WRITTEN QUESTION E-2416/02 by Baroness Sarah Ludford (ELDR) to the Commission. Transportation of horses.
Date: 2002-08-14
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: animal welfare, application of EU law, equidae, protection of animals, transport of animals, veterinary legislation

C 309 E/234

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

12.12.2002

the JRC is in the process of negotiating material

transfer agreements with the major
Furthermore,
companies to provide validated methods for Community approved and Community non-approved GMO
varieties to all inspection authorities and to provide certified reference materials not only to inspection
authorities but to all operators in the food chain, such as for instance importers of seed, food and feed.

Shipments, whether imported or Community-produced, cannot be rejected a priori on suspicion. It is the
Member States’ responsibility to carry out controls on a case-by-case basis and to follow-up as appropriate.
Member States have reported that samples from imported GMOs have been taken and in cases where non-
approved GMOs have been found these imports have been rejected.

(1) OJ C 340 E, 4.12.2001.

(2002/C 309 E/266)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2416/02

by Baroness Sarah Ludford (ELDR) to the Commission

(14 August 2002)

Subject: Transportation of horses

Every year thousands of horses are transported to Member States from Central and Eastern Europe and
South America. Animal welfare organisations such as the International League for the Protection of Horses
and Viva have amassed a considerable amount of evidence showing that horses are being treated in a cruel
manner and that EU regulations on the transportation of live animals are being ignored.

What action has the Commission taken to ensure that these regulations are being enforced? Can the
Commission give assurances that the treatment of horses in transit is being treated with the same degree of
seriousness as the more publicised issue of live cattle transportation?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(24 September 2002)

The Commission is aware of the welfare problems raised by the import of horses for slaughter in the
Union. This question was specifically mentioned in the Commission report (1) adopted in December 2000.

Day-to-day enforcement of Community legislation is the responsibility of Member States. The Commission
is in charge of ensuring that the Member States are carrying out their duties in this regard.

The inspectors of the Food and Veterinary Office of the Commission have implemented several inspections
in this area and they continue to regularly monitor the situation.

Furthermore, the Commission report on animal transport indicated a number of deficiencies with the
current Community legislation. In this framework the Commission will adopt in the current year a
proposal concerning the protection of animals during transport. One of the aims of the proposal will be to
introduce additional measures for the protection of horses.

In addition, since horses are travelling long distances before reaching the borders of the Union the
Commission, in May 2001, proposed to candidate countries a plan for short-term improvement specifically
addressed to the transport of horses. In October 2001 Slovenia implemented most of the Community rules
in this regard and other candidate countries have taken initiatives in a similar direction.

12.12.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 309 E/235

The Commission has also obtained a mandate from the Council to negotiate on behalf of the Community
the ongoing review of the European Convention for the Protection of Animals during International
Transport. The adoption of
the welfare rules
throughout Europe.

this Convention will reinforce the harmonisation of

(1) COM(2000) 809 final.

(2002/C 309 E/267)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2540/02

by John Hume (PSE) to the Commission

(5 September 2002)

Subject: BNFL convoy from Japan to Sellafield

Is this Commission satisfied with the safety arrangements in place for the shipping of MOX fuel pellets
from Japan to Sellafield through European waters scheduled for September 2002? Given that the reason
for the return of the MOX pellets is the fact that false quality assurances had been given, what action will
the Commission take to assure EU citizens,
(especially those living around the Irish Sea) that such
shipments will never take place in future?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(23 September 2002)

The Commission would refer the Honourable Member to its answer to written P-1904/02 by Mrs Doyle (1).

(1) OJ C 277 E, 14.11.2002, p. 252.

(2002/C 309 E/268)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2581/02

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

Subject: The Morrazo superhighway in Galicia

(16 September 2002)

The Galician government has planned a superhighway along the Morrazo peninsula. The route follows the
mountainside for a distance of 21,5 km. The inhabitants of Morrazo accept the need for the road, but
consider that with the envisaged route and the technical solutions adopted, the road will cause serious
social and economic problems and damage to the environment and landscape, which can and must be
avoided. The peninsula is densely populated along a coastline with fishing and commercial ports and
creeks and beaches which are among the best in Galicia, and a population scattered over a spectacular and
beautiful mountain landscape.

The Galician government published the information study on the project
in August 2000. The
environmental impact assessment on the road was published by the government in July 2001, and the
route and declaration of public interest of the project were approved in September that year. The
preliminary acts for the occupation of the land to be expropriated are in the process of being signed. In
opposition to the project submitted by the Galician government in the public information procedure, a
large number of inhabitants of Morrazo (cid:1) 4 000 people belonging to neighbourhood associations and
groups sharing common land and water supply (cid:1) have filed objections against parts of the route and the
technical solutions which appeared in the information study published by the government in August 2000.
In actual fact, many of the objections submitted by the inhabitants were incorporated by the government
in its environmental assessment study of July 2000, but were not considered in the government project
itself. The objections submitted by the inhabitants were ignored and the government even ignored the
statements made by the Morrazo municipal authorities.