WRITTEN QUESTION E-1142/02 by Carlos Lage (PSE) to the Commission. Food products containing free gifts.
Date: 2002-04-24
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: accident in the home, child, confectionery product, data collection, statistics

26.9.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 229 E/183

(2002/C 229 E/210)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1121/02

by Johannes Swoboda (PSE) to the Commission

Subject: Possibility of EU subsidies for student halls of residence

(18 April 2002)

In what way does the European Union subsidise the construction and/or renovation of student halls of
residence? Are there, for example, any special subsidies for halls which reserve a certain percentage of
rooms for participants in the EU’s student mobility programmes (e.g. ERASMUS)?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(30 May 2002)

The construction and renovation of student halls of residence, which forms part of third level educational
building or maintenance programmes, is the responsibility of the Higher Education Institutions themselves
and/or National authorities and not of the Commission.

Any assistance which might come from the Commission would be in the context of structural fund
support. In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity and under the terms of Council Regulation (EC)
No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds (1), both the
choice of the projects and their implementation fall within the responsibility for the Member States.

The arrangements for reception of university students on Community funded exchange programmes are a
matter for the universities’ authorities rather than for the Commission. Universities are required to come to
prior agreements on such issues before student grants can be made.

(1) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999.

(2002/C 229 E/211)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1142/02

by Carlos Lage (PSE) to the Commission

(24 April 2002)

Subject: Food products containing free gifts

Various European child safety organisations have been loud in their condemnation of accidents involving
children swallowing non-comestible objects contained in chocolate eggs, cereal packets, etc., Statistics
indicate 2000 accidents of this kind a year throughout Europe with numerous instances of children dying
from suffocation.

Does the Commission possess any sort of study or statistics which would corroborate these accident
figures?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(30 May 2002)

As far as the collection of information in general is concerned, the Commission co-finances within the
Injury Prevention Programme national data collection projects in the field of home and leisure accidents.
The data are usually collected by the contractors in the Member States in outpatient departments of
hospitals and contain the product involved in the injury and a description of the process leading to the
injury. This description allows also for the identification of hazardous products.

One contractor under the injury Prevention Programme has prepared it’s own ‘Summary of studies and
incidents’, which is sent directly to the Honourable Member and to Parliament’s Secretariat together with a
further critique of these and other studies.

C 229 E/184

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

26.9.2002

As far as the safety of non-food products accompanying food products in a separate packaging in
particular is concerned, the Commission would refer the Honourable Member to its answers to Written
Questions E-504/02 by Mrs Karamanou (1), E-548/02 by Mr Alavanos (1) and E-2630/00 by Mr Moreira Da
Silva (2), E-2631/00 by Mrs Damião (2) and E-2632/00 by Mr Lage (2).

(1) OJ C 205 E, 29.8.2002, p. 153.
(2) OJ C 136 E, 8.5.2001.

(2002/C 229 E/212)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1146/02

by Niels Busk (ELDR) to the Commission

(16 April 2002)

Subject: Water framework directive

Does the Commission consider that possible discharges of nitrogen and phosphorus from farming are
covered by the directive establishing a framework of Community action in the field of water policy, which
stipulates that discharges of priority substances must be reduced and that discharges of priority hazardous
substances must cease?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(23 May 2002)

Although the Water Framework Directive (1) applies, neither phosphorus nor nitrogen are priority
substances as adopted under Decision No 2455/2001/EC (2). Thus, the requirements of reduction and
cessation do not apply for these pollutants.

However, both phosphorus and nitrogen are mentioned under point 11 of Annex VIII ‘Indicative list of the
main pollutants’ of the Water Framework Directive as substances ‘which contribute to eutrophication’. In
this respect, both pollutants must be considered by Member States in the definition and implementation of
river basin management plans. In brief, this means that significant pressures and impacts must be taken
into account in the characterisation of the river basins (Article 5), and if there is a risk of failing the
environmental objectives of the directive due to discharges of nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural
installations and activities, appropriate measures need to be included in the programme of measures
(Article 11) and communicated in the river basin management plan (Article 13). In general, the final aim is
to achieve ‘good ecological status’ by 2015 which is further defined in Annex V and made operational for
the impact from ‘eutrophication’.

In addition to the Water Framework Directive,
the 1991 Directive on Nitrates Pollution from
Agriculture (3) addresses nitrates impacts from agricultural source. Member States have the obligation to
identify areas of elevated nitrates contents in groundwater or subject to eutrophication in surface waters. In
including both legally binding minimum
such ‘vulnerable zones’ mandatory measures must be taken,
storage capacities for livestock manure, and restrictions in terms of time of the year and location for the
application of mineral nitrogen fertilisers and manure to land.

(1) Parliament and Council Directive 2000/60/EC of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action

in the field of water policy (OJ L 327, 22.12.2000).

(2) Parliament and Council Decision No 2455/2001/EC of 20 November 2001 establishing the list of priority

substances in the field of water policy and amending Directive 2000/60/EC (OJ L 331, 15.12.2001).

(3) Council Directive 91/676/EEC of 12 December 1991 concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused

by nitrates from agricultural sources (OJ L 375, 31.12.1991).