WRITTEN QUESTION E-0228/04 by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Timely development and production of drugs to combat the merging of avian influenza virus H5N1 and influenza A occurring in humans.
Date: 2004-02-02
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: animal disease, biology, disease prevention, health policy, health risk, medical research, poultry, zoonosis

C 84 E/336

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

3.4.2004

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(17 March 2004)

If a Member State should decide to make the installation of alcohol ignition interlock devices obligatory,
it would have to notify the Commission of
technical regulation as required by the
Community rules on the notification of technical regulations. If the measure were then to be considered
compatible with Community legislation for vehicles registered in that Member State, the latter would still
have to comply with international agreements allowing the circulation of vehicles registered in other
States.

the full draft

Member States have to authorise the sale and first registration of type-approved private cars which are
covered by a European certificate of conformity. For other categories of vehicles, particularly public
transport vehicles, the Commission has proposed a staggered timetable which is currently being considered
by the Council and the Parliament.

The Commission recognises the potential of alcohol ignition interlock devices. At the end of 2003 it
launched a study to evaluate the possible applications for such systems. However, at present, given their
high cost and the need for frequent recalibration, the Commission considers that such systems should be
installed only as an alternative penalty for drink-driving offences, and not as a general measure which, a
priori, would only be useful for a small proportion of drivers.

(2004/C 84 E/0396)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0228/04

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(2 February 2004)

Subject: Timely development and production of drugs to combat the merging of avian influenza virus

H5N1 and influenza A occurring in humans

1.
Is the Commission aware of the source of infection which recently emerged in Vietnam for ‘bird flu’
(avian influenza A), a constantly mutating virus which, in this instance, has occurred as variant H5N1?
Is the Commission aware that it affects domestically kept birds in particular, such as poultry, but that the
preventive culling of millions of birds in Vietnam could not prevent the virus from claiming five lives
between 30 December 2003 and 19 January 2004 or, now, from spreading to South Korea and Japan via
bird droppings?

2.
Is the Commission bearing in mind the possibility that the virus will combine naturally with a
human pathogen known as the influenza A virus and subsequently reach Europe in a form which cannot
be combated with currently available anti-viral drugs and that this will lead to a recurrence of the 1918-
1919 pandemic which claimed 40 to 50 million lives?

3.
Are attempts already being made within the EU to combine the two viruses artificially, with a view
to developing antibodies in time and making them available on a sufficient scale? In which Member States
is this taking place? Who has the authority to take decisions on this?

4.
Is the research referred to in question 3 being obstructed or restricted in any way, for fear that a
virus whose production has been accelerated through human intervention cannot be kept in isolation and
that, potentially, this will cause an epidemic? Are there EU Member States in which, because of those fears,
such research is not permitted?

5. What contribution is the Commission making towards ensuring that anti-viral drugs are made
available in time on a sufficient scale in Europe?

3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 84 E/337

Sources:TV Nederland 1, Netwerk 18.1.2004, www.netwerk.tv; World Health Organisation: www.who.int
(in English); Erasmus medical Centre Rotterdam: www.virology.nl (in English).

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(18 March 2004)

1.
and 2. The Commission is very well aware of the risks posed by the current Avian Influenza
epidemics in certain Asian countries. It is working in close contact with the animal and public health
authorities of the Member States, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO) and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and it has already adopted three
measures to prevent the introduction of avian influenza from the countries affected in Asia (1), in line with
the EU veterinary legislation based on international guidelines.

In the context of the ‘Fifth Research and Technological Development (RTD) Framework Programme’,
3.
the Commission is providing financial support to the following projects on influenza virus infections in
animals and humans and developing of new tools to combat influenza infections:

(cid:1) ‘Pathogenesis and improved diagnosis and control of avian influenza infections’ (Project Reference:

QLK2-CT-2002-01454, Community funding: EUR 1,84 million).

(cid:1) ‘European surveillance network for influenza in pigs’, (Community financing: EUR 269 984).

(cid:1) ‘Preparing for an influenza pandemic (cid:1) Flupan’ (Project reference: QLK2-CT-2001-01786, Community

funding: EUR 2,1 million).

(cid:1) ‘Novel vaccination strategies and vaccine formulations for epidemic and pandemic influenza control
Novaflu2001’ (Project Reference: QLK2-CT-2002-01034, Community funding: EUR 1,76 million).

4.
The Commission is not aware of any restrictions or obstructions to this research within the European
Union. Laboratory safety and handling of microorganisms is regulated in Council Directives 90/219/EEC of
23 April 1990 (2) (Directive on the contained use of genetically modified micro-organisms), 90/220/EEC of
23 April 1990 (2)
(Directive on the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified
organisms), 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 (3) (Directive on the introduction of measures to encourage
improvements in the safety and health of workers at work), in Directive 2000/54/EC of the Parliament and
of the Council of 18 September 2000 (4) (Directive on the protection of workers from risks related to
exposure to biological agents at work), and guided by EU-norms EN 12128, 12738, 12740, and 12741.

The Commission consults widely on health protection issues in order to strengthen the Community
5.
these consultations concerns the
preparedness and response to influenza pandemic threats. Part of
including the European Federation of the Pharmaceutical
pharmaceutical
Industry Association (EFPIA). On the Commission’s initiative information is shared among the Member
States’ authorities on strategies for the availability of efficient antiviral drugs for prophylaxis and treatment.

industry and its associations,

(1) Commission Decision 2004/84/EC of 23.1.2004, OJ L 17, 24.1.2004, Commission Decision 2004/93/EC of

29.1.2004, OJ L 27, 30.1.2004, and Commission Decision 2004/122/EC of 6.2.2004, OJ L 36, 7.2.2004.

(2) OJ L 117, 8.5.1990.
(3) OJ L 183, 29.6.1989.
(4) OJ L 262, 17.10.2000.