WRITTEN QUESTION E-3079/03 by Torben Lund (PSE) to the Commission. Regulation (EC) No 1221/97 and aid for beekeeping.
Date: 2003-10-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Denmark, EU Member State, apiculture, co-financing, honey, marketing, production improvement, support policy

20.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 70 E/213

The Commission is aware that in certain Member States and in Switzerland, lower safety levels have
4.
been adopted. As mentioned, real life exposure levels are in orders of magnitude below the safety levels.
They only have consequences for the safety zones immediately around masts. In the case of applying the
Italian levels, this safety zone would need to be three times larger compared to the levels set by the
Recommendation (typically 10 instead of three to four meters from the mast).

5.
To the best knowledge of the Commission, the limits and standards in place protect European
citizens from adverse health effects. Nevertheless, the Commission is following research in this area closely
and will take new scientific evidence into consideration when it reviews the Council Recommendation
1999/519/EEC in 2004.

(1) OJ L 199, 30.7.1999.
(2) OJ L 91, 7.4.1999.
(3) OJ L 77, 26.3.1973.

(2004/C 70 E/228)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3079/03

by Torben Lund (PSE) to the Commission

(20 October 2003)

Subject: Regulation (EC) No 1221/97 and aid for beekeeping

Regulation (EC) No 1221/97 (1) includes rules for improving the production and marketing of honey.
Nevertheless, beekeeping is under pressure in several places in Europe and numbers have dropped sharply
in several areas. For this among other reasons, a number of Member States are attempting to improve the
situation for beekeepers by subsidising research, etc. In Denmark, however, the government has quite
paradoxically proposed eliminating aid for beekeeping despite the grave situation in this sector.

This being so, will the Commission provide an update on how all the different Member States aid their
national beekeeping industry and, at the same time, give an assessment as to how Denmark’s draft finance
bill for 2004 can be reconciled with Regulation (EC) No 1221/97 and other relevant EU legislation? Lastly,
will it indicate how the EU promotes the situation of beekeepers through various schemes and explain
forthcoming EU proposals to improve both the situation of beekeepers and honey production in the EU?

(1) OJ L 173, 1.7.1997, p. 1.

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(25 November 2003)

As the Honourable Member indicates, the purpose of Council Regulation (EC) No 1221/97 of 25 June
1997 laying down general rules for the application of measures to improve the production and marketing
of honey (1) is to support beekeeping in the Union.

Its Article 1(1) states that Member States ‘may lay down national programmes for each year’. Thus it is up
to the Member State to decide whether or not to have a programme. If it does so, the programme must
embrace one or more of the priority measures listed in Article 1. In addition Article 4 states that the
national programmes are to be drawn up in close collaboration with the representative organisations and
beekeeping cooperatives.

The Commission sent a report (2) to the Council and Parliament on implementation of the Regulation.
It covers the first three years of the programmes and can be consulted on the Agriculture Directorate-
General’s website (3).

C 70 E/214

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

20.3.2004

for

rural development

Support for beekeeping is also possible under Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on
from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (4).
support
Investment aid can for example be given to farmers diversifying into beekeeping and to beekeepers
improving the processing and marketing of their honey. Among the new measures introduced under
common agricultural policy reform (5) the ‘Food Quality’ chapter offers, subject to certain requirements,
new possibilities for honey production. All rural development support must however fall within the scope
of a rural development plan. These are drawn up and managed, following approval by the Commission, by
the Member States and/or their regions.

(1) Amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 2070/98 of 28 September 1998, OJ L 265, 30.9.1998.
(2) COM(2001) 70 final.
(3) http://europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/markets/honey/index_en.htm
(4) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999.
(5) Council Regulation (EC) No 1783/2003 amending Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999, OJ L 270, 21.10.2003.

(2004/C 70 E/229)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3084/03

by Koldo Gorostiaga Atxalandabaso (NI) to the Commission

(20 October 2003)

Subject: Sit-in of Basque political prisoners

In the Basque Country, an unquestionable political conflict exists because the Basque people are being
denied their democratic rights. The outlawing of ideas and political projects has brought only greater
confrontation and more suffering.

The community of almost 700 hundred Basque political prisoners have been holding a sit-in,
in the
prisons of the Spanish Kingdom and the French Republic, since 27 September in defence of their rights.
They have rejected visits from friends and relatives. As a matter of fact, journeys are so long that visits are
impossible, and 13 people have already died on the way to or from the prisons.

The Spanish Government ignores every call to put an end to these sufferings, and the Spanish courts do
not dare to insist on the democratic principle of the separation of powers.

On 4 September 2003, the European Parliament adopted a Report on the situation as regards fundamental
rights in the EU (2002) (A5-0281/2003), where much emphasis is given to the mobilisation of European
capacity to put an end to these intolerable abuses of prisoners.

Can the Commission table a proposal to the European Parliament so that this issue may be tackled as a
matter of urgency?

Would the Commission support the involvement of Basque prisoners in a bid to find a solution to the
ongoing conflict in the Basque Country?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(20 November 2003)

The Commission takes the view that none of the powers conferred on it by the European Union and
Community Treaties would allow it to take the action requested by the Honourable Member.