European Commission issued a communication urging the governments of the Member
States to favourably review their national rules on the passing on of family businesses, arguing that the law
on business inheritance was damaging to employment in the European Community.

Introduction of the euro in January 2002 has highlighted distortion of competition arising from the legal
and fiscal regulations affecting French family businesses.

In this area French law seems to be persisting in lagging behind the other Member States.

C 205 E/228

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

29.8.2002

When presenting its priorities for the European Union’s future fiscal policy, the Commission pointed out
that it intended to give particular attention to the fiscal problems facing individuals and businesses
operating in the internal market.

Will the Commission be setting up coordinated action to deal with the fiscal obstacles and loopholes in the
area of business taxation, particularly on the passing on of family businesses? Does it intend to review best
practice in the Member States following the introduction of the euro, as it did in 1997?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(14 May 2002)

The Commission’s action in the area of the transfer of businesses dates back to 1993 when it organised a
symposium to find out the situation in the different Member States and to define best practice. The
Commission has continued its work in this area over the years and in November 2000 it launched a
project on the transfer of businesses within the framework of the Best Procedure of the Enterprise
Directorate-General. An expert group was set up, as part of this Best Procedure project, to help the
Commission monitor
the Commission Recommendation
94/1069/EC of 7 December 1994 on the transfer of small and medium-sized enterprises (1). The tasks of
the group include identifying the legal measures including taxation, and support measures taken by the
Member States since 1998 when the first review was made (2), assessing these measures and making
proposals for further action. The role of the Commission continues to be that of a co-ordinator and a
facilitator of exchanges of best practice between the Member States. It is the responsibility of the Member
States to make the necessary changes in their legislation or to provide support for business transfers.

the Member States’

implementation of

The expert group will submit a final report by June 2002. The first results of the group’s work were
already presented at the European Colloquium on the family enterprise which was organised by the
Spanish Presidency on 24 February 2002. They are in the form of a summary table that indicates which
areas of the Recommendation each Member State has implemented. The table can be found on the
following website: http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/entrepreneurship/support_measures/transfer_busi-
ness/index.htm.

The best project will end at the European Seminar on the Transfer of Businesses in Vienna, Austria which
takes place from 23 to 24 September 2002 (www.transferofbusinesses.at). At this seminar, the final report
of the expert group and good practice cases in this area will be presented.

The Commission will continue working on the transfer of businesses after the seminar. The next steps will
be to help the Member States to measure or benchmark their own performance and to learn about
concrete solutions in order to make progress in this area and also to respond to the proposals put forward
by the expert group.

Furthermore, the work on fiscal obstacles and loopholes in the area of business taxation will indeed remain
a priority for the Commission, as indicated in the Commission’s Communication of May 2001 on the
priorities for the years ahead (3) and the subsequent Communication of October 2001 ‘Towards an Internal
Market without tax obstacles’ (4). However, it should be noted that this work will focus on issues with an
Internal Market component. Insofar as problems concerning the transfer of family businesses arise in a
national context, they will be dealt with in the process described above.

(1) OJ L 385, 31.12.1994.
(2) Commission Communication on the transfer of small and medium-sized enterprises, OJ C 93, 28.3.1998.
(3) OJ C 284, 10.10.2001.
(4) COM(2001) 214 final.