WRITTEN QUESTION P-3111/03 by Regina Bastos (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Possible state or Community subsidies to the German Rieker holding.
Date: 2003-10-17
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU aid, Poland, Romania, State aid, accession to the European Union, aid system, financial aid, footwear industry, holding company, transfer of businesses

20.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 70 E/221

If it does, can it also provide details, for each organisation, of the sums involved for each of the years
2000, 2001, 2002 and, if possible, 2003?

Under which programmes have subsidies been granted to these organisations:

(cid:1) Searchlight (UK);

(cid:1) Commission for Racial Equality, CRE (UK);

(cid:1) Liga voor Mensenrechten (Flanders, Belgium);

(cid:1) Mouvement contre le Racisme, l’Antisémitisme et la Xénophobie, MRAX (Belgium);

(cid:1) Centrum voor Gelijkheid van Kansen en Racismebestrijding (Belgium);

(cid:1) Antifascistische Onderzoeksgroep Kafka (Netherlands);

(cid:1) Ras l’Front (France);

(cid:1) SOS Racisme (France);

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(4 December 2003)

None of the eight organisations listed is in receipt of direct financial support from Community funds.
Under the Community Programme to Combat Discrimination 2001-2006, some of these organisations are
currently or have been in the past, partners in transnational projects, which are coordinated and managed
by other organisations.

(2004/C 70 E/238)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3111/03

by Regina Bastos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(17 October 2003)

Subject: Possible state or Community subsidies to the German Rieker holding

The German Rieker holding recently merged with SCHUH-UNION. Rieker recently relocated its shoe
production to Romania, under the name ‘Rieker Romania Ltd.’ and also relocated production units to
Poland and Turkey.

It is possible that this company is making use of subsidies from within the European Union to set up in
one country, and then move out to other regions or countries so as to obtain fresh subsidies.

Were pre-accession subsidies granted to the candidate countries, specifically Poland as a country awaiting
accession and possibly Romania as a candidate for accession, with the purpose of modernising the
economic fabric?

Did Rieker benefit from such aid, specifically from the allocation of Community or state aid from the
above countries, where it set up production units?

If so, on what dates were these allocations made, and what was their total value?

C 70 E/222

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

20.3.2004

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(14 November 2003)

In order to help the candidate countries carry out the necessary reforms, the Union channels financial
assistance to various fields: through PHARE for institutional matters, through ISPA for investments in
transport and the environment, and through Sapard for rural and agricultural development. The full list of
assistance granted by the Union can be found on the Internet site of
for
Enlargement.

the Directorate-General

By way of exemption from the prohibition of state aid laid down in Article 87(1) of the EC Treaty, state
aid for investment can be approved on the basis of the guidelines on national regional aid (1) or Regulation
(EC) No 70/2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to state aid to small and
medium-sized enterprises (2). In order to reduce the potential negative impact of relocation, The aid is
granted on condition that the investment is maintained for a minimum of five years in the less-favoured
region.

Romania is a candidate for accession to the Union and, on that basis,
is currently transposing the
Community ‘acquis’ into domestic legislation and policies. The Community acquis, including the ‘acquis’
relating to state aid rules, is already applicable in Poland, which signed the Accession Treaty on 16 April
2003. The Commission is not aware of any individual aid having been granted to the company referred to
by the Honourable Member. Aid could have been granted under an aid scheme that had been submitted to
it. The Commission is going to consult the competent authorities in the countries in question in order to
find out if aid has been granted to Rieker and under what conditions. It will inform the Honourable
Member of the outcome of the consultations.

(1) OJ C 74, 10.3.1998 and amendments in OJ C 285, 9.9.2000.
(2) Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to state

aid to small and medium-sized enterprises, OJ L 10, 13.1.2001.

(2004/C 70 E/239)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3118/03

by Nicholas Clegg (ELDR) to the Commission

(17 October 2003)

Subject: Relaxing restrictions on paraquat

The international food and farming union, IUF, is concerned about the relaxing of current restrictions on
the toxic herbicide paraquat. It is estimated that paraquat, for which there is no known antidote, accounts
for a substantial number of the 40 000 global pesticide-related deaths every year. Relaxing restrictions on
paraquat would encourage greater use of this toxic substance and would make it available on the market in
the EU where it is currently banned. It would also undermine efforts to establish higher standards of health
and safety in agriculture and to encourage agricultural production methods which are socially and
environmentally sustainable.

What was the outcome of the meeting of the EU’s Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal
Health at the beginning of October regarding the use of paraquat? Can the Commission provide official
clarification regarding its views on the substance paraquat?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(13 November 2003)

The Commission would refer the Honourable Member to its answer to written P-3093/03 by Mr Ettl (1).

(1) OJ C 65 E, 13.3.2004, p. 266.