WRITTEN QUESTION E-0076/04 by Proinsias De Rossa (PSE) to the Commission. Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 and blind and partially sighted registration.
Date: 2004-01-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: free movement of persons, health care, health insurance, physically disabled person, social-security benefit, social-security harmonisation

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/927

What possible Community aid is available for carrying out this work as a matter of urgency, with a view
to preserving the eco-system of the lakes and breed quality fish for angling purposes, as the historical right
of the local people, with the creation of a normal seasonal fishing ban?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(26 February 2004)

The lakes mentioned by the Honourable Member are located within a site of Community importance
proposed by Portugal under Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats
and of wild fauna and flora (1), with the name ‘Dunas de Mira, Gandara e Gafanhas’. Projects for the
conservation or improvement of the conservation status of the habitats and species of Community interest
present in the site are therefore eligible for Community financing under the Nature branch of the LIFE
programme. Information on the programme can be found on the Internet, at (http://www.europa.eu.int/
comm/environment/life/home.htm).

The measures described by the Honourable Member cannot be seen, in themselves, as falling under the
scope of LIFE-Nature. They could, however, be integrated in a more general project for improving the
conservation status of the habitats and species present in the site.

As far as the structural funds are concerned, the operations mentioned by the Honourable Member could
the measures covering the
be financed either by the national environmental programme, under
conservation of the lagoon ecosystems, or through the operational programme for the Centro region,
which foresees a specific measure for environment. In both scenarios, the promoters should send their
requests to the Portuguese authorities.

(1) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992.

(2004/C 78 E/0981)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0076/04

by Proinsias De Rossa (PSE) to the Commission

(20 January 2004)

Subject: Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 and blind and partially sighted registration

The Commission’s proposals to update Regulation No 1408/71 (1) seek to build on health-care entitlements
across the EU and improve cooperation and mutual information between authorities in Member States.

Will the proposed amendments tackle the problems caused by inconsistent criteria for registration as blind
or partially sighted across Member States? Will the proposed changes ensure that when an individual is
registered as blind or partially sighted and qualifies for the corresponding entitlements in one Member
State, they automatically have equal status and entitlements across the EU without having to undergo
additional procedures?

(1) OJ L 149, 5.7.1971, p. 2.

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(23 February 2004)

The Commission proposal (1) to amend Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of the Council of 14 June 1971 on
the application of social security schemes to employed persons and their families moving within the
Community, must be seen in the context of the introduction of the European Health Insurance Card, and,
therefore, it concerns in particular insured persons who are staying temporarily in a Member State other
than the one where they are insured. First of all, the proposal aims to harmonise the entitlement to
benefits in kind of all categories of insured persons in this situation. This means that all insured persons

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Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

should be entitled to all benefits in kind which become medically necessary during a temporary stay in
another Member State, taking into account the nature of these benefits and the expected duration of the
stay. The second objective of the proposal is to provide all insured persons with direct access to the care
provider during their temporary stay in another Member State by abolishing the obligation to contact in
advance the sickness insurance institution of
the place of stay. A third measure proposed by the
Commission, concerns the effectiveness of the application of the Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 by
introducing a new Article which defines on the one hand the relationship between the persons covered by
the Regulation and the social security institutions and on the other hand improves the mutual co-
operation between the institutions of the Member State.

With regard to blind and partially sighted persons,
the proposed amendments to Regulation (EEC)
No 1408/71 will thus improve the access to benefits in kind during a temporary stay in a Member State
other than the one where they are insured and registered. However, the above-mentioned proposal does
not provide for harmonised criteria for registration as a blind or partially sighted person nor for mutual
recognition of the registration as a blind or partially sighted person.

(1) COM(2003) 378 final.

(2004/C 78 E/0982)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0083/04

by Dirk Sterckx (ELDR) to the Commission

(14 January 2004)

Subject: Restrictions on freedom of movement for Flemish travel guides on trips abroad

It is reported that Flemish travel guides volunteering to accompanying groups on cultural trips to Italy,
Spain, France and Greece can face serious problems when providing their services as guides in the Dutch
language. They run the risk of being fined or even arrested by the local authorities because local rules and
regulations do not permit foreigners to act as guides in their locality. These, however, are guides who, their
volunteer status notwithstanding, undoubtedly have the necessary professional qualifications and training
(in, for example, history of art) to enable a group to benefit from their expertise.

Does the Commission not consider that any such local rules and regulations prohibiting foreign guides
from providing their services to groups they accompany on visits to public places are incompatible with
the free movement of persons as laid down in the Treaty?

If so, will the Commission take the necessary steps to prevent such infringements, and will it lay down a
for a directive on the recognition of professional
set of rules, by analogy with the new proposal
qualifications, that will meet the needs of this category of qualified volunteers by enabling them to provide
their services to their own groups, on a personal basis and in their own language, on visits to other
countries, without the risk of incurring penalties.

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(11 February 2004)

The Commission would like first of all to recall that the Treaty provisions which are relevant to the
question, i.e. Article 49 of the EC Treaty on the freedom to provide services, only apply to activities of a
commercial nature. It is unclear, on the basis of the information provided by the Honourable Member,
whether the activities carried out by travel guides who volunteer to accompany groups of tourists from
other Member States on their visits to Greece, Spain, France and Italy are to be considered as commercial
activities falling under the relevant articles of the EC Treaty.

As concerns any activities of a commercial character under Community law, the following reasoning
applies: The Court of Justice has held in its rulings of 26 February 1991 in the cases C-180/89, C-154/89
and C-198/89 concerning the freedom to provide services for the profession of tourist guides that: ‘the
general
interest and the widest
possible dissemination of knowledge of artistic and cultural heritage of a country’ can constitute an
overriding reason justifying a restriction on the freedom to provide services.

interest in the proper appreciation of places and things of historical