WRITTEN QUESTION E-2677/02 by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission. Fire safety.
Date: 2002-09-24
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: building regulations, building safety, civil defence, fire protection, social dialogue (EU)

8.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 88 E/291

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(25 September 2002)

In March 2001 the Commission carried out a questionnaire survey asking for details of disposal routes,
amounts of animal by-products (ABP) disposed of via each route, and costs. The survey was carried out in
order to monitor the level of increase in ABP, and its impact in particular on the storage and disposal
capacities of processed animal proteins (PAP), including meat-and-bone meal in Member States. Among
other things, the survey revealed the following stocks of PAP at that time:

Member States

Estimated amount of PAP stored in March 2001

(Tonnes)

Belgium

Denmark

Germany

Greece

Spain

France

Ireland

Italy

Luxembourg

The Netherlands

Austria

Portugal

Finland

Sweden

United Kingdom

14 000

56 000

27 453

5 000

4 194

200 000

100 000

30 000

0

75 000

< 1000

83 617

10 000

12 600

436 000

Luxembourg sends all his ABP to Belgium for rendering and therefore, has no stocks of PAP. Four Member
States (Greece, France,
the Netherlands and Portugal) and two Federal States in Germany (Baden-
Württemberg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania) indicated a shortage of storage capacity.

Recently, the Commission sent again a request for information to Member States. In particular, each
Member State was asked to submit formal plans on the manner in which stocks of meat-and-bone meal
are currently being handled, transported and stored and the plans for their disposal. The data was
requested for 30 August 2002. The Commission intends in due course to report on the responses to this
questionnaire and its implications.

(2004/C 88 E/0298)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2677/02

by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission

(24 September 2002)

Subject: Fire safety

What role does the Commission have in promoting best practice between Member States and their fire
authorities with a view to reducing death and injury from fire?

C 88 E/292

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

8.4.2004

Does the Commission have any plans to introduce new building design regulations intended to provide all
EU citizens with minimum standards for protection from fire-related injury by requiring the installation of
such devices as smoke detectors and sprinkler systems?

Does the Commission recognise national or regional fire brigades in each Member State as the lead bodies
to deal with issues of community fire safety, and are they treated as such for the purpose of consultation
about health and safety issues relating to fire?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(15 October 2002)

The Community has no general competence in fire safety. However, the Community does contribute to
fire safety through several directives and initiatives taken under different Community policies,
in
accordance with the subsidiarity principle.

As a direct consequence, the structure and the competences of national, regional or local fire brigades vary
from one Member State to the other, and the Commission has no competence to establish common rules
on which all Member States could agree.

In the area of civil protection, the Commission has taken several initiatives to allow fire brigades to identify
their most urgent needs. As far as the promotion of best practices between Member States is concerned,
within the Community action programme for civil protection, Sweden has recently been mandated as the
lead country for a fire prevention project that aims to identify best practice between Member States.

The Commission does not have plans to make mandatory the installation of smoke detectors and sprinkler
systems. In many of the Member States such provisions exist already. However, fire alarm/detection, fixed
fire-fighting and fire and smoke controlproducts are covered by Council Directive 89/106/EEC of
21 December 1988 on the approximation of
laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the
Member States relating to construction products (1). Under this Directive there are common instruments for
labelling the safety in case of fire characteristics of construction products. These are the ‘Euroclasses’ for
reaction to and resistance to fire, which will allow the performances of products to be easily recognised in
all Member States.

Only Member States have the prerogative to designate which bodies should deal with Community fire
safety issues. However, at Community level, relevant initiatives are usually discussed with all the interested
parties represented at European level.

(1) OJ L 40, 11.2.1989.

(2004/C 88 E/0299)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2970/02

by Christa Prets (PSE) to the Commission

(22 October 2002)

Subject: Culture 2000 programme (cid:1) closing date for submitting projects for ‘St Petersburg 2003’

The Culture 2000 programme includes the promotion of special cultural events with a European or
international dimension. On 22 August 2002 the Commission’s Directorate-General for Education and
Culture accordingly called on the appropriate agencies in the Member States to submit cooperation
projects on the theme of ‘A European presence in St Petersburg’.