WRITTEN QUESTION E-0929/04 by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission. Promotion of dairy products.
Date: 2004-03-26
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU financing, United Kingdom, dairy industry, milk product, sales promotion

8.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 88 E/249

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(30 April 2004)

The Reasoned Opinion to which the Honourable Member refers related to Ireland’s implementation of a
provision of Council Directive 75/439/EEC of 16 July 1975 that requires Member States to give priority to
the regeneration of waste oils over their disposal. The Commission took similar action against several other
Member States. On 14 November 2001, the Irish authorities responded, explaining that the amount of
waste oil arising in Ireland made waste oil regeneration uneconomic. On 25 April 2002, they provided
copies of two studies which they contended supported this conclusion. An examination of the studies
disclosed wider problems of compliance with the Directive,
in particular a high level of unrecorded
disposal of waste oils in Ireland.
In order to address the wider issues, the Commission notified an
additional Letter of Formal Notice on 11 July 2003, to which Ireland responded on 27 November 2003.
The Commission will make a further decision on the matter later in 2004.

(2004/C 88 E/0253)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0929/04

by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission

(26 March 2004)

Subject: Promotion of dairy products

I have received a letter from a constituent who has asked if there is provision for the promotion of the
dairy industry in the UK. My constituent sells milk-based products and saw the EU-sponsored adverts for
milk on television and wondered if there were other funded schemes available.

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(29 April 2004)

The promotion exercise referred to by the Honourable Member is part of a national milk promotion
campaign, organised by the Dairy Council with joint co-financing (United Kingdom 50 %) from the
European Union.

The Commission jointly funds programmes to promote certain European Union agricultural products, milk
and dairy products being amongst the sectors eligible for support. Promotion campaigns such as this one
are generic in nature and never in favour of any particular brand names or enterprises. They highlight the
advantages of European produce in terms of quality, food safety, nutrition, labelling, animal welfare and
respect for the environment.

The procedure is that the Authority in the Member State responsible for this exercise (in the case of the
United Kingdom this is the Rural Payments Agency) invites professional or inter-professional organisations
representative of
information programmes.
In cooperation with an implementing agency selected by a competitive tendering process, the professional
body drafts a programme according to strict eligibility criteria. There are also set conditions by which the
programme must give due acknowledgement of Community assistance.

to submit draft promotion or

their particular

sector

The Directorate-General for Agriculture has a website offering more detailed information and the address is
as follows: (http://europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/prom/index_en.htm). This provides a full explanation,
including the legal regulatory basis for the programmes (Regulations (EC) No 2826/2000 (1) and (EC)
No 94/2002 (2)).

C 88 E/250

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

8.4.2004

In addition to the programme organised by the Dairy Council, there is a Community co-financed milk
promotion campaign currently active in United Kingdom schools organised by Dairy Industry Association
Ltd.

(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 2826/2000 of 19 December 2000 on information and promotion actions for

agricultural products on the internal market, OJ L 328, 23.12.2000.

(2) Commission Regulation (EC) No 94/2002 of 18 January 2002 laying down detailed rules for applying Council
Regulation (EC) No 2826/2000 on information and promotion actions for agricultural products on the internal
market, OJ L 17, 19.1.2002.

(2004/C 88 E/0254)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0933/04

by John Purvis (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(26 March 2004)

Subject: Energy from the Commonwealth of Independent States

What plans does the Commission have to improve electricity grid connections between the Common-
wealth of Independent States and the European Union?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(30 April 2004)

The Commission supports the ongoing study work by the Union for
the
Transmission of Electricity (UCTE) (cid:1) the body responsible for the co-ordination of the operation of the
continental European grid (cid:1) and its counterparts in Russia and the Newly Independent States on the
possibilities of interconnecting the integrated system of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the
EU electricity system. Interconnections with Russia and the other CIS (1) countries neighbouring the EU,
such as Ukraine, are covered by Annex III (projects of common interest) of European Parliament and
Council Decision 1229/2003/EC of 26 June 2003 laying down a series of guidelines for trans-European
energy networks and repealing Decision No 1254/96/EC (2), and are therefore eligible for possible financial
aid.

the Co-ordination of

However, a clear pre-condition to the integration of the EU electricity market and those of neighbouring
in terms of market and environmental standards,
countries is the existence of a level playing field,
including nuclear safety.

(1) Community of Independent States.
(2) OJ L 176, 15.7.2003.

(2004/C 88 E/0255)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0935/04

by Hans Kronberger (NI) to the Commission

(22 March 2004)

Subject: European environment and health strategy (cid:1) SCALE

Early last summer, the Commission launched the European environment and health strategy (SCALE).

In its press release (IP/03/823) of 11 June 2003, the Commission describes the five key elements of the
strategy. The second of these is ‘children’, as they are particularly susceptible to environmental agents. In
this connection the Commission claims that 157 million children in Europe are suffering from special
environment-related problems.