WRITTEN QUESTION P-1842/03 by Ulpu Iivari (PSE) to the Commission. Equal treatment of blood donors.
Date: 2003-05-26
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, Finland, blood transfusion, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation

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WRITTEN QUESTION E-1837/03

by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(3 June 2003)

Subject: European Union tenders

Can the Commission confirm that, when a company in the EU wins a tender put by an EU body, the
tender is subject to Competition Law, and measures to increase the cost, which can include refusal by an
EU company to supply the winner of the tender and prevent parallel imports, are in breach of the Treaty?

Can the Commission confirm what sanctions would be imposed in such a case?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(18 July 2003)

The Commission’s understanding of the Honourable Member’s question is that it refers both to the
European institutions’ obligations in the field of competition when awarding contracts, and to the situation
of a company awarded a contract which is confronted with a refusal to sell by another EU company.

When it comes to awarding contracts, the Community institutions are obliged to comply with the
provisions of the Council’s Financial Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 (1), and
particularly Title V thereof which stipulates and describes the different procedures which are applicable.
Under these provisions, the contract should, generally speaking, be put out to tender on the broadest
possible basis among interested operators. The tendering stage ends with the award of the contract and
leads to a contract being signed with the successful tenderer.

As regards the situation of a company awarded a contract which is confronted with a refusal to sell by
another EU company and/or the prevention of parallel
imports, the situation in question may well
constitute an infringement of the provisions of Article 82 and/or Article 81 of the EC Treaty. Under certain
circumstances and certain conditions, the application of these rules may indeed lead to a ban on refusals to
sell and the prevention of parallel imports. However, the lack of information on the facts behind the
Honourable Member’s question means that the Commission is unable to take a useful position on the
applicability of Competition Law in this instance. For the same reason, the Commission is not able to give
its position on what sanctions might be imposed.

(1) Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the

general budget of the European Communities, OJ L 248, 16.9.2002.

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WRITTEN QUESTION P-1842/03

by Ulpu Iivari (PSE) to the Commission

(26 May 2003)

Subject: Equal treatment of blood donors

Article 21 of the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights prohibits all forms of discrimination on
the grounds of sexual orientation or other similar grounds. The way in which the Finnish Red Cross Blood
Donor Service selects volunteers who come to give blood is, to my mind, inconsistent with that article
because it places people on an unequal footing according to their sexual orientation.

In Finland all blood donors have to answer the questions put to them by the Red Cross Blood Donor
Service. On the basis of the answers, the service nurse determines whether a person can give blood. The
Blood Donor Service observes Council of Europe Recommendation No R (95) 15.

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A man coming to give blood has to say whether he has ever been in a sexual relationship with another
man. If the answer to that question is ‘yes’, he is automatically denied the right to give blood, even though
he might satisfy the other criteria. If the answer is ‘no’, he can give blood if he satisfies the other criteria.

Directive 2002/98/EC (1) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 2003 setting
standards of quality and safety for the collection, testing, processing, storage and distribution of human
blood and blood components says nothing about the sexual orientation of donors and how it might affect
the prospects for becoming a donor.

Will the Commission standardise the practices applying to blood donors in the different Member States so
as to ensure compliance with Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights?

(1) OJ L 33, 8.2.2003, p. 30.

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(25 June 2003)

It is of the utmost importance that, in order to safeguard public health and to prevent the transmission of
infectious diseases to patients, all precautionary measures are taken prior to as well as during the
collection, processing, distribution and use of blood and blood components donated by European citizens.
It was bearing this in mind that the Parliament and the Council adopted Directive 2002/98/EC of
27 January 2003 setting standards of quality and safety for the collection, testing, processing, storage and
distribution of human blood and blood components and amending Directive 2001/83/EC, in order to
ensure a high level of human health protection,
the Treaty of
Amsterdam.

in accordance with Article 152 of

Article 29 of Directive 2002/98/EC obliges the Commission to develop technical requirements concerning
inter alia the information that must be obtained from those willing to donate, as well as their suitability to
be blood and plasma donors, which includes permanent and temporary deferral criteria. These technical
requirements, now under development, take fully into account Council Recommendation 98/463/EC of
29 June 1998 on the suitability of blood and plasma donors and the screening of donated blood in the
European Community (1) which recommends the permanent deferral of prospective donors who may have,
or have a history of, sexual behaviour placing them at a high risk of transmitting infectious diseases. Once
these technical requirements will apply equally to all blood donors
adopted by the Commission,
throughout the Union.

(1) OJ L 203, 21.7.1998.

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WRITTEN QUESTION P-1849/03

by Kyösti Virrankoski (ELDR) to the Commission

Subject: Buying and selling of farms and agricultural reform

(26 May 2003)

The Commission proposal to reform EU agricultural policy provides for, among other things, single farm
support decoupled from production. The amount of support would be determined according to the CAP
aids paid in the years from 2000 to 2002. The support would not be linked to the land area.

The proposal has led to great uncertainty among farmers who are buying or selling farmland because it is
not clear from the text proper, any more than from other documents, what proportion of the single farm
support, if any, is passed on when a farm changes hands. The same problem applies to land tenancy. There
is also a question mark over farming partnerships. For example, a farm might have been run during the
reference period on a partnership basis, and received the corresponding agricultural support, but later,
following a transfer of ownership,
the land might have been divided among the partners and the
partnership might have ceased to exist.