WRITTEN QUESTION E-0898/03 by Wilhelm Piecyk (PSE) to the Commission. Procurement of paper by the Commission.
Date: 2003-03-21
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Commission, award of contract, clean technology, eco-label, environmental policy, international standard, paper, purchase

21.11.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 280 E/111

In October 2001, the Commission invited European consumer umbrella organisations, the Bureau
3.
européen des Unions des Consommateurs (BEUC) and Association of European Consumers (AEC), to
participate in the implementation strategy process, informing them about the Water Framework Directive,
its mandatory public participation in developing the river basin management plans as well as about the
implementation strategy. However, neither organisations has to date joined the implementation strategy
process.

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

Community action in the field of water policy (cid:1) OJ L 327, 22.12.2000.

(2003/C 280 E/126)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0898/03

by Wilhelm Piecyk (PSE) to the Commission

(21 March 2003)

Subject: Procurement of paper by the Commission

The Commission first ordered recycled paper with a higher than 90 % degree of whiteness in 2000.

The cost (based on the general market price) of purchasing recycled paper with a whiteness of almost
100 % is around 20-30 % higher than that for recycled paper of a lower degree of whiteness. The use of
recycled paper with a high degree of whiteness (e.g. from cutting waste) is also contrary to the notion of a
cycle and therefore sends out the wrong signal from the point of view of environmental policy.

Can the Commission answer the following:

1. What kind of recycled paper and of what degree of whiteness has the Commission been buying since

2000?

2. To what extent can the use of almost 100 % white recycled paper be reconciled with the premises
outlined in the Green Paper on integrated product policy relating to procurement, which call for
public procurement rules ‘of an essentially economic nature’ and ‘changes of consumption towards
greener products’?

3. How does the Commission justify or offset the additional costs arising from the use of 100 % white

recycled paper?

4. What form of call for tenders will the Commission use in future, so as not to exclude suppliers of

ecological recycled paper from selection procedures from the outset?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(21 May 2003)

Until 2000, the Commission used ‘Trend White’ recycled reprographic paper supplied by the firm
1.
Steinbeis Temming. The whiteness level of this paper was 80 %. From January 2001 to date, as a result of
the call for tenders 99/32/Admin.D.2, the Commission has been using reprographic paper which is 100 %
recycled from used paper (post consumer) and is characterised by an ISO (International Organisation for
Standardisation) whiteness level of 106 %.

2.
The Commission attaches great importance to the procurement of ‘greener products’ and on value
for money. The current supplier for this type of paper has been awarded several environmental certificates,
notably, ISO 14001, National Association of Paper Merchants (NAPM) Recycled Mark, Blue Engel and
Nordic Swan.

Furthermore, the above mentioned call for tender required the contractor to include in his price not only
the supply of paper but also the provision of complementary services such as an online ordering system
via the Internet and the administration of stocks and delivery to more than 700 delivery points within
24 hours.

C 280 E/112

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

21.11.2003

The additional costs are justified by the inclusion of the above-mentioned services. These services are

3.
cheaper to acquire via the tender than they are to organise internally.

4. Within the context of a ‘global’ contractor for office supplies, future calls for tender of this type will
seek to acquire ‘ecological’ paper which satisfies the administrative requirement of the Commission for
effective communication whilst meeting the strictest possible ecological criteria.

This approach will allow the Commission to open up the market as widely as possible to producers of
ecological paper
to be achieved
simultaneously.

thus ensuring low costs and strict respect

for the environment

Finally, this issue will be addressed within the framework of the implementation of the eco-management
and audit scheme (EMAS) (1) in the Commission. Following the Commission Decision of 7 September
2001 (2), three Commission services (Secretariat General, Directorate General for Personnel and Adminis-
tration, and Directorate General for Environment), with the addition of the recently created office for
infrastructures and logistics (cid:1) Bruxelles (OIB), will set up a management system which will enable the
Commission to continuously improve the environmental performance of its daily activities.

(1) Regulation No 761/2001 of the Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2001 allowing voluntary participation

by organisations in a Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS) (cid:1) OJ L 114, 24.4.2001.

(2) Commission Decision 2001/681/EC of 7 September 2001 on guidance for the implementation of Regulation (EC)
the Parliament and of the Council allowing voluntary participation by organisations in a
(notified under document number C(2001) 2504) (cid:1)

No 761/2001 of
Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS)
OJ L 247, 17.9.2001.

(2003/C 280 E/127)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0909/03

by Seán Ó Neachtain (UEN) to the Commission

(18 March 2003)

Subject: Communicating with the European Commission in the Irish Language (Gaeilge)

According to Article 21 of the Treaty, any citizen of the Union has the right to write to the European
Commission in one of the languages referred to in Article 314 and receive an answer in the same
language. The list referred to includes the Irish language (Gaeilge). In spite of these Treaty requirements, no
provision is made for selecting Gaeilge as either a first or second choice language when filling in the
M@ilbox form on the General Information Services page of the Commission (http://europa.eu.int/geninfo/
mailbox/form_en.htm). What action does the Commission propose to take to correct this situation and
ensure that Article 21 of the Treaty is respected and that citizens may correspond electronically ‘as Gaeilge’
with the Commission?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(16 April 2003)

The Honourable Member’s description of the legal framework regarding written correspondence with the
European Union institutions is legally correct. The second paragraph of Article 314 of the EC Treaty lists
‘Irish’ as one of the languages in which the text of the Treaty is binding, whereas paragraph 3 of Article 21
stipulates that every citizen of the Union has the right to address and receive an answer in one of the
languages mentioned in Article 314. Thus, since Irish stands for Gaelic, any citizen may write to the
Commission in Gaelic and have an answer in the same language. However, Gaelic is not mentioned in
Regulation No 1/1958 of the EEC determining the languages to be used by the European Economic
Community (1) and in its successive modifications as one of the official and working languages of the
Union.

Since the launch of the European Union’s website, Europa, in 1995, the Commission has extended the
general principle of using all the official Union languages to electronic publishing.