WRITTEN QUESTION E-2125/03 by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Fixed book prices.
Date: 2003-06-25
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Commission, European Parliament, book trade, cultural exception, drafting of EU law, free movement of goods, imposed price, interinstitutional relations (EU), proposal (EU)

6.2.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 33 E/223

Does the Commission accept that the required qualifications listed in the Official Journal of 22 May 2003
do not necessarily have to be associated with a nationality? If not, why not? If so, why has it not made all
citizens of the Union eligible for these posts?

Does the Commission agree that this constitutes discrimination against applicants from the existing
Member States? If not, what is the Commission’s message to the (cid:1) predominantly young (cid:1) applicants
from the fifteen existing Member States who wish to make careers at the European institutions but will
find it impossible or virtually impossible to do so because of the quotas for recruitment of candidates from
the new Member States?

Can the Commission provide an overview of the numbers of staff recruited in 2000, 2001 and 2002,
broken down by nationality (of the Member States), age and level (of post)?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(12 August 2003)

The rules governing the selection of officials for the European institutions are based on the Staff
Regulations. Article 27 of Title III of the Staff Regulations stipulates that ‘recruitment shall be directed to
securing for the institution the services of officials of the highest standard of ability, efficiency and
integrity, recruited on the broadest possible geographical basis from among nationals of Member States of
the Communities’.

Article 27 further stipulates that ‘No posts shall be reserved for nationals of any specific Member State’.

As has been the case at the occasion of previous enlargements of the Union, the Commission has adopted
a proposal for a temporary exemption clause to the Staff Regulation. It provides for the possibility of
recruiting officials from the future new Member States on the basis of citizenship in order to ensure a
necessary minimum intake of staff from these countries within the services of the institutions. This
proposal, which is currently being discussed in the Council of the European Union, foresees a validity of
seven years.

This Commission proposal also provides for the possibility, during that seven years period, to undertake
the organisation of competitions specifically related to citizens of the present 15 Member States, in order
to ensure balanced recruitment on the broadest possible geographical basis throughout the transitional
period following the date of accession of the future new Members States.

In spite of the exceptional character of the exemption clause allowing for recruitment on the basis of
citizenship of one of the future new Member States, it must be underlined that the continuation of the
organisation of EUR-15 competitions provides an overall framework for a recruitment policy which is in
line with the principles laid down in article 39 of the EC Treaty.

Information concerning recruitment by nationality can be found in the tables that are sent direct to the
Honourable Member and to Parliament’s Secretariat.

(2004/C 33 E/228)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2125/03

by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(25 June 2003)

Subject: Fixed book prices

In a resolution of 16 May 2002 (P5_TA(2002)0244), the European Parliament called on the Commission
to submit to Parliament by the end of 2002 (!!), on the basis of Article 95 of the EC Treaty, a legislative
proposal on the fixing of book prices.

Has the Commission drafted a legislative proposal, and can it indicate the substance of the proposal? If not,
why has the Commission not acted upon this request by the European Parliament?

C 33 E/224

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

6.2.2004

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(5 August 2003)

On 4 November 2002, the Member of the Commission responsible for the Internal Market informed the
Parliament’s Legal Affairs and Internal Market Committee that book price fixing systems existed in various
Member States in the form of legislation or professional agreements. He explained that these systems had
not caused any problems to date with regard to Court of Justice case law in this field.

The Member of the Commission also stated that,
in keeping with its commitments to clarify and
modernise European legislation, the Commission felt that harmonisation of these national systems would
not bring sufficient benefits to justify changes to the legal framework developed by the Court of Justice.

No new information has been received since then to justify changing this analysis.

In addition, as the Member of the Commission pointed out, and following a detailed examination of the
Parliament’s legislative proposal of 16 May 2002, the Commission considers that the definition of the key
concept of ‘circumvention’ established by this proposal is too broad and is likely to significantly impede
the free movement of books between Member States, particularly those involved in e-commerce. A broad
definition of ‘circumvention’ would also be incompatible with the obligation to interpret restrictively all
exceptions to the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the EC Treaty.

The Commission also notes that this approach has been adopted by all the national book price fixing
systems, including the German system adopted on 2 September 2002.

It should also be stressed that the proposal for a Commission Regulation on sales promotions implicitly
authorises the prices of certain products to be fixed nationally, insofar as provision is made, in this respect,
for a specific exception to the ban in principle on Member States limiting the value of sales promotions: by
virtue of this exception, the Member States are therefore authorised to specifically limit the value of
discounts (and not of other promotions) for fixed-price products.

In view of the above, the Commission has decided, for the moment, not to back the idea of an ad hoc
legislative proposal such as that proposed by the Parliament.

At any rate, it is continuing to monitor the implementation of national book price fixing systems and their
compliance with Community law. If ever this were to prove necessary, it would consider all practical
initiatives.

(2004/C 33 E/229)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2138/03

by Theodorus Bouwman (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(20 June 2003)

Subject: Breach of the directive on working time (directive dealing with a number of aspects of the

organisation of working time) by several Member States

Not least through the proceedings of the working group of national experts, the Commission is no doubt
aware that a number of Member States have failed to comply with the judgment handed down by the
Court of Justice of the European Communities in the SIMAP case (C-303/98).

Can the Commission answer the following questions:

1.

Is it true that the above-mentioned working group of national experts is considering means of
restricting or nullifying the implications of the SIMAP judgment?