Notification according to Article 95(4) and (5) of the EC Treaty — Request for authorisation to introduce national provisions derogating from a Community harmonisation measure (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2003-11-19
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Salzburg, derogation from EU law, genetically modified organism, national law

C 278/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

19.11.2003

Notification according to Article 95(4) and (5) of the EC Treaty

Request for authorisation to introduce national provisions derogating from a Community harmon-
isation measure

(2003/C 278/02)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(Notification No 2003/A/9171)

1.
By letter of 23 September 2003 the Republic of Austria
notified to the Commission the regional provisions concerning
the ‘Salzburg Act prohibiting genetic engineering’ that it deems
necessary to introduce by way of derogation from the
provisions of
the Council
the European Parliament and of
Directive 2001/18/EC on the deliberate release into the
genetically modified organisms (1). The
environment of
Commission received
the Austrian notification on 24
September 2003.

and organic production. It seeks to ban the cultivation of GM
seed (including GM seed with Community authorisation) and
the use of transgenic animals for breeding and in particular
their release for hunting and fishing. However, the draft Act
permits such activities if they are performed in contained use
facilities. Furthermore,
it provides for compensatory mech-
anisms for monetary losses due to the presence of GMOs in
conventional products. The Act is deemed to be a temporary
measure, applicable for three years.

Article 95(4) provides that ‘if, after the adoption by the
2.
Council or by the Commission of a harmonisation measure, a
Member State deems
it necessary to maintain national
provisions on ground of major needs referred to in Article
30, or relating to the protection of the environment or the
working environment, it shall notify the Commission of these
provisions as well as the grounds for maintaining them’.

3.
Article 95(5) provides that ‘if, after the adoption by the
Council or by the Commission of a harmonisation measure, a
Member State deems
it necessary to introduce national
provisions based on new scientific evidence relating to the
protection of the environment or the working environment
on grounds of a problem specific to that Member state
arising after the adoption of the harmonisation measure,
it
shall notify the Commission of the envisaged provisions as
well as the grounds for introducing them’.

According to Article 95(6), ‘the Commission shall, within
4.
six months of the notification approve or reject the national
provisions involved after having verified whether or not they
are a means of arbitrary discrimination or a disguised
restriction to trade between Member States and whether or
not they shall constitute an obstacle to the functioning of
the internal market’.

The draft Act (2)

5.
is primarily concerned with the
protection of nature and the environment, natural biodiversity

(1) OJ L 106, 17.4.2001, pp. 1-39.
(2) Draft Act prohibiting the cultivation of genetically modified seed
and planting material, the use of transgenic animals for breeding
purposes and the release of transgenic animals especially for the
purposes of hunting and fishing (Salzburg Act prohibiting genetic
engineering (German designation: GTVG)).

6.
The Salzburg regional Government deems it necessary to
introduce measures intended to protect organic and traditional
agricultural production as well as plant and animal genetic
resources from hybridisation with GMOs. These measures are
based on the fact that Salzburg authorities consider that the
issue of coexistence between GM and non-GM method of agri-
cultural production is still largely unsettled. The draft Act relies
on three studies, which allegedly advocate that a GMO ban for
Salzburg is necessary since coexistence measures are practically
impossible to be put in place and since there is a lack of
thorough knowledge on all potential
related to
GMOs (3). Furthermore, the explanatory notes joined to the
draft Act briefly describe the specificity of Salzburg region's
ecosystem and agricultural practices, which are considered by
the regional authorities as special circumstances justifying dero-
gation to Directive 2001/18/EC.

risks

7.
The Commission reminds interested parties that possible
observations on the Austrian notification will only be
considered if received no later than one month after the publi-
cation of this notice in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Furthermore,
to
communicate to the Republic of Austria any observations
that may be submitted.

the Commission

reserves

right

the

(3) The three studies are:

‘GM-free areas of farming: conception and
analysis of scenarios and steps for realisation’, Werner Müller, 28
April 2002 (carried out on behalf of
for
environment of the region of Upper Austria and of the Federal
Ministry
‘Scenario of
coexistence of genetically modified, conventional and organic
crops in European agriculture’, Joint Research Centre, May 2002;
‘Report from the Working Group on the co-existence of genetically
modified crops with conventional and organic crops’, Danish
Institute of Agricultural Science, 10 January 2003.

and generations);

the department

security

social

for

19.11.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 278/3

Further information regarding the notification can be

8.
obtained from:

Contact point in the European Commission:

Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Arbeit
Abteilung C2/1
A-1010 Wien, Stubenring 1
Tel. (43-1) 711 00 58 96
Fax (43-1) 715 96 51 or (43-1) 712 06 80
E-mail: post@tbt.bmwa.gv.at

Hervé Martin
European Commission
Directorate General Environment
Unit C4
BU5 02/137
B-1049 Brussels
Tel. (32-2) 296 54 44
Fax (32-2) 299 10 67
E-mail: herve.martin@cec.eu.int

Prior notification of a concentration

(Case COMP/M.3273 — First/Keolis/TPE JV)

(2003/C 278/03)

(Text with EEA relevance)

On 6 November 2003 the Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to
1.
Article 4 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 4064/89 (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1310/97 (2),
by which the undertakings FirstGroup plc, United Kingdom (‘First’) and the undertaking Via G.T.I. United
Kingdom Limited, London, (‘Keolis’), controlled by the French SNCF, acquire within the meaning of Article
3(1)(b) of the Council Regulation joint control of undertaking TransPennine Express JV (TPE JV) by way of
purchase of assets.

2.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

— First: United Kingdom based international transport group with interests in bus and rail operations,

— Keolis: passenger transport services in Europe, including bus, rail and light railway,

— TPE JV: operation of United Kingdom passenger rail/bus franchises.

On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified concentration could fall within

3.
the scope of Regulation (EEC) No 4064/89. However, the final decision on this point is reserved.

The Commission invites interested third parties to submit

4.
proposed operation.

their possible observations on the

Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication.
Observations can be sent by fax (No (32-2) 296 43 01 or 296 72 44) or by post, under reference
COMP/M.3273 — First/Keolis/TPE JV, to:

European Commission,
Directorate-General for Competition,
Merger Registry,
J-70,
B-1049 Brussels.

(1) OJ L 395, 30.12.1989, p. 1; corrigendum: OJ L 257, 21.9.1990, p. 13.
(2) OJ L 180, 9.7.1997, p. 1; corrigendum: OJ L 40, 13.2.1998, p. 17.