WRITTEN QUESTION P-0415/03 by Roger Helmer (PPE-DE) to the Commission. VAT on food in the UK and Ireland.
Date: 2003-02-11
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Ireland, Malta, United Kingdom, VAT, accession criteria, accession to the European Union, foodstuff

6.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 58 E/17

form of tariffs on imports of certain goods from the United States up to that amount. However, the United
States has not yet taken concrete steps towards compliance, although both the Administration and senior
members of Congress have indicated that this is their intention.

At the same time it must be made clear that the Commission’s objective in this dispute is not the
imposition of countermeasures on American products but to obtain the withdrawal of illegal measures that
adversely affect the interests of Community companies. The Commission’s aim is, therefore, to ensure that
the United States complies with the WTO ruling on FSC within the shortest time possible. But if the
United States fails to comply, the Community will have no other option than to exercise its WTO rights.

In an attempt, however, to minimise the negative consequences that any eventual countermeasures could
create for European industry, the Commission has launched a public consultation exercise on a draft list of
products so as to give economic operators the opportunity to express their views on the list; furthermore
the Commission has only inserted on the list products for which imports from the United States represent
a maximum 20 % of total
imports into the Community. The Commission is now in the process of
evaluating comments received from interested parties during the public consultation period. In carrying
out this analysis, the Commission aims to further minimise the negative consequences that any eventual
sanctions could create to Community interests which is after all the stated objective of the whole exercise.
A final decision on this will be taken following consultation of the Member States during the first quarter
of 2003.

As regards the specific situation described by the Honourable Member (where he says ‘as some of the
products potentially listed for high tariffs are produced in the south-west of England, job losses could
result’), high tariffs on certain products favour, not damage, import-competing domestic producers and
thus do not harm their personnel.

(2004/C 58 E/018)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0415/03

by Roger Helmer (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(11 February 2003)

Subject: VAT on food in the UK and Ireland

Would the Commission confirm or deny a report that appeared in the UK’s Sunday Telegraph (25 January
2003) that the UK and Ireland will be forced to levy VAT on food if Malta’s accession to the EU is
approved, in that Malta’s accession terms to the EU say that Malta should levy VAT on food by 2010, by
which time no other EU country would have this exemption?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(17 March 2003)

The length of Malta’s transitional arrangements under the Accession Treaty is not linked to the transitional
period referred to in Article 28 l of the Sixth VAT Directive (1). During this period, Ireland and the United
Kingdom are entitled to continue to apply zero-rates. As a result, these zero-rates may only be abolished
by a unilateral decision of these Member States or by a new directive adopted by a unanimous decision of
the EU’s Council of Ministers under Article 93 of the EC Treaty.

(1) Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States
relating to turnover taxes (cid:1) Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment, OJ L 145,
13.6.1977.