WRITTEN QUESTION E-3113/03 by Maurizio Turco (NI) to the Commission. Classification of the codes for the units of measurement of quantities exported shown on the Commission's database CATS (Clearance Audit Trail System).
Date: 2003-10-22
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: agricultural product, database, disclosure of information, export refund, standard, third country, weights and measures

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/223

designated to operate the route, on frequencies and also on tariffs. Furthermore, these agreements limit the
operation of the concerned routes to air carriers owned or controlled by nationals of the Member State
party to the agreement. This ‘nationality clause’ impedes other Community carriers from operating on
third country routes from Union airports other than the ones located in the Member State of
its
‘nationality’.

On 5 November 2002, the Court of Justice recognised the Commission’s competence to negotiate certain
aspects covered by these bilateral agreements. It has, among others, declared the ‘nationality clauses’
incompatible with the EC Treaty. Consequently, the Commission has proposed to the Council the adoption
framework for the negotiation and
of certain measures with a view to providing a sound legal
implementation of air services agreements and an appropriate division of responsibilities between the
Community and its Member States. These measures were adopted by the Council on 5 June 2003. The
Commission has immediately started negotiations aiming at (a) concluding a comprehensive Union air
service agreement with the United States; (b) renegotiating the matters covered by the bilateral agreements
for which the Community has exclusive competence and (c) securing non-discriminatory market access in
international agreements for all Community carriers as required by the EC Treaty. The Commission cannot,
however, renegotiate all existing bilateral agreements at once. In its Communication of 19 November
2002 (1)
in response to the Court’s judgements, the Commission identified a number of key trading
partners with which it believes Community negotiations should be opened in the future.

Apart from the above-mentioned aspects covered by bilateral air services agreements for which the
Community competence has been recognised by the Court of Justice, according to Community law as it
stands today, other aspects of such agreements remain the competence of the Member States themselves.
These other aspects include, among other things, the allocation of traffic rights under a bilateral agreement.
Any problem arising from this allocation and related authorisations remain the responsibility of the
national authorities.

With regard to the application of competition rules, attention must be drawn to the fact that under
Article 10 of the EC Treaty read in combination with Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty, Member States
are under an obligation not to require nor encourage the violation of competition rules.

However, it must be noted that the existence of a duopoly in certain routes does not, in itself, amount to a
breach of the competition rules. It is mentioned in the question that the fares charged on the Amsterdam-
Zanderij routes are much higher than the tariffs applied on similar routes between France and Cayenne.
This fact on its own does not mean that there is an abuse of dominant position on the route in question.
Indeed, fares tend to be lower on markets open to competition than on restricted markets [markets
reserved for one or a few operators].

Finally, it must be noted that under the current regulatory situation, the Commission only enjoys limited
powers to enforce the competition rules on air traffic between the Community and third countries. Indeed,
the current procedural Regulation excludes from its scope air transport between the Community and third
countries. The new procedural Regulation (cid:1) Regulation (EC) 1/2003 (cid:1) will not change this situation.
Consequently, the Commission adopted a proposal
last February 2003 to change this handicap. The
proposal has been submitted to the Council and discussions are ongoing.

(1) COM(2002) 649 final.

(2004/C 78 E/0227)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3113/03

by Maurizio Turco (NI) to the Commission

(22 October 2003)

Subject: Classification of the codes for the units of measurement of quantities exported shown on the

Commission’s database CATS (Clearance Audit Trail System)

The additional answer to Written Question P-3202/02 (1) incorporated extracts from the Commission’s
database CATS (Clearance Audit Trail System) containing data from Member States concerning export
refunds for Community agricultural products to third countries.

C 78 E/224

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

In these extracts the various figures include the unit of measurement of the exported quantities, for which
the codes are: 1; 10; 30; GRA; HL; Hl; hl; HST; k; K; kg; Kg; Kgs; KGS; NUM; NUMBER; P; q; ST; T; t;
TON; U; UNI.

Can the Commission say whether ‘GRA’ should be taken to mean grams; whether ‘k, kg, K, Kg, Kgs and
KGS’ should be taken to mean kilograms; whether ‘q’ should be taken to mean quintal; whether ‘TON, T
and t’ should be taken to mean tonnes; whether ‘HL, Hl and hl’ should be taken to mean hectolitres, and to
what units of measurement the following codes correspond: 1; 10; 30; HST; NUM; NUMBER; P; ST; U;
UNI?

(1) OJ C 137 E, 12.6.2003, p. 172.

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(19 November 2003)

The additional answer given to the Written Question P-3202/02 concerns a listing of aggregated refunds
paid for exports to several different destinations. The aggregates cover the financial years 1998 until 2001
and the details shown in that listing for the units of measurement are indicated as reported by the Member
States.

Until financial year 2001, Commission Regulation (EC) No 2390/1999 (1) did not impose any standard
codes to be used by the Member States for the units of measurement reported to the Commission. For that
period, the CATS database thus contains the units of measurement as internally used by the Member States
in their own computer systems, with the significance given at the national level for each financial year.

Confronted with this large variety of non standardised codes used by the Member States, the Commission
has introduced standard codes for the unit of measurement when updating Regulation (EC) No 2390/1999
for financial year 2002. From financial year 2002 onwards, the Commission requires the following
standard codes:

Character

Significance

K

L

P

Kilogram

Litre

Piece

(1) Commission Regulation (EC) No 2390/1999 of 25 October 1999 laying down detailed rules of the application of
Regulation (EC) No 1663/95 as regards the form and content of the accounting information that the Member States
must hold at the disposal of the Commission for the purposes of the clearance of the EAGGF Guarantee Section
accounts, OJ L 295, 16.11.1999.

(2004/C 78 E/0228)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3124/03

by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission

(22 October 2003)

Subject: Working languages

EU enlargement is making the language issue a topic of increasing concern, both from the point of view of
the institutions (which require translation and interpretation services, working documents and official
publications in order to be able to function smoothly without undermining the dignity of any individual
EU language or denying it equal treatment) and in terms of the choice and the use of working languages
by staff within the institutions. For the purposes of internal work organisation it would appear that there is
an increasing trend towards the exclusive use of English at the expense even of French, which has
traditionally been the primary working language.

1.

Can the Commission confirm this trend?

If it can, does it not think that, by following such a trend, its staff are contravening both the letter

2.
and the spirit of the Treaties?