WRITTEN QUESTION E-0691/04 by Dominique Souchet (NI) to the Commission. Systemic insecticides.
Date: 2004-03-09
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: France, apiculture, food safety, honey, insecticide, market approval, product quality, toxic substance

3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 84 E/655

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(1 April 2004)

Article 10(3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1788/2003 of 29 September 2003 establishing a levy in the
milk and milk products sector clearly lays down the two ways in which unused quantities are to be
reallocated, one exclusively at national level, the other firstly at the level of the purchaser and thereafter at
national level where appropriate. This at once rules out any regional stage.

It is for the sake of sound management and so as not to weaken the role of the purchaser that the regional
level is not referrred to in Article 10(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1788/2003.

For deliveries it was agreed to give purchasers prime managerial responsibility for the declaration of milk
levy. That is why unused quantities can be reallocated at
collected and collection of the additional
purchaser level.

Thus the system is not compatible with regionalised management. Purchasers’ collection areas are not
necessarily bounded by regional borders (cid:1) they may collect milk in more than one region.

(2004/C 84 E/0739)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0691/04

by Dominique Souchet (NI) to the Commission

(9 March 2004)

Subject: Systemic insecticides

On 23 February, the French Ministry of Agriculture announced a ban on the sale of any products
containing Fipronil, an insecticide molecule, as a preventative measure following the charges brought
against Bayer Crop over the possible toxicity to human or animal health of agricultural products
containing this molecule.

Does the Commission intend to draw any particular conclusions from the decision to introduce a ban in
keeping with the precautionary principle?

With regard to beekeeping more specifically, does the Commission plan to take measures identical to those
taken in France?

How does the Commission intend to follow up the resolution on measures to improve the production and
marketing of honey (A5-0381/2001), adopted by the European Parliament on 13 December 2001, which
noted that ‘extremely serious damage has been caused to bee populations in several Member States by
systemic insecticides with extremely long residual activity periods’?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(6 April 2004)

The Commission has taken note of the declaration of 23 February 2004 of the French Minister of
Agriculture that national authorisations of products containing fipronil are to be suspended pending a
position on the substance by the European Food Safety Authority. The Commission notes that the
products are marketed in France by BASF and not by Bayer CropScience.

The Commission notes that this reflects a precautionary approach by the French authorities following a
scientific analysis of the fipronil dossier by the French authorities.

C 84 E/656

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

3.4.2004

A scientific analysis of the dossier is now being undertaken at Community level by the European Food
Safety Authority in the framework of Council Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 1991 on the placing of
plant protection products on the market (1). When the analysis is complete, the Commission will propose
appropriate measures at Community level for the substance in question. Since the Directive provides that,
pending a Community Decision on the substance, Member States may continue to apply national measures
to products containing the substance, the Commission does not propose taking any measures at this time
other than following the case closely and facilitating the exchange of information among the Member
States.

As far as the follow-up to the Parliament Resolution is concerned, the Commission adopted the follow-up
on the recommendations in its meeting of 5 February 2004 (2). This follow-up was e-mailed to Parliament
on 11 February 2004 in the language in which it was drafted. The other language versions will be sent as
soon as they become available.

Programmes presented by the Member States under Council Regulation (EC) No 1221/97 of 25 June 1997
laying down general rules for the application of measures to improve the production and marketing of
honey (3) may include measures to restock hives. For example, the honey programme presented by France
for the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 marketing years includes such measures.

(1) OJ L 230, 19.8.1991.
(2) Doc. SP (2004)-293.
(3) OJ L 173, 1.7.1997.

(2004/C 84 E/0740)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0696/04

by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(9 March 2004)

Subject: Funding by the ‘Culture 2000’ programme of books or translations of books which extol

nationalistic policies and their despotic practices

Has the European Commission funded, via the ‘Culture 2000’ programme, the writing of a book (or its
translation, e.g. from French into Greek) on the life and exploits of Kemal Atatürk, the Turkish nationalistic
politician?

Is the Commission aware of whether funding has been given in Greece or in other EU countries (and if so,
which ones) for the publication or translation of such a book, which praises the nationalism of this
politician and of the totalitarian regime which he established in that country, and his despotic tendencies,
and libels the Greeks as ‘murderers’?

Which translations of biographies of great leaders and heroes of the Balkan peoples and of the Arabs who
resisted the despotic Ottoman empire and led their peoples to freedom has the Commission funded via the
‘Culture 2000’ programme?

If such a book on the exploits of Atatürk was in fact funded via ‘Culture 2000’, what was the procedure
followed and which body chose the book or its translation for funding?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(23 April 2004)

With regard to books, reading and translation, the aim of the Culture 2000 programme is to raise
awareness of the literature and history of the peoples of Europe and to promote the distribution of such
works. This is done using funding awarded for the translation of literature, drama and reference works
(particularly works in the lesser-known European languages and the languages of central and eastern
Europe).