WRITTEN QUESTION P-0038/04 by Juan Izquierdo Collado (PSE) to the Commission. Illegal imports of dolphins.
Date: 2004-01-12
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Spain, import policy, marine mammal, marketing, protected species, trade restriction

3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 84 E/153

(2004/C 84 E/0190)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0021/04

by Mario Borghezio (NI) to the Commission

(20 January 2004)

Subject: Urgent adoption of a directive on aircraft safety imposing stringent and uniform checks

A proposal for a directive requiring all Member States to report the results of national inspections carried
out on defective aircraft has been in existence since 1997; the proposal also provides for mandatory
inspections even in the case of the slightest suspicion in terms of aircraft safety but it has still not been
adopted.

Why has this directive not been adopted?

Does the Commission not consider that it should require checks in all Member States to satisfy the same
standards of thoroughness and stringency?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(2 March 2004)

The European Parliament and Council directive on the safety of third countries’ aircraft using Community
airports will be adopted shortly.

The Commission’s initial proposal of 1997 could not be adopted within the timeframe laid down by the
EC Treaty on account of divergences within the Council. Once these problems were overcome, the
the
in January 2002.
Commission presented a new proposal
abovementioned directive will be adopted.

is on the basis of

this text

that

It

The directive makes provision ‘inter alia’ for measures to be taken to adapt inspection procedures, thus
enabling the quality of inspections to be ensured.

(2004/C 84 E/0191)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0038/04

by Juan Izquierdo Collado (PSE) to the Commission

(12 January 2004)

Subject: Illegal imports of dolphins

In 2001 the Portuguese Government, pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 (1) on CITES, banned
imports of dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) caught in their natural environment. Spain is currently the only
country which allows dolphins to be imported (from Cuba), and once they have been brought into Spain
they can be freely moved around the rest of the European Union. Lisbon Zoo has applied to the
Portuguese authorities for permits in order to enable it to purchase dolphins from the Oceanográfico in
Valencia (cid:1) dolphins which are brought in from Cuba and which may not be imported directly into
Portugal.

When are the EU Member States going to implement coordinated policies in this area, in order to prevent
Spain from becoming the gateway to Europe for species which may not be traded in the other EU
countries?

(1) OJ L 61, 3.3.1997, p. 1.

C 84 E/154

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

3.4.2004

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(5 February 2004)

The Commission does not accept that there is a lack of co-ordination with regard to wildlife trade policies
or that Spain is a gateway for species rejected by other Member States. The provisions in place in Spain are
no less strict than in any of the other Member States. With regard to trade in endangered species of flora
and fauna, all Member States are bound by the provisions of Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 of
9 December 1997, on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein (1). This
Regulation is intended to ensure a common implementation of CITES among the Member States and the
perceived lapse in this case is not due to any flaw in its provisions.

Bottle-nosed dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are listed on Annex A of the Regulation. This means that
import of wild dolphins is allowed only if the purpose is primarily non-commercial (cid:1) breeding, education
or research, for example. Even then, it must be established that the import will not have a detrimental
effect on the conservation status of the species and (cid:1) in the case of live animals (cid:1) that the intended
accommodation is adequate. Movement of the animal to another Member State is only allowed when the
latter Member State has also verified that the intended use is non-commercial and that the accommodation
is adequate.

if Portugal rejected the import application on the grounds that the intended use was
In this case,
commercial or
then these
considerations still apply if the animal is transferred from Spain. If Portugal had wished to prevent the
transfer on these grounds, this lay within its powers under the system.

the intended accommodation for

the specimen was

inadequate,

that

Where a Member State prohibits an import on the grounds that it will have a detrimental conservation
effect, they are obliged to inform the Commission who, in turn, brings the decision to the attention of the
Scientific Review Group convened under Article 17 of the Regulation where this decision is either
confirmed or reversed on the basis of the collective expert opinion of the Member States. In the present
case, the Commission was not informed of any decision by Portugal to reject an import application for
bottle-nosed dolphins from Cuba on these grounds. As a result, Spain was left free to make its own
judgement on this issue.

(1) As last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1497/2003 of 18 August 2003, OJ L 215, 27.8.2003.

(2004/C 84 E/0192)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0042/04

by Elspeth Attwooll (ELDR) to the Commission

(20 January 2004)

Subject: Structural Fund decommitments in Scotland

Further to the Commission’s answer to Written Question P-2263/03 (1) with regard to structural funding,
in which it was stated that the Commission would be in a position to determine the potential amounts of
decommitment from the Highlands and Islands Special Transitional Programme under the ‘N+2’ rule after
31 December 2003, can the Commission now provide such information?

Furthermore, is the Commission yet able to provide information on any decommitments resulting from the
Structural Funds programmes in Scotland for the period 1994-1999?

(1) OJ C 33 E, 6.2.2004, p. 240.