WRITTEN QUESTION E-1977/02 by John Cushnahan (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Price disparities.
Date: 2002-07-08
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: France, Ireland, consumer price, consumer protection, food expenditure, household consumption, price disparity, statistical method

12.12.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 309 E/183

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(4 September 2002)

The Commission confirms that the deadline for implementation of Directive 2000/53/EC (1) on end-

1.
of-life vehicles was 21 April 2002 (see Article 10 of the Directive).

By 22 April 2002, no Member State had communicated to the Commission the measures taken to

2.
transpose the Directive into national law.

No Member State had given prior indication to the Commission by 22 April 2002 that they would

3.
not be in a position to comply with the Directive in accordance with the legislative requirements.

In case of non-communication by the Member States of the laws, regulations and administrative
4.
provisions brought into force in order to comply with Community Directives within the time limits set out
for transposition, the Commission initiates infringement proceedings against the concerned Member States,
based on Article 226 of the EC Treaty. The Commission has started this procedure by sending letters of
formal notice for non-communication to all Member States. Therefore, the Commission does not envisage
any reform of the legislative process or enforcement procedure.

5.
Given that the Commission is applying the Treaty provisions concerning non-transposition, and that
the procedure is at an early stage, there has been no need for the Commission to raise this issue with
Member States directly at ministerial level.

(1) Directive 2000/53/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 18 September 2000 on end-of life vehicles, OJ L 269,

21.10.2000.

(2002/C 309 E/212)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1977/02

by John Cushnahan (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(8 July 2002)

Subject: Price disparities

Is the Commission aware that according to a survey carried out by ‘Retail Intelligence’, consumers in the
Republic of Ireland are paying more for their groceries in comparison to other European states?

A shopping trolley of 40 items of food and drink in the Irish Republic cost EUR 296,31 compared with
EUR 232,82 in St Tropez located in the south of France. Irish consumers are therefore paying 27 % more
for the same items.

Could the Commission investigate why such disparities exist and what measures the Commission will take
to ensure the Irish consumers are not being ripped off.

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(16 September 2002)

According to Eurostat’s preliminary purchasing power parity (PPP) data for the year 2000, which will
shortly be published, Ireland is on the aggregated level only about 6 % more expensive than France (private
final consumption expenditure).

For food and non-alcoholic beverages the price difference is 3 % (Ireland more expensive).

The difference between this figure and the figure of 23 % according to the ‘Retail Intelligence’ report to
which the Honourable Member refers is due to the way in which this study was carried out.

C 309 E/184

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

12.12.2002

Eurostat, with the support of the Central Statistics Office of Ireland, has analysed the Retail Intelligence
report, and has the following reservations:

1. The prices were collected only in Dublin and St. Tropez. These places are unlikely to be representative

of the two countries.

2. The prices were collected in only one retail outlet in each country. Price collection, however, should

be done in a representative sample of all retail outlets.

3. The basket of 40 goods is much too small to represent the full private household consumption
expenditure pattern of a country. The comparable and representative basket used in the official data
co-ordinated by Eurostat includes over 500 food and drink items alone. Furthermore, the weights in
the basket chosen by Retail
Intelligence are unrepresentative of Irish consumption patterns. For
example, the basket includes expenditure of about 41 % on food and non-alcoholic beverages and
about 44 % on alcoholic beverages. Actual Irish private household expenditure on these categories are
about 14 % and 3 % respectively.

Generally, when comparing individual items in specific shop local demand and supply conditions can
lead to large price differences across countries and sometimes even inside countries. However, when a
larger basket is compared and local expenditure patterns are taken into account the price differences
across countries are usually much smaller.

4. The high share of alcohol in the basket (cid:1) about 15 times more than the average private household
spent on it in Ireland (cid:1) is a main reason for the overstated price difference between France and
Ireland, as alcohol
is considerably more expensive in Ireland than in France, due especially to
differences in taxes and duties.

The price difference between Ireland and France in Eurostat’s PPP data has been supported by a
pilotproject last year using electronic data from supermarkets to compare prices of individual brands
across countries. Although this study does not ensure representativity of the basket compared it
ensures a very high degree of comparability by focusing on well known international brands available
throughout the union. Information from this study has been published in ‘Consumers in Europe’ from
Eurostat and in the Internal Market Scoreboard No 10.

(2002/C 309 E/213)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1989/02

by Karl-Heinz Florenz (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(8 July 2002)

Subject: Import of dogs from Spain to Germany (cid:1) the leishmaniases

There were recently outbreaks of sandflies at 11 locations in Germany. This insect is a carrier of
leishmaniasis (Mediterranean disease) and poses a potential threat of infection for vertebrates and humans.
There is a real risk of the disease being transmitted when dogs suffering from leishmaniasis are brought
from the Mediterranean region, particularly from Spain, to Germany, so that stray dogs may be placed
with families there.

Is the placing of animals subject to any particular legal requirements, which are possibly not being
complied with in full?

Are there any legal requirements for bringing dogs from the Mediterranean region to central Europe, or
from Spain to Germany, which:

(cid:1) prohibit the large-scale transport of up to 50 animals per load?

(cid:1) prohibit the export of dogs suffering from leishmaniasis?