WRITTEN QUESTION P-0788/04 by Giacomo Santini (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Importation of dumped copper sulphate.
Date: 2004-03-05
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: anti-dumping duty, anti-dumping legislation, chemical salt, complaint to the Commission, copper, market protection, pesticides industry, plant health product, product quality

8.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 88 E/535

Legal measures adopted by the European Union fully respect the principles recognised by Article 6 of the
Treaty on the European Union and reflected in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
Where relevant, some Framework Decisions include specific reference to this respect for human rights in
their preamble, for example, the Framework Decision on the European arrest warrant and the Framework
Decision on Combating Terrorism both of 13 June 2002.

Moreover, all current as well as future Member States have endorsed Recommendation Rec (2001)10 of
19 September 2001 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to Member States on the
European Code of Police Ethics (1), that highlights the need to establish common European principles and
guidelines for i.a. the accountability of the police to safeguard security and individual’s rights in democratic
societies governed by the rule of law. The principle of accountability is set out in further detail
in
paragraphs 15 and 16: Member States are responsible for exercising independent supervision of the police
along the principles laid down.

When implementing Union law, Member States and their law enforcement services must respect the
fundamental rights recognised by Article 6 of the Treaty on the European Union and reflected in the
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and international instruments which, as general
principles of law, are an integral part of Union law and protected by it.

(1) http://www.supremecourt.ge/english/Annex2.pdf.

(2004/C 88 E/0547)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0788/04

by Giacomo Santini (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(5 March 2004)

Subject: Importation of ‘dumped’ copper sulphate

The production of copper sulphate is becoming increasingly important throughout the world for use in
animal feeds, agricultural treatments (phytosanitary protection of vines) and in electronics and galvanising.
European production has seen a significant downscaling in recent years, owing to massive imports of
sulphate from third countries (Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Russia, Macedonia, Serbia and China), and is now on
the verge of crisis. Europe’s leading producer, which is based in Italy (Manica SpA of Rovereto), maintains
a presence on the market along with a few other surviving companies in Italy, Spain and France. The main
cause of the crisis is the clear ‘dumping’ by the third countries mentioned above of an excessive quantity
(50 000 to 60 000 tonnes per annum) of microcrystalline copper sulphate (known as ‘snow’). This quantity
accounts for over two thirds of the European market. Serious concerns also stem from the low quality of
extra-Community production, which poses a threat to animal health and the environment. Regulation
EC 133/2003 (1) recently introduced further stringent limitations on the use of certain salts, including
copper salts, in animal feeds, for reasons relating to defecation by pigs on land and in watercourses. This
restriction is further damaging to European exports.

Considering that these circumstances could lead to the closure of the few European facilities that remain,
with serious consequences for product quality and for employment, could the Commission indicate:

1. What it will do to curb these dumped imports with customs duties, on the basis of Council Regulation

384/96 (2);

2. What initiatives it will take to protect the internal market, European producers and product quality;

3. What checks it will run to verify the suspicions surrounding the illegal or scarcely transparent origin

of a large proportion of the copper sulphate imported from those countries?

(1) OJ L 22, 25.1.2003, p. 18.
(2) OJ L 56, 6.3.1996, p. 1.

C 88 E/536

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

8.4.2004

Answer given by Mr Lamy on behalf of the Commission

(1 April 2004)

The Honourable Member can rest assured that the Commission is always ready to protect the
1.
European industry from any imports under unfair and injurious conditions provided that the applicable
requirements of Community’s international obligations and EU law (1) are met.

According to the relevant rules, the implementation of anti-dumping measures requires a formal procedure
starting with a complaint lodged on behalf of the Community industry either in its totality or a major
proportion thereof. It is followed by an investigation carried out by the Commissions’ Trade Defence
Service and may lead to a proposal of anti-dumping measures (e.g. an anti-dumping duty) by the
Commission which has to be adopted by the Council of Ministers.

The Commission is ready to provide the relevant Community producers with any information and help
requested to enable them to lodge such a complaint. In this respect it would like to draw the attention of
the Honourable Member
to its web-site (http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/policy/dumping/compl.htm)
where a ‘Guide on how to draft an anti-dumping complaint’ can be found.

2. With regard to the protection of the EU market and the European producers, the Commission will
take any appropriate initiative as described in the answer above. However, trade defence based on Council
Regulation (EC) No 384/96 does not aim for the protection of product quality.

The use of copper sulphate in plant protection is governed by Council Directive 91/414/EEC (2). This
provides that a substance can only be used if the Commission, on the basis of the evaluation of a dossier,
has adopted a Directive inscribing the substance in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC. For substances that
were already on the market in 1993 (including copper sulphate), national rules continue to apply pending
the Commission Decision. A dossier that was submitted by industry during 2002 in support of copper is
currently being evaluated at Community level. It is expected that a decision will be taken in or before
2006. Should the decision be negative, then all uses of copper in plant protection will have to be
withdrawn. Should the decision be positive, it will include minimum technical standards for purity of
copper (including copper sulphate) to be used in plant protection. It will be binding throughout the
Community.

As the Honourable Member will certainly be aware, there are at present no anti-dumping duties
3.
imposed on copper sulphate. Therefore,
justification for suspecting fraudulent
there is no apparent
trafficking. In order for anti-dumping duties to be imposed, the Community industries affected by this
situation would first have to lodge an anti-dumping complaint as set out in the first part of this reply.

(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 384/96 of 22 December 1995 on protection against dumped imports from countries
not members of the European Community as last amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 461/2004 of 8 March
2004, OJ L 77, 13.3.2004 (the ‘Basic Regulation’).

(2) Council Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 1991 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market

OJ L 230, 19.8.1991.

(2004/C 88 E/0548)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0806/04

by Antonio Di Pietro (ELDR) to the Commission

(15 March 2004)

Subject: Tremonti Law (cid:1) Mediaset

By law No 489 of 8 August 1994 (’Tremonti Law’) the Mediaset company, which operates in the
information and media sector, was granted tax reductions of at least LIT 243 billion. As a direct result of
these reductions, Mediaset has considerably strengthened its own dominant position on the market,
cancelled out huge budgetary losses and been quoted on the stock exchange. The law’s decision-making