Source: EURLEX
Language: en
Format: md

ISSN 0378-6986
# Official Journal C 362

Volume 37
### of the Communities 19 December 1994 European

Volume 37

19 December 1994

###### English edition Information and Notices

Notice No Contents
Page

I Information

European Parliament

Written Questions with answer

94 / C 362 / 01 E-684 / 93 by Virginio Bettini to the Commission
Subject : Utilization of Community funds for the island of La Gomera ( Canaries ) 1

94 / C 362 / 02 E-l 760 / 93 by Winfried Menrad to the Commission
Subject : Liability for company vehicles with foreign registration marks 2

94 / C 362 / 03 E-1771 / 93 by Stephen Hughes to the Commission
Subject : Implementation of the health and safety Directives 2

94 / C 362 / 04 E-l 857 / 93 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Information system for the free movement of persons 3

94 / C 362 / 05 E-2010 / 93 by Klaus Hansch to the Commission
Subject : Implementation of the Hansch report on the structure and strategy for the European
Union with regard to its enlargement and the creation of a Europe-wide order 3

94 / C 362 / 06 E-2980 / 93 by Anita Pollack to the Commission
Subject : Soil pollution 4

94 / C 362 / 07 E-3302 / 93 by Juan Colino Salamanca and Mateo Sierra Bardají to the Commission
Subject : Nitrate residues in Belgian vegetables 5

94 / C 362 / 08 E-3422 / 93 by Franco Borgo, Mauro Chiabrando, Antonio Fantini, Mario Forte,
Agostino Mantovani, Giuseppe Mottola, Ferruccio Pisoni and Nino Pisoni to the
Commission

Subject : Nitrate residues in Belgian vegetables 5

Joint answer to Written Questions E-3302 / 93 and E-3422 / 93 5

Price : ECU 18 ( Continued overleaf )

Notice No Contents ( continued ) Page

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94 / C 362 / 22

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94 / C 362 / 24

94 / C 362 / 25

E-3 854 / 93 by Henry McCubbin to the Commission
Subject : Suckler-cow quota and premium

E-4 / 94 by Carlos Perreau de Pinninck Domenech to the Commission
Subject : Crisis in the automobile industry

E-6 / 94 by Anita Pollack to the Commission
Subject : Breast cancer

E-26 / 94 by Anita Pollack to the Commission
Subject : Horse medicines — maximum residue levels

E-3 0 / 94 by Carlos Perreau de Pinninck Domenech to the Commission
Subject : Projects subsidised by the new cohesion instrument

E-3 1 / 94 by Diego Santos Lopez to the Commission
Subject : Cotton sector in the Community

E-3 7 / 94 by Bruno Boissiere to the Commission
Subject : Transposition of the first Directive on trademarks into national law

E-43 / 94 by Jessica Larive to the Commission
Subject : Alignment of EC education and training programmes with other Community
instruments

E-46 / 94 by Edward McMillan-Scott to the Commission
Subject : Protection of transgenic animals

E-50 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Status of Europol

E-56 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Programmes for the promotion and preservation of customs and culture, such as those of
gipsies and the Pontic Greeks 9

E-60 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Wetland areas in Greece protected by the Ramsar Convention 10

E-66 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Designating a marine park in the Gulf of Lagana off Zakinthos 10

E-l 11 / 94 by Joachim Dalsass to the Commission
Subject : Appointment of Head of Milk Products Unit 10

E-l 14 / 94 by Ria Oomen-Ruijten, Raphael Chanterie, Doris Pack, Viviane Reding and
Jan Sonneveld to the Commission

Subject : Agreements between insurers to exclude natural disasters, including floods 11

E-l 37 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Bringing forward the opening of intervention for olive oil 12

E-l 67 / 94 by Francesco Speroni to the Commission
Subject : Discrimination between credit cards issued in Italy and those issued in other parts of the
European Union 12,

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Notice No Contents ( continued ) Page

94 / C 362 / 26 E-l 78 / 94 by Jose Apolinário to the Commission
Subject : ' Timeshare ' and consumer information 12

94 / C 362 / 27 E-l 93 / 94 by Dieter Rogalla to the Commission

Subject : Employment of the disabled 13

94 / C 362 / 28 E-l 97 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Persecution of journalists and newspapers in Turkey 13

94 / C 362 / 29

E-201 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Developments in the Middle-East 14

94 / C 362 / 30 E-218 / 94 by Reimer Böge to the Commission
Subject : Green paper on the European dimension of education 14

94 / C 362 / 31 E-233 / 94 by Laura Gonzalez Alvarez to the Commission
Subject : Safety of workers in the mines of Asturias ( Spain ) 15

94 / C 362 / 32 E-240 / 94 by Filippos Pierros to the Commission
Subject : New obstacles to the programme for protecting the loggerhead turtle ( Caretta caretta ) 16

94 / C 362 / 33 E-241 / 94 by Filippos Pierros to the Commission
Subject : Disproportionately small EIB financing for Greece 16

94 / C 362 / 34 E-250 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Measures to combat social exclusion in urban areas 17

94 / C 362 / 35 E-251 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Solidarity with the victims of social exclusion 17

94 / C 362 / 36 E-253 / 94 by Giuseppe Mottola to the Commission
Subject : Request for figures on the hazel-nut sector 18

94 / C 362 / 37 E-255 / 94 by Cristiana Muscardini to the Commission
Subject : Public-sector broadcasting 18

94 / C 362 / 38 E-257 / 94 by Cristiana Muscardini to the Commission
Subject : GATT agreements 19

94 / C 362 / 39 E-267 / 94 by Brigitte Ernst de la Graete to the Commission
Subject : Trade sanctions on countries which breach the Cites convention 19

94 / C 362 / 40 E-304 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Personal pension schemes 20

94 / C 362 / 41 E-305 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Combating social exclusion 20

94 / C 362 / 42 E-307 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Artificial insemination of middle-aged women 20

94 / C 362 / 43 E-3 13 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : ECSC budget estimates 21

( Continued overleaf )

Notice No Contents ( continued ) Page

94 / C 362 / 44 E-320 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Proposal for a Regulation on the pumping-off and bottling of water 21

94 / C 362 / 45 E-327 / 94 by Mary Banotti to the Commission
Subject : Childcare and educational projects supported by the EC Social Fund 21

94 / C 362 / 46 E-341 / 94 by Jose Lafuente Lopez to the Commission
Subject : Possible threats in Spain to free competition as a result of municipal monopolies .... 22

94 / C 362 / 47 E-345 / 94 by Anita Pollack to the Commission
Subject : Mortgaging property 22

94 / C 362 / 48 E-356 / 94 by Cristiana Muscardini to the Commission
Subject : Protection and recognition of the profession of window-dresser 23

94 / C 362 / 49 E-360 / 94 by Cristiana Muscardini to the Commission
Subject : Bureaucratic restrictions on the medical profession 24

94 / C 362 / 50 E-366 / 94 by James Nicholson to the Commission
Subject : National development plans 24

94 / C 362 / 51 E-3 74 / 94 by Cristiana Muscardini to the Commission
Subject Diano ' : Popular protest concerning the delimination of the ' Parco del Cilento e Vallo di 25

94 / C 362 / 52 E-375 / 94 by Jean-Claude Pasty to the Commission
Subject : Distribution of agricultural products to the less-favoured categories of the
Community 25

94 / C 362 / 53 E-379 / 94 by Hiltrud Breyer to the Commission
Subject : Genetically engineered vaccine 26

94 / C 362 / 54 E-385 / 94 by Winifred Ewing to the Commission
Subject : Respect of additionally principle by Member State governments 27

94 / C 362 / 55 E-390 / 94 by Mihail Papayannakis to the Commission
Subject : Social Fund seminars : 28

94 / C 362 / 56 E-391 / 94 by Giuseppe Rauti to the Commission
Subject : Community aid for the Polar Museum in Fermo 29

94 / C 362 / 57 E-392 / 94 by Giuseppe Rauti to the Commission
Subject : Combating the de-industrialization of Europe 29

94 / C 362 / 58 E-403 / 94 by Johanna-Christina Grund to the Commission
Subject : Suspected unauthorized agreement between banks in Germany concerning the levying of
bank charges 30

94 / C 362 / 59 E-404 / 94 by Alexandros Alavanos to the Commission
Subject : Exclusion of the Prefecture of Messenia from the Retex Programme 30

94 / C 362 / 60 E-411 / 94 by Carles - Alfred Gasòliba i Bohm to the Commission
Subject : Fraud through smuggling of packets of tobacco . 31

Notice No Contents ( continued ) Page

94 / C 362 / 61

94 / C 362 / 62

94 / C 362 / 63

94 / C 362 / 64

E-441 / 94 by Christine Oddy to the Commission
Subject : Glue sniffing by street children 32

E-443 / 94 by Carlos Robles Piquer to the Commission
Subject : Transfer to Seville of the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies of the Joint
Research Centre ( JRC ) 32

E-452 / 94 by Concepció Ferrer to the Commission
Subject : Housing shortage 33

E-461 / 94 by Gerard Deprez to the Commission

Subject : Konver : operational programmes for Belgium in 1993 33

94 / C 362 / 65 E-477 / 94 by Glyn Ford to the Commission

Subject : Format for funding applications 34

94 / C 362 / 66

E-486 / 94 by Ursula Schleicher to the Commission
Subject : EU aid for dams in the river Acheloos in Greece 34

94 / C 362 / 67 E-487 / 94 by Henry McCubbin to the Commission

Subject : Disposal of grain stocks 35

94 / C 362 / 68

94 / C 362 / 69

94 / C 362 / 70

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94 / C 362 / 73

94 / C 362 / 74

94 / C 362 / 75

94 / C 362 / 76

94 / C 362 / 77

94 / C 362 / 78

E-531 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission "
Subject : The success of the Euronews channel 35

E-533 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : The adoption of measures which will contribute more effectively to the construction of a
Europe based on European citizenship 35

E-534 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Establishing the legal and institutional framework for international collective bargaining
at Community level . . 36

E-552 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission

Subject : Relations with North Korea 36

E-6 11 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Protection of wetlands in the region of Chrysoupolis 36

E-620 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Land-slides along Patras coastal strip 37

E-630 / 94 by Willi Rothley to the Commission
Subject : Information on EC funding for Rhineland-Palatinate in 1993 37

E-6 3 3 / 94 by Kenneth Collins to the Commission

Subject : Latin America 38

E-640 / 94 by Sergio Ribeiro to the Commission
Subject : Directive on money laundering ; 38

E-641 / 94 by Freddy Blak to the Commission
Subject : State aid to the MTW shipyard in Wismar, Germany 38

E-647 / 94 by Leen van der Waal to the Commission
Subject : Subsidiarity and EC tourism policy 39

( Continued overleaf )

Notice No Contents ( continued ) Page

94 / C 362 / 79 E-657 / 94 by Carlos Robles Piquer to the Commission
Subject : Community aid for water supplies in the Maghreb 39

94 / C 362 / 80 E-664 / 94 by Jaak Vandemeulebroucke to the Commission
Subject : Languages used in Commission publications 40

94 / C 362 / 81 E-666 / 94 by Raymonde Dury to the Commission
Subject : Eurojus and citizens 40

94 / C 362 / 82 E-669 / 94 by Hiltrud Breyer to the Commission
Subject : University of Saarbrucken 41

94 / C 362 / 83 E-696 / 94 by Karla Peijs to the Commission
Subject : EC labelling for bicycles 41

94 / C 362 / 84 E-697 / 94 by Karla Peijs to the Commission
Subject : Internal distortion of competition in the textile industry 42

94 / C 362 / 85 E-704 / 94 by Marianne Thyssen to the Commission
Subject : Imports of bicycle components and semi-finished bicycles from the Far-East . . . 42

94 / C 362 / 86 E-706 / 94 by Georgios Saridakis to the Commission
Subject : Abolition by the Greek Government of the National Telecommunications
Commission 43

94 / C 362 / 87 E-709 / 94 by Hiltrud Breyer to the Commission
Subject : Monopoly position of AgrEvo GmbH                   - 43

94 / C 362 / 88 E-721 / 94 by Diego Santos Lopez to the Commission
Subject : Cessation of activity by Andalusia 's fishing fleet in protest against the fisheries agreement
with Morocco 45

94 / C 362 / 89 E-723 / 94 by Jaak Vandemeulebroucke to the Commission
Subject : Elections in El Salvador 45

94 / C 362 / 90 E-736 / 94 by Mihail Papayannakis to the Commission
Subject : European Social Fund and Thebes Labour Centre 46

94 / C 362 / 91 E-741 / 94 by Elda Pucci to the Commission
Subject : The railway system in Sicily and harmonization of investments 46

94 / C 362 / 92 E-746 / 94 by Jose Apolinário to the Commission
Subject : Effects on the cod trade of the entry into force of the European Economic Area .... 47

94 / C 362 / 93 E-749 / 94 by Gerard Deprez to the Commission
Subject : Action programme on public health — prevention of heart disease and cancer 47

94 / C 362 / 94 E-761 / 94 by Jose Vazquez Fouz to the Commission
Subject ': Agreement regulating trade in tropical hardwood 48

94 / C 362 / 95 E-767 / 94 by Jose Vazquez Fouz to the Commission
Subject : Aid to coastal fishermen in Galicia ." 49

94 / C 362 / 96 E-771 / 94 by Ludivina Garcia Arias to the Commission
Subject : Use of cohesion funds in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias 49

Notice No Contents ( continued ) Page

94 / C 362 / 97

94 / C 362 / 98

94 / C 362 / 99

94 / C 362 / 100

94 / C 362 / 101

94 / C 362 / 102

E-785 / 94 by Birgit Bjørnvig to the Commission
Subject : VAT on veterinary treatment to destroy pets 49

E-821 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Proposals on cultural issues 50

E-822 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Uniform protection for EU citizens by diplomatic and consular authorities in third
countries 50

E-826 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Action against counterfeit products 51

E - 846 / 94 by Mary Banotti to the Commission
Subject : EC research and development policy 51

E-850 / 94 by Christopher Jackson to the Commission
Subject : Information and communication policy 52

94 / C 362 / 103 E-855 / 94 by Ben Fayot to the Commission
Subject : Translation centre 52

94 / C 362 / 104 E-861 / 94 by Mihail Papayannakis to the Commission
Subject : Thebes Municipal Water Supply and Sewerage Corporation ( Degat ) and the Cohesion
Fund 53

94 / C 362 / 105 E-875 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission

Subject : Consumers ' rights 53

94 / C 362 / 106 E-881 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Community money lost through fraud in the agricultural sector during 1993 54

94 / C 362 / 107 E-906 / 94 by Sir Jack Stewart-Clark to the Commission

Subject : Youth unemployment 54

94 / C 362 / 108

94 / C 362 / 109

E-9 18 / 94 by Jose Valverde Lopez to the Commission
Subject : Directive on money-laundering of drug money 55

E-979 / 94 by Antoni Gutierrez Diaz to the Commission
Subject : The James Bay II dam and the Euro-Quebec Hydro-Hydrogen Pilot Project : protection of
the native population and environmental damage 55

94 / C 362 / 110 E-l 132 / 94 by José Lafuente Lopez to the Commission
Subject : Possible Community contribution to water supply plans for the island of Majorca ... 56

94 / C 362 / 111 E - 1141 / 94 by Cristiana Muscardini to the Commission

Subject : Tanning industry 56

94 / C 362 / 112

94 / C 362 / 113

94 / C 362 / 114

E-l 148 / 94 by Cristiana Muscardini to the Commission
Subject : Polish ban on exports of raw and semi-finished hides 57

E-l 149 / 94 by Cristiana Muscardini to the Commission
Subject : Therapeutic communities 58

E-l 154 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Implementation of all Single Market Directives 58

( Continued overleaf )

Notice No Contents ( continued ) Page

94 / C 362 / 115 E-l 160 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Implementation of Directive 90 / 31 3 / EEC 58

94 / C 362 / 116 E-1172 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Implementation of Directives 89 / 48 / EEC and 92 / 51 / EEC 58

94 / C 362 / 117 E-l 184 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Implementation of Directive 91 / 689 / EEC 59

94 / C 362 / 118 E-1202 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Implementation of Directive 76 / 768 / EEC 59

94 / C 362 / 119 E-1203 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Implementation of Directive 92 / 44 / EEC 59

94 / C 362 / 120 E-1204 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Implementation of the provisions of Directive 91 / 263 / EEC 59

94 / C 362 / 121 E-1205 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Implementation of Directive 90 / 388 / EEC 59

94 / C 362 / 122 E-1255 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Incorporation of Directives 91 / 156 / EEC and 91 / 271 / EEC into national law in the Member
States 59

94 / C 362 / 123 E-1332 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Application of Community Directives on the environment 59

94 / C 362 / 124 E-1377 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Transposition of Directive 89 / 104 / EEC into the national law of the Member States 60

94 / C 362 / 125 E-1378 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Implementation of Directive 77 / 453 / EEC in the Member States of the European
Union, 60

Joint answer to Written Questions E-1154 / 94, E-1160 / 94, E-1172 / 94, E-1184 / 94,

E-1202 / 94, E-1203 / 94, E-1204 / 94, E-1205 / 94, E-1255 / 94, E-1332 / 94, E-1377 / 94 and
E             - 13 78 / 94 60

94 / C 362 / 126 E-l 171 / 94 by Sotiris Kostopoulos to the Commission
Subject : Improvement of vocational training schemes for young people in the services sector 60

94 / C 362 / 127 E-1263 / 94 by Winifred Ewing to the Commission
Subject : Aid for trade 60

94 / C 362 / 128 E-1264 / 94 by Winifred Ewing to the Commission
Subject : EU Development aid policy 61

Note to our Swedish and Finnish readers ( see inside back cover )

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 1

I

( Information )

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

WRITTEN QUESTIONS WITH ANSWER

WRITTEN QUESTION E-684 / 93

by Virginio Bettini ( V )

— 44 Parque de Grajonay

to the Commission — 105 Acantilados de Alarejo .

(6 April 1993 )

( 94 / C 362 / 01 )

Subject : Utilization of Community funds for the island of

La Gomera ( Canaries )

The supplement to ' El Pais ' of 14 February 1993 contains a
report on Community-funded projects in the island La
Gomera which are having serious repercussions on the
environment .

In view of the fact that this island contains a national

park considered by Unesco as part of mankind 's heritage,
what will the Commission do to guarantee the
proper implementation of Community legislation on
environmental impact assessment, especially in cases of
Community funded projects ?

Answer given by Mr Millan
on behalf of the Commission

(6 April 1994 )

An ERDF Integrated Operational Programme ( IOP ) is being
implemented on the island of Gomera in the Canaries and
has been approximately 60% completed . A number of
projects are being financed under this programme .

Gomera has three special protection zones included in
Directive 79 / 409 / EEC :

— 108 Los Organos

None of the projects being financed by the ERDF are being
carried out in the Los Organos or Acantilados de Alarejo

zones .

In the Garajonay zone there are no works in the park itself,
although a small section of the TF-711 road passes through
the peripheral protection area of the park on its way to the
tunnel which runs under the park, and which already existed
before the IOP 's implementation .

The TF-713 road crosses none of the sensitive zones, and the

' Acceso al Valle del Granrey ' ( second phase ) sections and
' Acceso al aeropuerto de Gomera ' diversion were the subject
of an environmental impact study and an impact declaration
by the public works authorities .

Since the airport 's runway is less than 2 100 metres long, the
responsible authorities did not consider that an impact
study under Directive 85 / 337 / EEC was necessary .
Nevertheless, a study was carried out to minimize its impact
and the Government of the Canaries is to select one of the

seven projects submitted for the implementation of the
corrective measures planned .

Although national legislation on impact studies was not
applicable to the TF-711 and TF-713 roads, and regional
legislation had not yet been adopted, the Government of the
Canaries decided to finance corrective measures to minimize

their impact, and these measures are now being
implemented .

No C 362 / 2 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1760 / 93

by Winfried Menrad ( PPE )

to the Commission

(2 July 1993 )

( 94 / C 362 / 02

Subject : Liability for company vehicles with foreign
registration marks

The number of companies performing cross-border work
and setting up subsidiaries in other Community Member
States has increased sharply in recent years . For various
reasons, company vehicles that are still registered in the
country where the main undertaking or the parent company
is based ( for example, in Germany ) may be used temporarily
( for example, during the time it takes to reregister them ) in
another EC country ( for example, Italy ) with their original
number plates by the subsidiary or branch concerned .

May employees or representatives of a company branch or
subsidiary drive company cars that still carry foreign ( for
example, German ) registration marks, using their national

( for example, Italian ) driving licences ?

Could there be undesirable consequences in the event of
damage being done ?

Would it improve the situation to use customs registration
plates ?

Answer given by Mrs Scrivener

on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 1994 )

There is no Community legislation concerning the Member
State in which a car must be registered . However, most of
the practical problems which arise when cars are moved
between Member States result from the widely different
indirect taxation systems ( other than value added tax )
which Member States apply to cars and which are linked
directly to national rules concerning the registration of cars .
The relevant Community legislation in this area is Council
Directive 83 / 182 / EEC ( ] ) concerning tax exemption for
certain means of transport — primarily cars — temporarily
moved between Member States .

Under this Directive, the general rule is that a car should be
taxed in the Member State in which the user is normally
resident — the place of issue of the driving licence is not
relevant . A vehicle registered in one Member State may not
be used in another Member State by a person who is
normally resident in the latter Member State .

The Commission takes the view that this restrictive
approach is no longer relevant in the context of the internal

market and intends to put forward shortly a proposal for a
new Directive concerning tax exemptions for motor vehicles
moved between Member States . The problems raised by the
Honourable Member will be adressed in the proposal .

In particular, the Commission considers that the principles
laid down in a recent European Court judgment concerning
the application of VAT to a vehicle used by a frontier worker

( Case 127 / 86 ) should be extended to other forms of indirect
taxation .

(!) OJ No L 105, 23 . 4 . 1983 .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1771 / 93

by Stephen Hughes ( PSE )

to the Commission

(2 July 1993 )

( 94 / C 362 / 03

Subject : Implementation of the health and safety
Directives

In view of the Commission 's reply to Question
H-412 / 93 (*), could the Commission provide details

( names ) of the one Member State which has transposed all
nine Directives, those Member States which have not yet
transposed all the Directives but have informed the
Commission of their proposals to complete this process, and
the other Member States who have not yet transposed any of
the Directives ?

In addition, could the Commission state the amounts and
types of resources it is allocating ( i.e. personnel ) to ensure
full implementation and enforcement of these Directives ?

(*) Debates of the European Parliament No 3-430 ( April 1993 ).

Answer given by Mr Flynn
on behalf of the Commission

( 23 November 1993 )

The Honourable Member is referred to the table below
which provides the details requested on the status of
transposition in the different Member States .

The Commission has begun the detailed analysis needed
to assess the correct implementation into Member States '
national law of the nine health and safety Directives . The
working methodology is currently being defined and at this
early stage it is difficult to quantify the personnel resources
that would be needed . The Honourable Member can,
however, be assured that the Commission will devote all
necessary resources to ensure a correct control of the
transposition of the said Directives .

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 3

Transposition Table

Directives B DK D E F GR IRL I L NL PT UK

89 / 39 1 / EEC — Framework T T D D T D T D D D T T

89 / 654 / EEC — Workplaces D T D N T (>) T D D D N T

89 / 655 / EEC — Work equipment D T D N T D T D D D N T

89 / 656 / EEC — Personal protective equipment D T D N T D T D D D N T

90 / 296 / EEC — Manual handling of loads D T D N T D T D D T N T

90 / 270 / EEC — Display screen equipment D T D N T D T D D T N T

90 / 394 / EEC — Carcinogens D T D N T D T D D D N T

91 / 383 / EEC — Temporary workers N T N N N N T N N N N T

91 / 382 / EEC — Asbestos T T D D T ( 2 ) D N D T N T

T = Implementing national texts communicated .
D = Draft communicated .

N = No communication .

(*) 31 December 1994 .

( 2 ) 1 January 1996 .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1857 / 93

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2010 / 93

by Klaus Hänsch ( PSE )

to the Commission to the Commission

( IS July 1993 )

( 94 / C 362 / 04 )

Subject : Information system for the free movement of

persons

In order to apply the Schengen Agreement and to ensure the
free movement of persons at all the points of entry and exit
in the Community Member States, an information system
must be introduced . Can the Commission say whether the
Member States, and in particular Greece and Italy, are ready
to implement this information system ?

Answer given by Mr Vanni d'Archirafi

on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 1994 )

The Member States concerned have always maintained that
an operational Schengen Information System ( SIS ) is a
pre-requisite for the abolition of controls at internal
frontiers as provided for in the Schengen Agreement . Owing
to teething troubles with the SIS, the Convention applying
the Schengen Agreement could not be implemented on the
appointed date (1 February 1994 ). These difficulties and
ways of overcoming them are being examined within the
Schengen Working Party . The Commission is unable to say
as yet what the outcome is likely to be .

( 19 July 1993 )

( 94 / C 362 / 05 )

Subject : Implementation of the Hansch report on the

structure and strategy for the European Union
with regard to its enlargement and the creation of a
Europe-wide order

The European Parliament adopted the above report

( A3-0189 / 92 (*)) on 20 January 1993 . The resolution calls
for various institutional reforms to be undertaken before

1996 and before any decisions are taken on enlargement .

1 . What action is the Commission taking to strengthen, in

accordance with paragraph 22 of the report, its political
capacity to act and parliamentary accountability in an
enlarged Community, particularly with regard to the
decision of the President designate of the Commission
on its composition, the appointment of deputy
Commissioners, the introduction of the principle of
political portfolios and the strengthening of executive
power and external representation ?

2 . What action is the Commission taking pursuant to

paragraph 23 to bring about an agreement on the
technical use of working languages when the number
of official languages increases in an enlarged
Community ?

(*) OJ No C 42, 15 . 2 . 1993, p . 124 .

No C 362 / 4 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

Answer given by Mr Vanni d'Archirafi

by Mr Vanni d'Archirafi The question of working languages has yet to be settled . The

of the Commission Commission is endeavouring to ensure that the Community

(6 May 1994 ) can reach a consensus on the use of languages after
enlargement .

on behalf of the Commission

1 . The powers and responsibilities of the Commission
are laid down by the Treaty .

The Commission 's accountability to Parliament was
reinforced by Articles 158(1 ) and 1 5 8 (2 ), as amended by the
Union Treaty ; the first of these extended the Commission 's
term of office to five years ( the life of a Parliament ), and the
second made it obligatory for the governments to consult
Parliament before appointing the President of the
Commission and made the appointment of the Commission
subject to a vote of approval .

In its opinion of 21 October 1990, the Commission
described itself as ' the only political body genuinely
accountable to [ Parliament ]'. It proposed a formula,
involving a two-tier investiture, which it thought might meet
Parliament 's demands regarding the appointment of the
Commission :

'. . . the first stage would involve investiture of the
President of the Commission, who would be appointed
by Parliament on a proposal from the European Council ;
and the second stage, following the appointment of the
Members by agreement between the Member States after
consultation of the President, would involve investiture
of the Commission as a whole on the basis of its

programme .' The Commission concluded, ' In this way
Parliament would be able to confirm the appointment of
the entire Commission .'

The Union Treaty also dealt with the question of
representation of the Union on matters relating to the
common foreign and security policy . Article J. 5 states that
this should be task of the Presidency, ' assisted if need be by
the previous and next Member States to hold the
Presidency '. The Commission is to be ' fully associated in
these tasks '.

2 . It was decided during the accession negotiations with
Austria, Finland, Norway and Sweden that the principle
whereby new members ' languages are recognized as official
languages of the Union, should be adhered to .

In its report entitled ' Europe and the challenge of
enlargement ', presented to the Lisbon European Council in
June 1992, the Commission tackled the problem of coping
with new languages in a Community with anything up to
thirty members . The Commission took the view that, ' For
reasons of principle, legal acts and important documents
should continue to be translated into the official languages
of all Member States . To ensure effective communication in

meetings, pragmatic solutions have to be found by each of
the institutions .'

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2980 / 93

by Anita Pollack ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 25 October 1993 )

( 94 / C 362 / 06

Subject : Soil pollution

Does the Commission agree that the EC ban on sewage
sludge dumping at sea by 1998 is expected to increase the
amount of sewage sludge disposed of to agricultural land in
the UK and is this the case in any other Member State ? Is the
Commission aware that this is likely to increase heavy metal
addition to soils and is it planning any action to combat
this ?

Answer given by Mr Paleokrassas

on behalf of the Commission

(7 December 1993 )

The Commission agrees that the implementation of Council
Directive 91 / 271 / EEC C ) concerning urban waste water
treatment will increase the production of sewage sludge
while removing the corresponding pollution from the
discharges to the receiving water bodies .

This will concern all Member States .

The Directive does not require Member States to direct their
sewage sludge to agricultural land . Article 14 only obliges
Member States to reuse those sludges whenever
appropriate, and minimize the adverse effects on the
environment of the chosen disposal routes .

The Commission recalls that Council Directive
86 / 278 / EEC ( 2 ) defines the legal framework for protection
of the environment and in particular the soil, when sewage
sludge is used in agriculture .

(!) OJ No L 135, 20 . 5 . 1991 .

( 2 ) OJ No L 181, 4 . 7 . 1986 .

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 5

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3302 / 93 Joint answer to Written Questions

by Juan Colino Salamanca ( PSE ) and

Mateo Sierra Bardaii ( PSE )

to the Commission

E-3302 / 93 and E-3422 / 93

given by Mr Steichen
on behalf of the Commission

(3 May 1994 )
( 24 November 1993 )

( 94 / C 362 / 07 )

Subject : Nitrate residues in Belgian vegetables

According to recent press reports, Belgian vegetables,
particularly lettuce, spinach, carrots, etc ., have the highest
levels of nitrate residues .

1 . Can the Commission confirm these reports ?

2 . If they are true, should the Commission not be carrying

out vigorous checks to remove such a threat to consumer
health ?

3 . Does the Commission think that a reform of the current
COM in fruit and vegetables should, amongst other
objectives, strengthen to a greater extent the presence on
the market of ' less artificial ' vegetables produced in
regions in which the light, the temperature and climate
conditions in general are better suited to this kind of
crop ?

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3422 / 93

The presence of nitrates in vegetables is the result of
agricultural contamination due to heavy use of fertilizers . In
countries with low luminosity, like Belgium, nitrate
build-up is higher than in Mediterranean countries . Three
Member States have introduced legislation on nitrate levels :
Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands .

The problem is difficult to resolve because account must be
taken of the requirements of public health protection and
the conditions of production . Information in the press is not
always scientifically correct .

The Commission is at present engaged in drafting rules to set
limits on contaminants of agricultural origin, including
nitrates .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3854 / 93

by Henry McCubbin ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 17 January 1994 )

by Franco Borgo ( PPE ), Mauro Chiabrando ( PPE ), Antonio
Fantini ( PPE ), Mario Forte ( PPE ), Agostino Mantovani ( 94 / C 362 / 09 )
( PPE ), Giuseppe Mottola ( PPE ), Ferruccio Pisoni ( PPE ) and

Nino Pisoni ( PPE )

to the Commission

(2 December 1993 )

( 94 / C 362 / 08

Subject : Nitrate residues in Belgian vegetables

An inquiry carried out by consumers ' associations
throughout the Community shows that Belgian vegetables,
especially those grown in greenhouses, have the highest
nitrate residues .

The level of nitrates found in spinach, for example, is
reported to be three times higher than in other countries,
and extremely high levels have also been found in lettuce,
carrots, celery, etc . Controls by the Belgian authorities to
check on maximum permitted nitrate levels appear to be
insufficient or non-existent .

In view of the danger which nitrates pose to human health,
what representations does the Commission intend to make
to the Belgian Government to introduce stricter quality
standards and adequate checks on compliance with such
standards ?

Subject : Suckler-cow quota and premium

A suckler-cow quota was introduced this year for those in
receipt of the suckler-cow premium, which was paid on an
annual headage basis for cattle used in the production of
beef calves . Farmers keeping suckler-cows in dairy herds
were ineligible for this premium . Since the quota is
tradeable, and a dairy farm may purchase and hold this
quota but not claim the premium, why should dairy farmers
not be allowed to hold a quota on their existing suckler herd,
which would then provide them with flexibility, should they
wish to come out of dairy farming ?

Answer given by Mr Steichen

on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 1994 )

The suckler-cow premium, which was introduced in 1980,
was initially intended for producers of beef rather than those
keeping dairy cattle . Subsequently, so as to give small milk
producers the necessary diversification resources to develop
their holdings, as from 1990 producers with an individual

No C 362 / 6 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

reference quantity ( quota ) not exceeding 60 000 kg of milk
became eligible for this premium up to a limit of 10 suckler
cows per holding . Under the reform of the beef and veal
sector, this threshhold was subsequently, as from 1993,
raised to 120 000 kg of milk, the limit of 1 0 suckler cows per
producer was abolished and a system introduced involving a
quota-premium per producer .

Under this system, all milk producers can become eligible to
hold premium rights without using them . However, to
prevent certain producers holding premium rights
indefinitely without using them and thereby depriving other
non-holder producers of the opportunity of such support,
the Commission decided that, given the regulatory effect on
the market of the individual quota system, quota rights not
used by holders during a certain period should revert to the
national reserve . Such rights, having reverted to the reserve,
can subsequently be allocated to priority producers .

horizontal industrial policy, with a view to facilitating the
structural adjustment of the car industry . These measures, in
the field of training and re-conversion, research and
technological development, completion of the internal
market and external trade policies have been, or are being,
implemented . Further developments and the Commission 's
view of the situation and the future of the industry described
in a communication adopted by the Commission on
23 February 1994 ( 2 ).

(!) COM(92 ) 166 final .

( 2 ) COMÍ94 ) 49 final .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-6 / 94

by Anita Pollack ( PSE )

to the Commission

(8 February 1994 )

WRITTEN QUESTION E-4 / 94 ( 94 / C 362 / 11 )

by Carlos Perreau de Pinninck Domenech ( RDE )

to the Commission
Subject : Breast cancer
(8 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 10 ) Which of the Member States provide breast cancer screening
for women every two years, which do it less frequently, and
which do it more frequently ?

Subject : Crisis in the automobile industry

The automobile industry is one of the sectors worst affected
by the current economic crisis in the Community .

The situation is particularly serious for producers, who saw
their sales drop by 25 % in the first nine months of 1993
compared with the same period in 1992 .

Does the Commission have plans to draw up and put into
action urgent measures to assist the Community automobile
industry to overcome this crisis ?

Answer given by Mr Bangemann

on behalf of the Commission

( 23 March 1994 )

It is true that the European car industry has been
particularly affected by adverse economic developments in

1993 .

The demand for passenger cars and light commercial
vehicles in the Member States decreased by almost 16 % in

1993 as compared to 1992 . There was an improvement in
the industry 's external trade performance but this only
slightly offset the negative effects of the downturn in the
Community market .

The Commission has already, in its communication ( J ),
announced a series of measures in the framework of its

What is the age in each Member State at which such
screening begins ?

Answer given by Mr Flynn
on behalf of the Commission

( 19 April 1994 )

There are only two Member States, namely the Netherlands
and the United Kingdom, which conduct national breast
cancer screening programmes .

In the UK all women aged 50-64 are invited to undertake a
mammography every three years . In the Netherlands this is
done every two years for all women aged 50-69 .

In Germany and France screening mammograms are
available on an annual basis to all women upon request . In
Germany the age limit is set at 40 . In France this concerns all
women aged 50 to 64 covered by the health insurance
' Caisse Nationale d'Assurance Maladie '. In addition a

systematic pilot breast cancer screening study is under way
in 10 departments of France .

In the other Member States, pilot projects have been
launched with assistance and advice by the Commission in
the context of the ' Europe against Cancer ' programme,
aimed at developing models for breast cancer screening

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 7

tailored to the national situation . The starting age for
screening under these projects varies from 40 to 50, the
screening interval is two years .

What amount has been granted for projects in Spain and
what do these projects consist of ?

Answer given by Mr Schmidhuber

on behalf of the Commission

( 21 March 1994 )
WRITTEN QUESTION E-26 / 94

by Anita Pollack ( PSE )

to the Commission

(8 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 12 )

Subject : Horse medicines — maximum residue levels

Is the Commission prepared to consider classifying horses as
a minor species rather than as food animals under the 1966
Directive in view of the cost of generating data to support
maximum residue levels for horse products ?

Answer given by Mr Steichen

on behalf of the Commission

(3 May 1994 )

Council Directive 64 / 43 3 / EEC on health conditions for the
production and marketing of fresh meat (*), as last amended
by Directive 91 / 497 / EEC ( 2 ), includes domestic solipeds
among the species suitable for human consumption . In
accordance with Regulation ( EEC ) No 2377 / 90 ( 3 ),
therefore, maximum residue levels must be fixed for horse
medicines in order to protect public health . For that reason
the solution suggested by the Honourable Member cannot
be considered . The Commission is examining, however,
with scientists in the Member States the possibility of
alternative solutions .

(!) OJ No 121, 29 . 7 . 1964 .
P ) OJ No L 268, 24 . 9 . 1991 .

( 3 ) OJ No L 224, 18 . 8 . 1990 .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-30 / 94

by Carlos Perreau de Pinninck Domenech ( RDE )

to the Commission

(9 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 13 )

The Commission is sending the Honourable Member and
Parliament 's Secretariat a table containing the information
requested .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-31 / 94

by Diego Santos López ( ARC )

to the Commission

(9 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 14

Subject : Cotton sector in the Community

Following the many reports of what is now known as the
' Greek cotton scandal ', the Commission has embarked on
an investigation which may require the monies wrongly
obtained by Greek farmers through the common
organization of the market in cotton to be repaid .

This situation could have seriously affected Andalusian
farmers, who have been penalized year after year because
their production has repeatedly exceeded the maximum
guaranteed amount .

Should not the maximum guaranteed amount in the
Community be divided up to ensure that the farmers who
are penalized are those who have genuinely failed to comply
with the regulatory requirements of this market ?

In view of the fraud which appears to have taken place, how
does the Commission plan to compensate Andalusian
farmers who have been unjustly penalized in recent
years ?

In the light of production statistics in the Community,
should not the MGA for production in Andalusia be
adjusted to reflect the real situation ?

Answer given by Mr Steichen

on behalf of the Commission

Subject : Projects subsidised by the new cohesion ( 15 April 1994 )
instrument

In September 1993 the Commission adopted the first
projects subsidised by the new cohesion instrument .

The Commission is aware of the fact that the stabilizer

system in the cotton sector causes serious problems in Spain,

No C 362 / 8 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

largely because the exceptional drought caused a sharp
reduction in the areas under cotton there in 1993 .

The Commission would remind the Honourable Member

that, in accordance with the Council Decision of December

1993, it is giving careful attention to the problems specific
to / the cotton sector with a view to its equitable

management .

— Portugal : draft legislation has been placed before

parliament ;

— United Kingdom : a bill has been introduced in
parliament .

It will present appropriate proposals to the Council and
Parliament once this examination has been completed . WRITTEN QUESTION E-43 / 94

by Jessica Larive ( ELDR )

to the Commission

(9 February 1994 )

WRITTEN QUESTION E-37 / 94 ( 94 / C 362 / 16 )

by Bruno Boissière ( V )

to the Commission

(9 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 15 )

Subject : Transposition of the first Directive on trademarks

into national law

Can the Commission update and expand its reply to my
Written Question No 147 / 93 O, and in particular, state
what infringement procedures have been initiated against
the seven Member States which, as at 1 February 1993, had
not yet transposed Council Directive 89 / 104 / EEC ( 2 ) on
trademarks into national law ?

0 ) OJ No C 202, 26 . 7 . 1993, p . 10 .

( 2 ) OJ No L 40, 11 . 2 . 1989, p . 1 .

Answer given by Mr Vanni d'Archirafi

on behalf of the Commission

( 27 April 1994 )

Subject : Alignment of EC education and training
programmes with other Community instruments

In its guidelines for Community action in the field of
education and training, the Commission states that
Community action must be closely aligned with other
Community instruments, including the Structural Funds,
and in particular the Social Fund .

Is it possible to give a definite answer to the question
whether a closer link between EC education and training
programmes and, for instance, the European Social Fund,
automatically means that the current situation whereby
some 85 % of funding from the Social Fund goes to the
southern Member States will also in future apply to such
programmes ?

If that is the case, can the Commission confirm whether this
can still be described as ' greater participation by all
concerned '?

Answer given by Mr Ruberti
on behalf of the Commission

Pursuant to Article 169 of the EC Treaty, the Commission on behalf of the
sent Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the ( 28 April 1994 )
Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom a letter of
formal notice for failure to communicate national measures
transposing These Member Council States Directive have submitted 89 / 104 / their EEC on observations trade marks to . The Commission has just submitted
the Commission . establishment of Community action

The current position is as follows :

— Germany : draft legislation has been placed before

parliament ;

— Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands : a protocol

amending the uniform Benelux law on trademarks has
been signed by the Committee of Ministers of the
Benelux Economic Union and is being ratified by the
respective parliaments ;

— Ireland : draft legislation will be introduced in
parliament before the summer ;

The Commission has just submitted its proposals for the
establishment of Community action programmes in the
fields of education ( Socrates ) and vocational training

( Leonardo Da Vinci ), based on the experience gained under
the existing programmes ( Erasmus, Lingua, Comett, Force,
Petra, etc .).

Consistency and complementarity, as defined in Article 7 of
the proposal for a decision on the Socrates Programme and
Article 6 of the proposal for a Decision on the Leonardo Da
Vinci Programme, are necessary to achieve true synergy
between the policies, measures and networks in the various
fields concerned ( research and development, assistance from
the Structural Funds, social dialogue ), to ensure that the
impact of the Community 's actions is as far-reaching as
possible .

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 9

Furthermore, the Commission proposal on the Socrates WRITTEN QUESTION E-50 / 94
Programme provides that the Commission should ensure by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )
the balanced participation of the Member States . to the, Commission _

(9 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 18 )

Subject : Status of Europol

WRITTEN QUESTION E-46 / 94

by Edward McMillan-Scott ( PPE )

Will the Commission say whether the European Central

McMillan-Scott ( PPE ) Police Force ( Europol ) is to come under the legal supervision

to the Commission of the Commission and whether the European Parliament is

(9 February 1994 ) to be given powers of control over the Commission 's
activities in this area ?

to the Commission

( 94 / C 362 / 17 )

Subject : Protection of transgenic animals Answer given by Mr Flynn
on behalf of the Commission

What measures is the Commission prepared to introduce
into the Legal Protection of Biotechnological Inventions
Directive to protect transgenic animals ?

Answer given by Mr Vanni d'Archirafi

on behalf of the Commission

( 14 April 1994 )

On 7 February the Council approved a common position on
the proposal for a Parliament and Council Directive on the
legal protection of biotechnological inventions . In line with
amendments voted by Parliament at first reading on
29 October 1992 (*), which the Commission accepted and
incorporated into an amended proposal put forward on

16 December 1992 ( 2 ), the Council agreed that the Directive
should lay down specific rules on transgenic animals . Under
point ( c ) of the second subparagraph of Article 2(3 ), patents
will not be available for ' processes for modifying the genetic
identity of animals which are likely to cause them suffering
or physical handicaps without any substantial benefit to
man or animal, and animals resulting from such processes '.
Recital 15 explains the purpose of this exception : suffering
or physical handicaps inflicted are not to be out of
proportion to the objective pursued .

Article 18 is also relevant here : ' This Directive shall not
affect national and Community laws on the monitoring of
the applications of research and of the use or
commercialization of its results '. Recital 38 lists examples of
the purposes such monitoring may have in view, and
specifically mentions ' the protection of animals '.

(!) OJ No C 305, 23 . 11 . 1992 .

( 2 ) OJ No C 44, 16 . 2 . 1993 .

( 27 April 1994 )

The European Police Office ( Europol ) will be established
under a convention to be drawn up by the Council under
Article K.3 of the Union Treaty and recommended to the
Member States for adoption in accordance with their
respective constitutional requirements . The Commission
has no right of initiative in the matter since it comes under
the heading of police cooperation within the meaning of
Article K.l(9 ). The convention, which the European
Council wanted to see finalized by October 1994 at the
latest, will spell out detailed arrangements for supervision
and control of the future Office .

These arrangements will have to abide by the principle set
out in Article K.4(2 ) of the Union Treaty, namely that the
Commission must be fully associated with work in the areas
referred to in Title VI, and the provisions of Article K.6 on
consultation of and the provision of information to
Parliament .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-56 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission

(9 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 19 )

Subject : Programmes for the promotion and preservation

of customs and culture, such as those of gipsies and
the Pontic Greeks

Can the Commission state whether there is any likelihood of
the Community providing funding for programmes for the
promotion and preservation of customs and culture, such as
those of gipsies and the Pontic Greeks ?

No C 362 / 10 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

Answer given by Mr Pinheiro

on behalf of the Commission

Answer given by Mr Paleokrassas

on behalf of the Commission

(3 May 1994 ) ( 12 April 1994 )

No, the Commission is not aware of such an intention .

The Commission would remind the Honourable Member
that, as provided in Article 128 of the EC Treaty, the aim of
cultural action by the Community is to encourage
cooperation between Member States in specified areas while
respecting national and regional diversity . The appropriate
programmes or incentive measures are to be adopted by the
Council and Parliament by the co-decision procedure after
consulting the Committee of the Regions ; the Council is
required to act unanimously .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-66 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 14 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 21

The Commission is now preparing a communication on
specific incentive measures under Article 128(2 ).

Subject : Designating a marine park in the Gulf of Lagana

At the moment it is for the Member States to protect and
facilitate the development of minority cultures in their
countries . As far as its powers permit, the Community
supplements their action by specific measures to promote
minority languages and cultures . For instance, it is operating
projects for Gypsies including the publication of an
information bulletin, seminars for Gypsy teachers and
research into the schooling of Gypsy children .

off Zakinthos

Can the Commission discuss with the Greek authorities
the possibility of creating a marine park in the Gulf of
Lagana off Zakinthos, which is the most important
breeding-ground for loggerhead turtles in the whole of the
Mediterranean, with between 850 and 1 800 turtle nests
each summer ?

Answer given by Mr Paleokrassas

Under the action plan for intercultural education ( budget on behalf of the Commission
heading B3-1003 ), the Commission has supported a number
of schemes to promote awareness and understanding of ( 11 April 1994 )
Gypsy culture . It has also funded a Greek project to train
Greek-language teachers who work with Pontic Greek
pupils . The Commission would refer the Honourable Member to its
answer to Written Question No 2951 / 93 (*).

on behalf of the Commission

( 11 April 1994 )

(!) OJ No C 352, 12 . 12 . 1994 .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-l 11 / 94

WRITTEN QUESTION E-60 / 94
by Joachim Dalsass ( PPE )

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission
to the Commission

( 17 February 1994 )
( 14 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 20 )

Subject : Wetland areas in Greece protected by the Ramsar

Convention

Can the Commission state whether the Greek authorities

intend to make any changes to the list of protected wetlands
proposed in 1987 under the Ramsar Convention ?

( 94 / C 362 / 22 )

Subject : Appointment of Head of Milk Products Unit

Is it true that a French official named Jaffrelot had already
been selected as the future Head of the Milk Products Unit (a
post advertised on 16 December 1993 under the number
COM 144 / 93 ) even before the relevant competition was
held, and that the qualifications required for the post were
altered so as to make them coincide with those held by the
abovementioned official ? Where these requirements the

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 11

same as those laid down for the competition in which the
previous Head of Unit ( an Italian ) took part ?

What view does the Commission take of those in charge at
the Directorate-General for Agriculture gaining
ever-increasing power and favouring one nationality at the
expense of the other eleven ?

Is it true that most posts are filled by French officials given,
in particular, that the Commissioner responsible for
agriculture allows the Director-General a free hand ?

Answer given by Mr Van Miert

on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 1994 )

The Commission would inform the Honourable Member

that no decision has yet been taken with regard to the post of
Head of Unit published in vacancy notice COM / 144 / 93 .
The qualifications required reflect the current situation and
are naturally different from those sought in 1981, when the
post was last vacant .

The Commission has no criticism of those in charge of
DG VI and sees no basis for the Honourable Member 's

comments .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-l 14 / 94

by Ria Oomen-Ruijten ( PPE ), Raphaël Chanterie ( PPE ),

Doris Pack ( PPE ), Viviane Reding ( PPE ) and

Jan Sonneveld ( PPE )

to the Commission

( 17 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 23 )

Subject : Agreements between insurers to exclude natural

disasters, including floods

In view of the serious flooding in France, Germany,
Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands :

1 . Can the Commission say to what extent it is possible to
insure against such disasters in the Member States ?

2 . Does the Commission recall the questions tabled to it by
the undersigned on the existence of cartel agreements in
all the Member States, under which insurers always
exclude natural disasters ?

3 . Is the Commission prepared to review the issue of
general exclusions ?

4 . Will the Commission take action to prohibit such

exclusion, or does it expect Parliament to exercise its
new powers and take the lead ?

Answer given by Mr Van Miert

on behalf of the Commission

( 22 April 1994 )

1 . According to the information available to the
Commission, it is possible to obtain insurance against
flooding in all Member States except Denmark and the
Netherlands . The rules governing such cover vary . In only
two Member States ( France and Spain ) is it legally
compulsory to insure, with the authorities playing an active
rolle in determining conditions of cover and premiums . In
other Member States cover is optional and arrangements
differ . In the United Kingdom flood risks form part of the
standard cover in policies for individuals and are optional in
lager-scale commercial and industrial ones . In Germany
insurers provide cover under a broader range of natural
risks, in order to avoid anti-selection . In Italy cover is
provided by insurers through a pool . According to available
information, cover against the risk of flooding is not in
practice provided widely, except in Portugal, the United
Kingdom and those Member States where it is
compulsory .

2, 3 and 4 . The block exemption Regulation ( EEC )
No 3932 / 92 (*) on the insurance sector specifies the
agreements, decisions and concerted practices which are not
outlawed under Article 85 ( 1 ) of the EC Treaty . As indicated
in the answer to earlier questions on the same subject

( Questions 1392 / 92, 1394 / 92 and 1438 / 92 and the
Commission 's answer ) ( 2 ), this Regulation provides that
exemption does not apply to standard conditions containing
clauses expressly ruling out specific types of cover, unless it
is clearly specified that every insurer is free to extend cover
to include such risks .

This provision is intended specifically to enable insurers to
offer cover which deviates from standard clauses ( 3 ). This
implies that the systematic exclusion of damage due to
natural disasters is forbidden, unless there is an individual
exemption .

After the block exemption Regulation came into effect, the
Commission requested all those concerned to re-examine all
reported decisions and recommendations concerning
matters covered by the Regulation . If they wished to
maintain any which were not exempted by the Regulation
they were requested to update their application for
individual exemption .

Scrutiny of the new applications is now under way . It is
difficult to image that exemption could be granted for

No C 362 / 12 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

decisions and recommendations under which the provision
of cover for particular forms of damage would be
systematically ruled out in advance : this would exclude any
possibility of individual insurers covering such risks even in
part . Any associations for cooperation between insurers in
the field of co(re-)insurance of such risks would also be ruled
out in advance .

(!) OJ No L 398, 31 . 12 . 1992 .

( 2 ) OJ No C 58, 1 . 3 . 1993 .

( 3 ) See also the Commission 's answers to the questions put

concerning Mr Harrison 's Report on competition in the
insurance sector . Proceedings of the European Parliament,
meeting of 18 December 1992 ; No 3-425 .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-137 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 17 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 24 )

Subject : Bringing forward the opening of intervention for

olive oil

Will the opening of intervention for olive oil be brought
forward ?

Answer given by Mr Steichen

on behalf of the Commission

( 22 April 1994 )

According to the last estimates, the 1993 / 94 olive-oil
marketing year has been caracterized by rather low
production and a substantial upward trend in prices .

Under these circumstances the Commission does not
envisage bringing forward the opening of the intervention
period, which for olive oil begins on 1 July and closes on
31 October each year .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-167 / 94

and Mastercard provided these cards have been issued in
Italy by banks belonging to the Cartasi network and refuse
to accept cards issued in other Member States of the
European Union .

Is this legal, particularly with regard to freedom of
competition ?

Answer given by Mr Vanni d'Archirafi

on behalf of the Commission

( 22 February 1994 )

The Commission is aware of certain problems connected
with the acceptance of payment cards at Community
level .

At that level, the cases most frequently brought to the
Commission 's attention relate to the non-acceptance of card
payments in particular trading periods or for transactions
involving small amounts . However, it is not possible, on the
basis of the information available, to confirm that the
behaviour referred to is contrary to Community legislation
as it currently stands .

Under these circumstances, the Commission is taking all the
necessary steps to gather more information on any problems
that may arise in connection with the use of payment cards .
With regard to the distribution of fuel, it would seem that

some companies accept international cards only if they are
issued in Italy, but still display the international logos, thus
causing misunderstanding on the part of holders of cards
issued abroad, who are for the most part tourists . This may
be regarded as misleading advertising within the meaning of
Directive 84 / 450 / EEC (*). For more than a year now, the
Commission has also been stepping up its efforts in this field
by negotiating with the business circles concerned with a
view to drawing up and implementing a general code of
good conduct . It is hoping, in this context, to find lasting
solutions to the problems mentioned .

(!) OJ No L 250, 19 . 9 . 1984 .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-178 / 94

by Francesco Speroni ( NI )

by José Apolinârio ( PSE )
to the Commission

( 14 January 1994 )

to the Commission

( 22 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 25 ) ( 94 / C 362 / 26 )

Subject : Discrimination between credit cards issued in Italy

and those issued in other parts of the European
Union

Many businesses which operate in Italy, especially fuel
distributors, accept payments by - credit cards such as Visa

Subject : ' Timeshare ' and consumer information

Can the Commission tell me what consumer information
campaigns are being planned as a result of the adoption of
the ' timeshare ' Directive ?

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 13

Answer given by Mrs Scrivener

on behalf of the Commission

(3 May 1994 )

If the question by the Honourable Member refers to
information which consumers should have prior to entering
into a ' timeshare ' contract, it should be pointed out that the
Commission has included in its amended proposal (*)
standards to ensure that the vendor supplies the purchaser
with minimum amount of information relating to the
subject of the contract . Clearly, this information will only
become definitive upon adoption of the Directive .

If, on the other hand, the question by the Honourable
Member relates to plans for action to make consumers
aware of the existence of Community legislation in the field
of ' timesharing ', the Commission intends to limit its role to
the provision of information supplementary to that which
each Member State will provide upon the entry into force of
its own legislation . This intervention by the Commission
will take account of the fact that the agreement reached by
the Council includes a provision that the deadline for
transposing the Directive is to be set at three years .

However, it should be stressed that one of the priorities of
the second action plan on consumer policy, approved by the
Commission on 27 July 1993, is to improve the supply of
information for consumers .

Specific measures will therefore be taken to inform
consumers of their rights within the Single Market, making
use of the most appropriate written and / or audiovisual

means .

t 1 ) OJ No C 299, 5 . 11 . 1993 .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-l 93 / 94

by Dieter Rogalla ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 22 February 1994 )

94 / C 362 / 27

Subject : Employment of the disabled

In its answer of 30 June 1993 to my Written Question
No 640 / 93 ( 1 ), the Commission stated in reply to points 4
and 5 that in its preliminary draft budget for 1993 it had
proposed allocating 25 posts for disabled persons . Work
had already started, it said, on producing guidelines to
determine how these posts should be filled . Although the
allocation of posts had not materialized, it went on, work
had continued and a practical policy was expected in the
first half of 1993 .

1 . With regard to point 4 of my question — What posts for

disabled persons did the Commission apply for and
obtain in the 1993 budget and to what extent have these

posts been filled ? — the Commission simply stated that
it had requested 25 posts . There was no reply as to how
many posts had been granted or to what extent they had
been filled . Can I have a reply now ?

2 . What guidelines has the Commission drawn up for

filling the posts with disabled persons ?

3 . Why has it not been possible to fill these posts ?

4 . What results have been achieved from continuation of

the work ?

5 . What practical measures were taken in the first half of

1993 and subsequently ?

6 . The Commission has not answered point 5 of my

question — Does the Commissioxi agree that a number
of the additional posts granted by the Council and
European Parliament should be earmarked for the
disabled in proportion to the original demands ? How
could this be guaranteed in administrative terms ? —
Can I have a reply this time ?

(!) OJ No C 297, 3 . 11 . 1993, p . 37 .

Answer given by Mr Van Miert

on behalf of the Commission

(3 May 1994 )

The Commission was extremely disappointed that its
proposal in the preliminary draft budget for 1993 to create
budget headings specifically intended for the recruitment of
disabled people was rejected by the institutions which
constitute the budgetary authority .

As a result af this rejection it has been impossible to take any
measures over and above those which have traditionally
been practised .

Pending the creation of new posts which, because of their
special characteristics, would be reserved for the disabled,
the Commission will continue to make every effort to
encourage the participation of disabled people in its open
competitions .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-197 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 22 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 28

Subject : Persecution of journalists and newspapers in

Turkey

The International Federation of Journalists has protested in
the strongest possible terms about the persecution of

No C 362 / 14 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

journalists and newspapers in Turkey, and notably the
arrest, conviction and imprisonment of journalists and the
closure of newspapers and magazines, and has called on
Turkey 's political leadership :

1 . forthwith to immediately release the 57 journalists and

writers who are being held in Turkish prisons ;

2 . to allow the newspapers and magazines that have been

closed to reopen ; and

3 . to abrogate the 900 or so provisions in Turkish

legislation that restrict freedom of expression .

How does the Commission intend to help the International
Federation of Journalists and persuade Turkey 's political
leadership to meet its demands ?

Answer given by Mr Van den Broek

on behalf of the Commission

(5 May 1994 )

The Commission shares the Honourable Member 's disquiet
about failure to respect the freedom of the press in Turkey .
The European Commission has taken the opportunity of
recent meetings with Turkey — during Sir Leon Brittan 's
visit to Ankara on 10-12 February in particular — to remind
the Turkish authorities of the importance attached by the
European Union and its Member States to respect for
human rights and fundamental freedoms and to Turkey 's
commitments under the CSCE and Council of Europe in
particular .

The Commission will continue to keep a close watch on the
situation in Turkey, particularly in view of the Turkish
Government 's undertakings to improve the human rights
situation in the country . The Commission wishes the
Turkish authorities to take all necessary steps to that
end .

Answer given by Mr Van den Broek

on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 1994 )

The Commission looks forward to the early implementation
of Palestinian interim self-government as an important step
towards the achievement of a just and comprehensive peace
in the region . The peace process was put at risk by the
terrible bloodshed in Hebron on 25 February and since then
in Afula, Ashdod and Hadera . It is now essential that the
peace process be pursued and, as a first step, that living
conditions for Palestinians in the Occupied Territories be
improved in conditions ensuring security for all .

The Commission is making a significant contribution to
projects forming part of the budget of the new Palestinian
authority in order to support the PLO-Israel declaration of
principles and to promote the development of the Occupied
Territories . It will play a full part in the joint action in
support of the Middle-East Peace Process decided by the
Council on 19 April . Assistance for the creation of
Palestinian police force is under consideration as one
Community action in support of the joint action . The
Commission is also supporting the Palestinian electoral
commission as part of preparations for elections .

Commissioner Van den Broek visited the Middle-East in
early March together with the President of the Council, Mr
Papoulias . The continuing strong commitment to the peace
process expressed by the negotiating parties was most
encouraging . The Commission hopes that bilateral
negotiations will be resumed shortly and that substantial
progress can be made towards the achievement of a
comprehensive peace .

The Commission continues to advocate regional
cooperation as the way to deal with problems common to
the countries of the region and is promoting this approach in
the meetings of the multilateral groups which are currently
being held .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-218 / 94

by Reimer Boge ( PPE )

to the Commission

WRITTEN QUESTION E-201 / 94 to the Commission

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE ) ( 24 February 1994 ) '

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission ( 94 / C 362 / 30 )

( 22 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 29 )
Subject : Green paper on the European dimension of

education

Subject : Developments in the Middle-East
In its Green paper on the European dimension in
education (*) the Commission uses the term ' European
Will the Commission outline its assessment of developments citizenship ' ( section Ila : ' Contributing to European
in the Middle-East ? citizenship ').

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 15

Does the use of this term reflect a political objective of the
Commission to replace ' citizenship of the Union ', which is
enshrined in the Maastricht Treaty, with ' European
citizenship '?

(!) COM(93 ) 457 final .

Answer given by Mr Ruberti
on behalf of the Commission

(8 March 1994 )

The use of the phrase ' European citizenship ' in the Green
Paper on the European dimension of education was in no
way intended to suggest that the concept of ' citizenship of
the union ', as set out in the Treaty on European Union
should be replaced by a different concept .

Articles 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, and 8e of the amended EC Treaty set
out the rights of citizens of the Union . Paragraphs 14 and 15
of^the Green Paper did not intend to deal with citizens '
rights, but rather to describe the contribution which
education can make towards creating in young people a
consciousness of being European and an awareness of the
associated values so that they are prepared to play a part in
European construction . This concept is not a new one, but
formed the essence of the objectives of the resolution of the
Council and the Ministers of Education meeting within the
Council on the European dimension in education of 24 May
1988 .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-233 / 94

by Laura González Alvarez ( GUE )

to the Commission

( 24 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 31 )

Subject : Safety of workers in the mines of Asturias

( Spain )

Between 1973 and December 1989, when four trapped
miners were killed in a fire at the Mosquitera pit, 45 8 people
have died in accidents while working in the mines of
Asturias .

Further fatal accidents have occurred since then, such as the
accident in which four miners died at the Santa Barbara pit
in December 1992, raising once again a question mark over
the safety precautions adopted in the mines of Asturias and
particularly those of the Hunosa company, which owns the
pits where the two accidents mentioned occurred .

Framework Directive 89 / 391 / EEC ( ! ) introduces measures
to encourage improvements in the safety and health of

workers and is the basis for a series of specific
Directives .

One of these specific Directives is 92 / 104 / EEC on the
minimum requirements for improving the safety and health
protection of workers in surface and underground
mineral-extracting industries ( 2 ).

1 . Has the Commission any information on the two fatal

accidents in the Mosquitera and Santa Barbara pits ?

2 . Has the Commission any information on fatal accidents
in the Asturias minefield ?

3 . Has the Commission funded any project for
investigating safety in the mines of Asturias ?

4 . How does the Commission explain the fact that the

Spanish authorities have still not yet transposed
Directive 89 / 391 / EEC into their national legislation ?

5 . What approaches can the Commission make to the

Spanish authorities to ensure that they guarantee the
correct implementation of Community legislation on
the safety and health of workers ?

(!) OJ No L 183, 29 . 6 . 1989, p . 1 .

( 2 ) OJ No L 404, 31 . 12 . 1992, p . 10 .

Answer given by Mr Flynn
on behalf of the Commission

(5 April 1994 )

1 . The Spanish representatives have informed the Safety
and Health Commission for the Mining and Other
Extractive Industries ( the body responsible at Community
level for problems relating to safety and health in mines ) of
the fatal accidents at the Mosquitera and Santa Barbara
collieries .

2 . Since the accession of Spain, the Spanish Government
has regularly supplied the Commission and the SHCMOEI
with accident statistics according to the Community system
and covering inter alia fatal accidents .

3 . Through ECSC social research, the Commission has to
date financed a total of 14 projects under the safety, hygiene,
medical and ergonomics programmes . The titles of the
various projects are being sent directly to the Honourable
Member and to the Secretariat-General of the European
Parliament .

4 and 5 . The deadline for the transposition of Council
Directive 89 / 391 / EEC on the introduction of measures to

encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers
at work into the national legislation of the Member States

No C 362 / 16 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

was 1 January 1993 . As Spain has not yet informed the
Commission of measures taken at national level to
implement this Directive, the Commission has initiated an
infringement procedure under Article 169 of the EC
Treaty .

6 . The deadline for transposition of Directive
92 / 104 / EEC on the minimum requirements for improving
the safety and health protection of workers in surface and
underground mineral-extracting industries ( 12th individual
Directive within the meaning of Article 16 ( 1 ) of Directive

89 / 391 / EEC ) is 3 December 1994 .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-240 / 94

by Filippos Pierros ( PPE )

to the Commission

( 24 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 32

Subject : New obstacles to the programme for protecting the

loggerhead turtle ( Caretta caretta )

Following considerable delays and bureaucratic obstacles,
the researchers chosen have submitted the full study, funded
under the IMP for western Greece, on the measures which
must be taken in the area of Zakynthos in order to protect
the loggerhead turtle and to develop tourism on the island in
a way which does not harm the loggerhead . Protection for
the loggerhead is essential in order to guarantee its survival
in the Mediterranean, and valuable time has already been
lost in approving the funding for the study by the IMP .
However, the Ministry of the Environment is unjustifiably
refusing to implement the study, despite the fact that it was
approved by the ministry itself .

What steps does the Commission take to tackle Greece 's
systematic obstruction of measures in favour of the
loggerhead turtle and the waste of Community resources
resulting from the non-implementation of a study funded by
the IMPs ?

Answer given by Mr Paleokrassas

on behalf of the Commission

(5 May 1994 )

WRITTEN QUESTION E-241 / 94

by Filippos Pierros ( PPE )

to the Commission

( 24 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 33 )

Subject : Disproportionately small EIB financing for
Greece

According to the most recent report from the Commission
on the implementation of the reform of the structural
funds (*), individual loans earmarked for Greece by the EIB
during the period 1989-1992 amounted in total to just ECU
977,3 million ( 5,47% ). The corresponding figure for
Portugal was ECU 3 815 million ( 21,35 % ), for Spain ECU
4 277 million ( 31,7% ) and for Italy ECU 6 540 million

( 36,5% ).

Why was EIB financing enormously disproportionate, to the
detriment of the least developed country ?

(!) COM(93 ) 530 final .

Answer given by Mr Christophersen

on behalf of the Commission

( 27 April 1994 )

The relatively low level of EIB lending in Greece is a matter
of concern to the Commission as well as to the EIB itself . As
indicated already in the Commission 's Annual Report on
the Reform of the Structural Funds 1990 (*), the main
constraint on EIB lending appears to be the high level of
state indebtedness . Further explanatory factors are the
overall low level of investment in Greece, the relative
weakness of the banking system and capital markets, the
regulatory provisions constraining foreign exchange, and
the considerable amount of funds available in the form of
grants . It should, however, be noted that EIB financing in
Greece has been increasing substantially in 1992 and 1993,
and that the total for the period 1989-1993 corresponds
quite well to the projection given in the Community Support
Framework approved on 30 March 1990 .

The Commission would refer the Honourable Member to its
answer to Written Question No 2951 / 93 (*).
(!) COM(91 ) 400 final .

(!) OJ No C 352, 12 . 12 . 1994 .

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 17

WRITTEN QUESTION E-250 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 24 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 34 )

Subject : Measures to combat social exclusion in urban

areas

Will the, Commission say whether it intends to take specific
measures in order effectively to combat social exclusion in
urban areas as part of the Community 's initiatives in this
field ?

Answer given by Mr Flynn
on behalf of the Commission

(5 May 1994 )

The fight against social exclusion in urban areas may, under
certain conditions, be supported by the Community under
the Structural Funds and specific programmes .

On 26 February and 2 March 1994, the Commission
adopted proposals for new Community initiatives financed
by the Structural Funds .

The Urban initiative aims to continue and expand upon the
pilot and innovatory actions initiated by the Commission as
part of Feder . Integrated programmes will be developed,
comprising a range of measures on economic development,
social integration and environmental protection based on
local partnership proposals . They will be aimed at run-down
neighbourhoods in towns with more than 100 000
inhabitants, which are situated in areas covered by the
Structural Funds, especially in Objective 1 and 2 areas which
are characterized by a high rate of unemployment, a
dilapidated urban fabric and by social exclusion .

The initiative ' Employment and Human Resources ', and, in
particular, the Horizon project, aim to improve the job
prospects of the least privileged groups within the
Community as a whole . In backward regions, priority will
be given to finding jobs for the least privileged people
in urban communities via the local infrastructure,
information, advice and development of services .

In its communication (*) of 22 September 1993, the
Commission proposed the implementation of a new
programme to combat exclusion and promote solidarity

( 1994-1999 ), which particularly highlights the processes of
exclusion in urban areas . Subject to its adoption by the

Council, this programme will thus be able to support
experimental projects tackling the specific problems of
urban areas . Furthermore, the Commission supports
various activities involving exchanges of experiences and
information on urban social development, including
housing .

(!) COM(93 ) 435 final .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-251 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 24 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 35 )

Subject : Solidarity with the victims of social exclusion

Will the Commission say whether it has exerted any
pressure on the Member States to adjust their public
spending and social models so as to express their solidarity
with the victims of social exclusion ?

Answer given by Mr Flynn
on behalf of the Commission

( 27 April 1994 )

The task of combating social exclusion is primarily the
responsibility of the Member States and their national,
regional and local authorities . However, the Community
can and should be involved in this work within the limits of

its powers and resources . In accordance with the principle of
subsidiarity, its work in this area is mainly concerned with
supplementing, supporting and giving impetus to the
measures conducted in the Member States .

In order to fulfil this objective, various measures are being
taken which are generally not of a binding nature : the
implementation of support programmes for pilot projects,
the proposal of recommendations, the improvement of
knowledge and the exchange of experience . In this context,
the Commission emphasised in its communication entitled
' Towards a Europe of solidarity : Intensifying the fight
against social exclusion, fostering integration ' ( ! ) that there
was a need to promote, at Community level, the exchange of
information and the comparison of experience concerning
the allocation of public funding to prevention and to the
fight against social exclusion .

(!) COM(92 ) 542 final, 23 December 1992 .

No C 362 / 18 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

WRITTEN QUESTION E-253 / 94

by Giuseppe Mottola ( PPE )

to the Commission

( 24 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 36 )

Subject : Request for figures on the hazel-nut sector

Italy is the biggest producer of hazel-nuts in Europe, its

120 000 tonnes of nuts, grown on 50 000 hectares,
accounting for 65 % of output ; this has a significant impact
in terms of production, the economy, employment and the
environment, especially for disadvantaged areas where it is
difficult to grow other crops .

The sector is placed at a serious disadvantage by a
combination of structural and market conditions .

In view of the role played by hazel-nut growing, as described
above,

1 . can the Commission indicate the amount in ECU that

the sector has received, under the relevant provisions,
from Community Funds over the past ten years ?

2 . can the Commission provide separate figures for Italy,

Spain, France and Greece in respect of the following
products : hazel-nuts, walnuts, almonds and raisins ?

3 . are there any schemes currently under way which are

relevant to the Italian hazel-nut sector ?

Answer given by Mr Steichen

on behalf of the Commission

As producers ' organizations may grow several types of nuts,
the figures given relate to the sector as a whole and are not
broken down by product .

The situation as regards the implementation by Member
States of the above aid measures is as follows :

Italy Spain France Greece

Recognized
producers '
organizations 10 58 9 1

Approved plans 1 52 7

( 1 ) The Member State indicated is that of the recipient of the Community aid,

the measure itself covering Community production as a whole .

With regard to raisins, which are covered by market
organizations in products processed from fruit and
vegetables, annual expenditure is in the regipn of ECU
90 million .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-255 / 94

by Cristiana Muscardini ( NI )

Other measures (*)

of which :

- 2 2 1

walnuts 2 ' —

hazelnuts — 1 — —

almonds — 1 — —

pistachios

— — 1

(4 May 1994 ) to the Commission

( 24 February 1994 )

In view of the many horizontal measures in force under the ( 94 / C 362 / 37 )
CAP ( market, structural, research and promotion measures )
which can have a direct or indirect impact on the hazelnut
sector, the Commission is not in a position to put a figure on
the total amount the sector has received . Subject : Public-sector broadcasting

However, total funding since 1989 to benefit nuts and locust
beans under the measures provided for in Regulation ( EEC )
No 1035 / 72 amounts to ECU 200,73 million, which breaks
down as follows :

( ECU million )

Aid for the formation of producers '
organizations 2,99
Contribution to operating funds 15,93

Contribution to improvement plans 178,69

Other measures ( studies, promotional
projects ) 3,12

Italian public-sector broadcasting, which is facing the threat
of imminent bankruptcy and repeated disputes about the
new political share-out of jobs, is undergoing a serious
crisis .

Given that the basic operation of this service will be
safeguarded not by being a monopoly, but by free
competition with private television, and given that budget
deficit problems cannot be resolved by shifting the whole
burden of re-organizing the public sector onto the State, i.e.
onto its citizens, what measures does the Commission
intend to take to regulate the citizen 's right of
communication in the countries of the European Union ?

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 19

Does the Commission not consider that it would be

appropriate to set up an ' Observatory ', consisting of
representatives of society, to check the reliability of the
information furnished by the media ?

Answer given by Mr Pinheiro

on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 1994 )

Provided that they respect Community law, the Member
States enjoy wide discretion in the organization of their
national audiovisual systems, particularly with regard to
licensing, administrative authorization, taxation, financing

or programme content .

The question raised by the Honourable Member concerning
the verification of the accuracy of information provided by
the media falls within the competence of the Member States
and is not an area in which the Community is active .

The audiovisual sector has been included in the General

Agreement on Trade in Services ( GATS ). However, no
liberalization commitments were undertaken by the
Community . This outcome leaves the Community with all
the freedom to maintain and develop further a common
audiovisual policy . The rights to continue developing
preferential links in this sector beyond the Community
boundaries are thus safeguarded . The only immediate
obligation the GATS creates for the Community is one of
transparency which requires notification of all measures
which may affect trade . In exchange, the audiovisual sector
will benefit from the protection which the multilateral
dispute settlement system provides against unilateral
measures . For the longer term, it should be noted that the
audiovisual sector will, like other sectors, be covered by the
objectives of progressive liberalization under the conditions
set out in Article XIX of the GATS .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-267 / 94

by Brigitte Ernst de la Graete ( V )

to the Commission

( 24 February 1994 )

WRITTEN QUESTION E-257 / 94 ( 94 / C 362 / 39 )

by Cristiana Muscardini ( NI )

to the Commission

( 24 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 38 )

Subject : GATT agreements

The recent GATT agreement, while contributing towards
the greatest possible liberalization of international trade,
has also demonstrated that Europe is unable to assert its
own identity .

Given that cultural output must continue to be excluded
from the negotiations and important initiatives have been
taken to that effect ( although the worryingly low profile of
Italian ministers in the various negotiating arenas must be
deprecated ), can the Commission envisage developing a
European strategy to ensure that the agreement reached a
few days ago will mean effective free trade, promoting an
accord on Community stability which will avoid subsequent
devaluation ?

Subject : Trade sanctions on countries which breach the

Cites convention

Four countries belonging to Cites export rhino horns —
Yemen, Taiwan, China and South Korea — despite having
passed national legislation banning this .

If this trade continues, the rhinoceros will disappear
completely .

What trade sanctions is the Commission imposing — or
could it impose without delay — on such countries when
they do not comply with the convention ?

Answer given by Mr Paleokrassas

on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 1994 )

The Commission would invite the Honourable Member to

by Sir Leon Brittan refer to its answer to Written Question No 2972 / 93 by Mrs

of the Commission Oddy (*).

(5 April 1994 )

Answer given by Sir Leon Brittan

on behalf of the Commission

0 ) OJ No C 310, 7 . 11 . 1994, p . 45 .

As the Honourable Member will be aware, the Uruguay
Round was concluded on 15 December 1993 in Geneva .

No C 362 / 20 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

WRITTEN QUESTION E-304 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 28 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 40 )

Subject : Personal pension schemes

Is the Commission supporting personal pension schemes in
the Member States and, if so, how, to enable such schemes to
guarantee a dignified and secure retirement for all ?

authorities . The Commission does what it can to support
endeavours in this field .

To this end, the Commission liaises regularly with all the
actors concerned . It has presented the main directions of
Community initiatives in the following documents :

— ' Towards a Europe of solidarity — intensifying the fight

against social exclusion, fostering integration ' ( 1 ).

— ' Medium-term action programme to combat exclusion

and promote solidarity : a new programme to support
and stimulate innovation ( 1994-1999 ) and the Report
on the implementation of the Community programme
for the social and economic integration of the
least-privileged groups ( 1989-1994 ) ( 2 )'.

Answer given by Mr Flynn
on behalf of the Commission (!) COM(92 ) 542 .

( 14 April 1994 ) ( 2 ) COM(93 ) 435 .

In the Commission 's view, supporting personal pension
schemes in the Member States does not lie within its
competence . It is up to each Member State to decide how it
will ensure that retired people have an adequate income .

However, it is worth noting that Council recommendation
92 / 442 / EEC of 27 July 1992 on the convergence of social
protection objectives and policies (*) sets out, in broad
terms, common social protection objectives, some of which
relate to retired people .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-307 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 28 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 42 )

0 ) OJ No L 245, 26 . 8 . 1992 . Subject : Artificial insemination of middle-aged women

WRITTEN QUESTION E-305 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 28 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 41 )

The use of advanced technology to overcome infertility and
the going beyond the bounds of nature represented by cases
of menopausal women giving birth to children has divided
the medical world and given rise to concern in political
circles, particularly in the United Kingdom . In view of this,
will the Commission seek a decision at Community level
banning the use of artificial insemination for middle-aged
women ?

Answer given by Mr Flynn
Subject : Combating social exclusion on behalf of the Commission

( 19 April 1994 )
In the context of combating social exclusion, will the
Commission take practical measures based predominantly
on changing economic, social and cultural models ? In-vitro fertilization and infertility

Answer given by Mr Flynn
on behalf of the Commission

( 19 April 1994 )

The fight against social exclusion is mainly the responsibility
of the Member States and their national, regional and local

In-vitro fertilization and infertility treatment raise certain
ethical, social and medical questions . The biomedicine and
health research programme does cover biomedical ethics ;
two specific multinational research projects involving
some 20 teams in Europe are concerned specifically with
the ethical and social aspects of medically-assisted
fertilization .

The Commission does not intend to interfere with the
legislation and regulations of the Member States in this field
but, in accordance with its public health mandate under

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 21

Article 129 of the Treaty on European Union, the
Commission encourages cooperation between the Member
States and is prepared to support their action in these

areas .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3 13 / 94

WRITTEN QUESTION E-320 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 28 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 44

Subject : Proposal for a Regulation on the pumping-off and

bottling of water

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

Kostopoulos ( PSE ) Does the Commission intend to draw up a proposal for a

to the Commission Regulation on the pumping-off and the bottling of water
and to submit it to the Council of the European Union ?

( 28 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 43 )

Subject : ECSC budget estimates

Does the Commission consider that the ECSC budget is
sufficient to fund the measures called for by the crisis in the
Community 's steel industry ?

Answer given by Mr Schmidhuber

on behalf of the Commission

(3 May 1994 )

The budget estimates for 1994 are published in the Official
Journal of the European Communities ( 1 ). For subsequent

years an illustrative scenario is annexed to the Commission
working paper of 20 October 1993 updating the
communication to the Council on the future of the ECSC
Treaty — Financial activities ( 2 ). The amounts actually
allocated in the budget by the Commission are decided
annually in the light of estimated resources .

Within the limits of the resources available, the Commission
intends to concentrate ECSC spending in future on measures
which will contribute more effectively to solving the serious
problems currently facing the coal and steel industries —
measures to promote the restructuring process and alleviate
the costs of the social measures associated with it . Assuming
that the steel restructuring measures judged necessary are in
fact carried out, the Commission will continue to give
priority to funding social measures . The Commission would
point out that it has also suggested providing advance
funding in the form of loans under Article 54 ( 1 ) of the
ECSC Treaty for the financial arrangements submitted to it
by three groups of steel companies to pay for
capacity-reduction programmes .

(!) OJ No L 328, 29 . 12 . 1993 .

( 2 ) SEC(93 ) 1596 .

Answer given by Mr Paleokrassas

on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 1994 )

The quality of drinking water and natural mineral waters is
governed respectively by Directive 80 / 778 / EEC relating to
the quality of water intended for human consumption and
Directive 80 / 777 / EEC on the approximation of the laws of
the Member States relating to the exploitation and
marketing of certain mineral waters .

Directive 80 / 778 / EEC makes no reference to the

pumping-off and bottling of water . Directive 80 / 777 / EEC,
on the other hand, contains provisions concerning the
bottling and transport of natural mineral waters .

The Commission is currently preparing proposals to amend
these two Directives, but has no plans to add or amend
provisions relating to the pumping-off and bottling of

water .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-327 / 94

by Mary Banotti ( PPE )

to the Commission

( 28 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 45 )

Subject : Childcare and educational projects supported by

the EC Social Fund

If Member States are providing funding for training and
education programmes with European Social Fund Money,
is there a legal requirement to provide childcare or other
mechanisms ( for example tax relief ) to alleviate childcare
costs ?

No C 362 / 22 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

Answer given by Mr Flynn a monopoly on the economic activities they perform ? If so,
on behalf of the Commission what action is it intending to take to correct this anomalous

( 19 April 1994 ) situation which undermines free competition in Spain ?

In accordance with Article 1 of Council Regulation ( EEC )
No 2084 / 93 ( 1 ), the European Social Fund may finance the
provision of care services for dependants, particularly
childcare services, in order to facilitate the occupational
integration of persons exposed to long term unemployment
or exclusion from the labour market and to promote equal
opportunities for men and women, particularly for women
without vocational qualifications or returning to the labour
market .

Under the NOW initiative, the ESF has helped to finance the
running costs of childcare facilities and, in Objective 1
regions, the ERDF has co-financed the setting up of such
services, in order to help people reconcile family
responsibilities and work commitments .

However, the partnership system means it is primarily up to
the Member States to take the necessary initiative to make
use of these possibilities .

(!) OJ No L 193, 31 . 7 . 1993 .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-341 / 94

by José Lafuente Lopez ( PPE )

to the Commission

(1 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 46 )

Subject : Possible threats in Spain to free competition as a

result of municipal monopolies

The awarding of exclusive rights in Spain, in accordance
with the law of 1985 which grants local authorities a
monopoly on certain economic activities such as the
operation of slaughterhouses, the supply of gas and
electricity, the collection and treatment of waste, funeral
services, etc ., continue to cause controversy because it is
regarded as a way of distorting competiton, one of the
foundations of the Community economy .

Spanish businessmen are constantly calling for the
employment and services market to be liberalized since they
consider the existing restrictions to be a major burden and
believe that the country cannot afford not to liberalize if an
irreparable setback to industry is to be avoided .

Is the Commission aware of the provisions contained in
abovementioned Spanish law which grants local authorities

Answer given by Mr Van Miert

on behalf of the Commission

( 25 April 1994 )

The Commission is aware of the scope offered by national
law to Spanish local authorities with regard to the
establishment of monopoly arrangements for the
performance of certain activities in their areas .

It understands this provision to be merely a
de-centralization of every Member States 's entitlement to
grant exclusive rights within the limits laid down by
Community law .

The granting of exclusive rights by a public authority,
whether it be local, regional or national, may or may not be
in accordance with Community law depending on the
circumstances of each case .

Consequently, the Commission considers that the
abovementioned provision of Spanish law on local
arrangements is in itself compatible with Community
law .

Were certain local bodies, in exercising the powers accorded
by the law, to grant exclusive rights which were
incompatible with Community law, each such measure
would constitute an infringement against which action
would have to be taken individually .

In the absence of information on the practical exercise by
certain local authorities of the option accorded by the law
and on the nature and objectives of the applicable
arrangements, the Commission is not in a position to say
whether Community law is being contravened .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-345 / 94

by Anita Pollack ( PSE )

to the Commission

(1 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 47 )

Subject : Mortgaging property

Given the various legal frameworks in the Community and
the difficulties which arise concerning arrangements with
banks for mortgaging of property and mortgage charge
variations, does the Commission agree that the best solution
to the problem would be an attempt to harmonize
legislation relating to mortgages ?

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 23

Answer given by Mr Vanni d'Archirafi

on behalf of the Commission

Answer given by Mr Vanni d'Archirafi

on behalf of the Commission

( 25 April 1994 ) ( 19 April 1994 )

The Commission realizes that the profound differences
which exist between Member States ' laws on mortgages are
liable to give rise to difficulties where cross-border banking
transactions involve a mortgage guarantee .

It considered harmonizing those laws in the 1960s .
Experience showed, however, that this was practically
impossible since the laws in question are closely related to
land law, itself directly linked to the national systems of civil
law .

Because of the territorial nature of the laws in question, any
Commission initiative in this area must in any case be
particularly well thought out, especially in view of the
principle of subsidiarity .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-356 / 94

by Cristiana Muscardini ( NI )

to the Commission

(1 March 1994 )

94 / C 362 / 48 )

Subject : Protection and recognition of the profession of

window-dresser

There are structural reasons for the economic crisis affecting
the Community, which is, in part, attrributable to a level of
economic activity causing consumption to shrink, but also
to the opening of large shopping centres which compete
with retail outlets and to the issue of unregulated
professional diplomas .

The way products are presented is therefore vital ; shop
windows are the most powerful weapon that retailers have
to generate sales and solve their problems in the
market-place, and it is therefore important for them to be
able to use the services of qualified window-dressers .

Can the Commission envisage establishing a European
window-dressers ' diploma whereby vocational courses,
organized through the Chambers of Commerce in
Community countries, would lead to the title of
window-dresser and to a qualification to practice as
such ?

Can the Commission also introduce appropriate measures
concerning the recognition and protection of the profession
of window-dresser throughout the Community ?

The Commission has no power to grant diplomas or other
qualifications ; that is something which remains within the
jurisdiction of the Member States . The Member States have
very wide discretion to regulate access to, and pursuit of,
particular professions or occupations on their own territory .
It is they who decide questions of training, the level of
qualification required, and the use of a professional title .

There is no Community definition of the profession of
window-dresser . The legal framework for, and supervision
of, this activity are matters for the Member States . But the
right of establishment and the right to provide services are
fundamental freedoms and, in order to ensure that they are
respected, Community legislation on the mutual recognition
of qualifications has been brought in, including Directive
92 / 51 / EEC on a second general system for the recognition
of professional education and training ( a ), which
supplemented Directive 89 / 48 / EEC on a general system for
the recognition of higher-education diplomas awarded on
completion of professional education and training of at least
three years ' duration ( 2 ). Directive 92 / 51 / EEC is a general
measure and, when it enters into force in June 1994, it will
apply on certain conditions to all diplomas, certificates and
attestations of competence showing that the holder has
completed higher or vocational education and training
not covered by a specific directive or by Directive
89 / 48 / EEC .

The basis for the recognition of a qualification is that the
profession or occupation for which a migrant was trained in
his Member State of origin is the same as that which he
wishes to carry on in his host Member State, so that there
will necessarily be some equivalence between the training
already completed and the training which the host Member
State requires .

The Commission 's policy is to give preference to a general
approach of this kind, which does not require any
coordination of education and training or of professional or
occupational activity, rather than to a specific approach
which would tackle particular professions one at a time . The
Commission envisages proposing special measures for a
particular profession only if it becomes clear in the light of
experience that the profession has special features which
mean that genuine free movement cannot be secured under
the general system alone .

There would have to be agreement on the principle
underlying, and the main points in, the proposals among
those carrying on the profession in all Member States and
among the Member States themselves .

(M OJ No L 209, 24 . 7 . 1992 .

( 2 ) OJ No L 19, 24 . 1 . 1989 .

No C 362 / 24 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

WRITTEN QUESTION E-360 / 94

by Cristiana Muscardini ( NI )

to the Commission

(1 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 49 )

Subject : Bureaucratic restrictions on the medical
profession

Surgeons are able to carry out operations and therapeutic
procedures on vital human organs such as the heart or brain
without special authorization ( given that such procedures
are included in their basic training ), but are not permitted to
practice in the field of dentistry and stomatology, not
because they are not trained, let alone unqualified, to do so
( this is a requirement of the State examination for admission
to the profession ), but simply because they are not included
in the Register of Dentists .

Will the Commission prepare legislation to remedy the
obvious injustice of national laws which make certain
therapeutic procedures conditional not on specific
professional training but on the bureaucratic requirement
for inclusion in various professional registers ?

Answer given by Mr Vanni d'Archirafi

on behalf of the Commission

(5 May 1994 )

Community legislation on access to the medical profession,
which has been consolidated in Directive 93 / 16 / EEC (*),
requires Member States to recognize the diplomas listed
there and awarded by the other Member States in
accordance with the minimum training requirements which
it lays down by giving them, as far as the right to take up and
pursue the activities of a doctor is concerned, the same effect
in its territory as those which the Member State itself
awards .

However, Member States retain the right to lay down the
conditions governing access to, and pursuit of, the
profession and use of academic title, provided that this does
not include discriminatory treatment on grounds of
nationality . Of particular importance is the requirement for
registration with, or membership of, professional
organizations or bodies in order to practise the
profession .

However, where it is a question of providing services, the
migrant doctor is exempted from these requirements or
finds himself subject in the host Member State to certain
formalities, provided that they neither delay nor complicate
in an unjustified fashion the provision of services .

In its answer to oral question H-l 173 / 92 ( 2 ), the
Commission had already stated in general terms that, within
the single market, Article 52 of the EC Treaty does not
prevent a Member State continuing to require nationals
from another Member State who wish to become
established on its territory to join a professional body under

the same terms as those which apply to its nationals . Nor
does the Commission envisage in this case the abolition of
these professional bodies or the removal of the requirement
for compulsory membership for persons established in a
Member State .

(!) OJ No L 165, 7 . 7 . 1993 .
( 2 ) OJ No 3-425, p . 219, December 1992 part-session .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-366 / 94

by James Nicholson ( PPE )

to the Commission

(1 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 50 )

Subject : National development plans

Following Commissioner Millan 's recent negative
comments at the Regional Development Section of the
Economic and Social Committee on the contents of some
Member States ' development plans, will the Commission
indicate if it is satisfied with the contents of the Northern

Ireland submisson ?

Is the Commission faced with any serious difficulties which
could delay a speedy agreement with the United Kingdom
authorities on the shape of the Northern Ireland
Community Support Framework ?

With a view to getting projects off the ground as soon as
possible in 1994, when would the Commission hope to
announce the adoption of the Community Support
Framework for Northern Ireland ?

Answer given by Mr Millan
on behalf of the Commission

( 19 April 1994 )

The United Kingdom authorities have indicated their wish
that the Northern Ireland Community Support Framework
should be in the form of a Single Programming Document .
In this case, and as this will be the only document on which
the Commission will take a decision, the Regulations state
that information shall be provided not only as required for
the Plans ( Articles 8 to 10 and 11a of the Framework
Regulation ) but also as needed by the Commission to assess
the proposed measures ( Article 14 ( 2 ) of the Coordination
Regulation ).

The Plan did not contain the necessary level of detail, and the

Commission has requested the Northern Ireland authorities
to supply it .

As soon as this information is available, the Commission
will take matters forward without delay with a view to
approving the Community support Framework as soon as
possible .

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 25

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3 74 / 94

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3 75 / 94

by Cristiana Muscardini ( NI )

Muscardini ( NI ) by Jean-Claude Pasty ( RDE )

to the Commission to the Commission

(1 March 1994 )

to the Commission

(4 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 51 ) ( 94 / C 362 / 52 )

Subject : Popular protest concerning the delimination of the

' Parco del Cilento e Vallo di Diano '

In view of the following circumstances :

— the fact that a majority of the population of the

Cilento-Vallo di Diano area has expressed its
opposition, through petitions and demonstrations, to
the existing delimination of the park concerned, as
decided by the public authorities ;

— the provisions of Article 34a of Law 394 / 91 establishing

the boundaries of the park in relation to the Alburni,
Bulgheria, Cervati, Gelbison and Stella hills, despite
which the authorities subsequently decided on a
considerable extension of those boundaries ;

— the declaration of 24 February 1993 by the Salerno

Regional Administrative Tribunal considering the safety
regulations to be sub-standard and invalidating the new
boundaries ;

— the numerous episodes suggesting that the opportunities

connected to the juridical nature of the park are likely to
be used for purposes of corruption and speculation ;

— the failure of the authorities to undertake any
meaningful consultation so as to ascertain the views of
the inhabitants ;

— the position of Parliament, in its resolution B2-1 1 84 / 86,

to the effect that protected areas may only be instituted
with the consent of the local communities, who should
be involved in the conservation and environmental

management of the areas in which they live,

does the Commission not consider it necessary, as a matter
of urgency, to call on the Italian Government, and, in
particular, the Minister for the Environment, to institute a
realistic delimination of the ' Parco del Cilento e Vallo di

Diano ', on the basis of respect for established local customs
and the identity of the inhabitants ?

Answer given by Mr Paleokrassas

on behalf of the Commission

( 30 March 1994 )

The appropriate delimitation of a protected area, the
regulations applying to it and the procedures followed to
establish these, are a matter of competence of the national
authorities, in which the Commission does not intervene as
long as the relevant Community legislation is respected .

Subject : Distribution of agricultural products to the
less-favoured categories of the Community

The request for transfer of appropriations No 26 — 93
submitted by the Commission on 22 December 1993 states
that the total allocation under Article Bl-350 ( distribution
of agricultural products to deprived persons in the
Community ) will not be used in full and that there will be an
unused balance of ECU 19 million .

This situation is unacceptable, considering the political
importance of this appropriation, which Parliament has
decided should be substantially increased in 1994 .

Can the Commission state the extent of utilization of

appropriations under this heading since 1990, both in
general terms and in terms of the allocations to individual
Member States ?

Can it specify which Member States have not utilized the
appropriations, and to what extent, and explain why it has
not taken measures to re-allocate the unused amounts ?

What action is envisaged to ensure that the management of
this appropriation is improved in future, given that the
needs expressed are far from being satisfied, in view of the
worsening economic and social crisis in the Community ?

Does the Commission not consider that these

appropriations should be managed in future by DG V,
rather than DG VI ?

Answer given by Mr Steichen

on behalf of the Commission

( 15 March 1994 )

The Commission is quite aware of the situation of the
less-favoured categories of the population in the
Community and is attempting to remedy it by means of
various schemes, including the supply of foodstuffs from
intervention stocks . It is unwilling to accept therefore that
appropriations made available to the Member States to
combat poverty remain unused .

Tables sent directly to the Honourable Member as well as to
Parliament 's Secretariat set out for the years 1990 to 1993
and for each Member State the amounts allocated in ECU

and in national currency, the amounts used and the
percentage use . They give an indication of the distribution
situation at the end of the budget year, i.e. on 15 October

1993, for the European Agricultural Guidance and

No C 362 / 26 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

Guarantee Fund ( EAGGF ), and show clearly that some
Member States used up only part of their appropriations
whereas others used them to the full .

Under the Community rules ( the earlier Regulation ( EEC )
No 3744 / 87 ( x ) and the new one, Regulation ( EEC )
No 3149 / 92 ( 2 )) Member States are required to notify the
Commission immediately of foreseeable reductions in
expenditure on applying the plan so that it can re-allocate
unused resources to other Member States .

In the case of the 1990 and 1991 plans the Commission
reallocated considerable amounts as a result of several
Member States notifying unused resources . In spite of that,
at the end of the EAGGF budget year, it transpired that
substantial appropriations had not been used .

In the case of the 1992 and 1993 plans, following a reminder
from the Commission to all Member States, only one gave
notice of a modest surplus . The others failed to notify any
reduction in expenditure or stated that they would use up
their appropriations . Once again, at the end of the EAGGF
budget year, it would seem that some Member States have
used a lot less than their allocation .

In the light of the experience gained in administering the
scheme over a number of years the Commission has
amended the rules .

The main aim of the new rules is to secure optimum use of
the appropriations, in a number of ways :

1 . When the resources are being allocated among the

Member States the Commission takes into
consideration, among other things, the uses to which
they were put in previous years ( Article 2 ( 1 )). For
example, in its proposed allocation to the Member
States of an extra ECU 25 million for the 1994 plan
some Member States were not included on the grounds
that they had not used up their allocation in earlier

years .

2 . The Commission has made more explicit the
requirement that it be notified of appropriations
unlikely to be used . ' The Member States shall
immediately inform the Commission, and by the end of
April . . .' ( Article 3 ( 2 )).

3 . For the same purpose the appropriations earmarked to

cover transport costs within the Community have been
reduced since only part of them were used .

The Commission is continuing to examine ways in which it
can improve the operation of the measures and is open to
suggestions as to how it can be made more effective . In order
to ensure that it is administered in the best way possible it is
essential that the Commission can rely on the full
cooperation of all Member States .

DG VI administers the measure . The products supplied are
taken from public intervention stocks which come under the
financial administration of the EAGGF . DG V, however, is
closely involved in monitoring the scheme .

(!) OJ No L 352, 15 . 12 . 1987 .

( 2 ) OJ No L 313, 30 . 10 . 1992 .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3 79 / 94

by Hiltrud Breyer ( V )

to the Commission

(1 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 53 )

Subject : Genetically engineered vaccine

According to press reports, the Commission plans to give its
approval to the production and use of a genetically
engineered vaccine against rabies for use on foxes . The
vaccine, which was developed by a French company, is
based on a Vaccinia-virus belonging to the ' Copenhagen '
type which is closely related to Vaccinia viruses dangerous
to humans .

1 . Is the Commission aware that as a result of natural

reverse mutation such viruses can regain the virulence
which they possessed prior to being genetically
manipulated ? Does the Commission agree that given the
enormous quantities of a vaccine which is distributed in
an uncontrolled manner, the chances of such a mutation
taking place, which is usually quite rare, are statistically
high and it can therefore pose a real threat ?

2 . Is the Commission aware that the vaccine company
Dessau-Tornau ( Germany / Saxony-Anhalt ) has for
many years produced a highly effective conventional
vaccine which helped to almost eradicate rabies in the
former GDR ?

3 . Given that sufficiently effective means to combat rabies
in foxes are already available, can the Commission
justify the spread of Vaccinia viruses which in principle
carry the risk of causing serious infections in
humans ?

Answer given by Mr Delors
on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 1994 )

1 . The vaccinia virus has been used for smallpox
vaccination in man for 200 years . It was selected for this

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 27

purpose because it is far less pathogenic for man than the
smallpox virus itself, but nevertheless induces appropriate
immunological protection .

The vaccinia virus is a naturally attenuated virus and it has
been shown that the genetic manipulation for its use in the
anti-rabies vaccine further inactivates the strain . When
administered as the human vaccine against small pox,
occasional severe complications ( e.g. encephalitis ) have
been observed . However, this relates to very large quantities
of virus being administered to scarified skin . These
conditions are not likely to occur with the anti-rabies
vaccine .

2 . Until recently, the only available anti-rabies vaccine
for foxes contained an attenuated strain of the rabies virus .

This vaccine has been shown to retain pathogenicity, i.e.
induce the disease, for laboratory and wild animals . It is also
unstable ( sensitive to heat and UV light ), and must be stored
in a freezer, which causes problems for a product to be
distributed in nature .

From the safety point of view, there is no rabies virus present
in the new vaccine and no risk of pathogenicity . As regards
stability, this genetic construction presents increased
stability, resisting both heat and a series of freeze-thawing
cycles, as would occur in nature . Also, it does not require
special storage conditions . Efficacy has been studied in field
trials resulting in a significant decrease in the number of
rabid foxes recorded .

Thus, although the conventional vaccine has been shown to
be efficacious, the new vaccine presents a series of
considerable advantages with regard to safety and
stability .

3 . From a regulatory point of view, the new rabies
vaccine Raboral V-RG is a medicinal product obtained
through r-DNA technology covered by Council Directive

87 / 22 / EEC (*) as well as a ' genetically modified organism '

( GMO ), thus falling also under Council Directive
90 / 220 / EEC ( 2 ).

In accordance with Directive 90 / 220 / EEC, the Commission
adopted on 19 October 1993 Decision 93 / 572 / EEC ( 3 )
giving consent to deliberate release of the anti-rabies vaccine
for foxes Raboral V-RG, after a favourable vote of the
relevant regulatory committee in which all the Member
States are represented . The examination of the dossier for
marketing authorization under Directive 87 / 22 / EEC is
currently in progress in the committee for veterinary
medicinal products, in which the authorities of the Member
States for the authorization of veterinary medicinal
products are represented .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-385 / 94

by Winifred Ewing ( ARE )

to the Commission

(1 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 54 )

Subject : Respect of additionality principle by Member State

governments

In reply to my Written Question No 1816 / 93 i 1 ),
Commissioner Christophersen informed me that the
Commission had asked the Member States to provide
evidence that their structural expenditure was being
maintained in the period 1989-1993 as compared with the
preceding period 1987 / 88 .

Will the Commission please publish the results of the latest
survey ( when available ) and will it request an explanation
from the United Kingdom and Italian governments as to
why they have not yet supplied the necessary information to
the Commission ?

f 1 ) OJ No C 349, 9 . 12 . 1994 .

Answer given by Mr Christophersen

on behalf of the Commission

( 25 April 1994 )

The results of the check to ensure that the principle of
additionality is being observed systematically appear in an
ad hoc chapter of the annual report on the implementation
of the reform of the Structural Funds, which the
Commission presents to Parliament under Article 16 of
Regulation ( EEC ) No 2052 / 88 . The last such report covers
the year 1992 ( J ). As soon as the necessary information is
available, the Commission will not fail to provide a full
assessment for the whole of the period 1989-1993 in a
forthcoming report .

With regard to the regions of Italy covered by Objective 1,
the Italian authorities have recently transmitted to the
Commission an initial series of data which are likely to be
supplemented soon .

States for the authorization, of veterinary medicinal As regards the United Kingdom, the authorities have so far
products are represented . transmitted no information . It is probable that data for the

period 1989-1993 will be supplied in the course of the
negotiations on the new CSFs .
(!) OJ No L 15, 17 . 1 . 1987 .

( 2 ) OJ No L 117, 8 . 5 . 1990 .

( 3 ) OJ No L 276, 9 . 11 . 1993 (M COM(93 ) 530, 29 . 10 . 1993 .

No C 362 / 28 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

WRITTEN QUESTION E-390 / 94 Answer given by Mr Flynn
on behalf of the Commission

by Mihail Papayannakis ( GUE )

to the Commission (6 May 1994 )

(2 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 55 )

Subject : Social Fund seminars

On 19 March 1993 I tabled Question No 997 / 93 ( ) on the
very sharp rise in the number of seminars in Greece in the
context of Social Fund policy and asked for an evaluation of
the results of these seminars in relation to the declared
objectives . On 5 July 1993 a reply was sent on behalf of
Commissioner K. Flynn : it referred to the needs of the
market in general and the objectives of the seminars, but
failed to undertake an evaluation of their results .

In this question I should like to notify the Commission
that :

— no research has ever been carried out on the needs of the

labour market or on those who have received training ; at
least 1 in 10 of the beneficiaries of ESF funds have used
the money for purposes unconnected with the declared
objective ; with the exception of computer programming
courses, the training seminars are almost completely
irrelevant to the needs of the local labour market ;

— on 5 January 1994 the reputable daily, 'I Kathimerini ',

The Commission has already conducted a subject-related
evaluation of ESF measures under the 1989-1993 CSF for
Greece . Despite certain weaknesses which came to light in
the application of the first CSF, the fact is that the great bulk
of ESF resources has been channelled towards objectives
which are closely linked to the manifest needs of the labour
market . The evaluation exercise clearly indicates that ESF
resources have helped the national education system to
break out of the inertia caused largely by its total
sub-ordination to a non-specialized education structure .

As far as initial education is concerned, support has been
given to the technical high schools and to the TEIs and the
first-generation IEKs, which constitute a flexible training
system geared to the labour market . In addition, ESF
Objectives 3 and 4 have lent themselves to the development
of training courses designed to enable unemployed people to
reintegrate into the working environment .

All these types of action, which did not exist before the first
CSF, have had a substantial impact on redirecting efforts in
the field of vocational training, as is emphasised on page 5 of
the Commission 's evaluation, a copy of which is available to
the Honourable Member .

carried a detailed and substantiated report on the use to
which the Dr 450 billion paid out over the last four years
by the ESF had been put and it contained some very
critical remarks ; the Minister of Labour and the Director Moreover, an outside expert has, since October 1993, been
of Public Relations of the OAED ( Greek Manpower conducting an ex-post evaluation of the training
Organization ) are on record as saying that : '. . . we have programme in enterprises organized by the OAED ( the
found programmes that were either not implemented at employment and manpower agency ). Four other
all or were implemented in an unsatisfactory subject-related evaluations focusing on initial training,
manner '. continuing training, social exclusion and the public service

were proposed by the Ministry for Labour and are receiving
joint funding from the Commission . The results of these
In view of the above : evaluation exercises will be taken into account in

implementing the 1994-1999 CSF .

1 . Will the Commission now provide a full and clear

evaluation of the results of these seminars and courses in

relation to the declared objectives ?

2 . Has it verified — or does it intend to verify — whether

the Dr 450 billion of ESF resources have been correctly
used or not ?

3 . If it identifies irregularities, does it intend to demand

that the money in question be repaid ?

4 . As regards the 1994 / 95 period, does it intend, in
cooperation with the Greek authorities, to investigate
the requirements of the labour market and to allocate
funds accordingly, in order to ensure that the work and
contribution of the ESF do not fall into disrepute ?

The Commission has also financed studies on the regional
labour market, coordinated by a researcher from the
National Centre for Social Research ( EKKE ). This work will
be completed within the next few months .

Additionally, the OAED is working on :

— a monitoring centre for labour market statistics, to be

supplemented by a labour market monitoring system at
departmental level in conjunction with the Polytechnic
University School ;

— the re-organization of the accelerated and initial training

(!) OJ No C 279, 5 . 10 . 1994, p . 6 . systems .

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 29

Finally, the initial responsibility for the management and
control of ESF resources lies with the Member States, with
the Commission carrying out sample checks in application
of Article 23 of Regulation ( EEC ) No 4253 / 88 (*), as
amended by Regulation ( EEC ) No 2082 / 93 ( 2 ).

Should any of these operations appear to be inappropriate
to the funding allocated, the Commission can, pursuant to
Article 24 of the coordinating regulation, reduce, suspend or
cancel the aid in question .

The Commission is now preparing a communication to
Parliament and the Council on the movable and immovable

heritage . It should be ready for presentation by the end of
the year .

Once the communication has been presented, measures
relating to conservation of the movable heritage will have to
be brought forward .

Bearing in mind past experience, the Greek authorities
intend, within the framework of the new CSF, to propose a
new, improved system of management and control . The
Commission will remain vigilant to ensure that this proposal
reflects fully the concerns expressed by the Honourable
Member . WRITTEN QUESTION E-392 / 94

by Giuseppe Rauti ( NI )

(!) OJ No L 374, 31 . 12 . 1988 .

( 2 ) OJ No L 193, 31 . 7 . 1993 .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-391 / 94

by Giuseppe Rauti ( NI )

to the Commission

(2 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 56 )

Subject : Community aid for the Polar Museum in Fermo

Is the Commission aware of the complicated events which
eventually culminated in the opening of the polar museum
run by Silvio Zavatti in Fermo, near Ascoli Piceno ( Italy )?
This museum, which boasts a huge range of valuable
documents, holds 14 000 specialist books and is the fourth
largest museum of its type in the world, after St. Petersburg,
Cambridge and Montreal . In an article in the Italian
newspaper ' La Repubblica ' on 1 January 1994 Fabrizio
Dentice stressed the great importance of this initiative but
also revealed that at least 100 crates of documents were still
unopened . This outstanding effort calls for an immediate
substantial financial contribution by the European Union,
or at least an expression of practical interest in the form of
appropriate support and the organization of European
events there, so that such measures can be refined and
developed in the next parliamentary term .

to the Commission

(2 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 57 )

Subject : Combating the de-industrialization of Europe

What initiatives does the Commission intend to take to

combat the increasingly serious problem of the
de-industrialization of Europe entailed by the transfer of
jobs to third world countries, where labour is much cheaper
because of the absence of social safeguards and frequently
consists of children and women, who are badly exploited
and virtually enslaved ? This phenomenon is now even
starting to affect computing and high-technology services .
This is shown by a very well-documented article by
Giancarlo Radice in ' II Corriere della Sera ' on 17 January
1994 ( p. 19 ). It reveals that Swissair has moved its offices to
the Andheri East development in Bombay, hiring a local
workforce of about 200 and thereby making an annual
saving of Lit 20-40 billion in wages and salaries previously
paid to European employees, and that JAL, SAS and others
are about to do the same . What is more, Professor Romano
Prodi, the head of IRI ( the Italian Institute for Industrial
Reconstruction ) has spoken of Swissair 's initiative as being
an exemplary case of the transfer of high-technology
activities to developing countries, overlooking the way in
which such exemplary cases are causing : unemployment and
increasing social tension in Italy and Europe .

Answer given by Mr Flynn
on behalf of the Commission
Answer given by Mr Pinheiro

on behalf of the Commission (3 March 1994 )

( 22 April 1994 )

The organization of European-scale events in connection
with Silvio Zavatti 's polar museum could be eligible under
the Kaleidoscope scheme in the course of 1995 .

It is necessary to place the transfer of European industrial
activities to countries with low production costs in the
context of a global economy and interdependent relations
between the Community and its trading partners .

No C 362 / 30 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

As stressed by the White Paper on growth, competitiveness
and employment, an increase in direct investment is good for
employment, for the reduction of trade gaps and disputes,
for an improvement in Europe 's understanding of other
countries ' culture and for spreading the influence of the
European identity amongst its trading partners . As regards
the danger which would be represented by European
investment abroad and, in particular, by its role in the
' export of jobs ', it must be remembered that more than 80 %
of investment abroad goes to other OECD countries, and
less than 10 % to the newly industrialised countries of Asia
and Latin America .

As far as working conditions and the level of social
protection of workers in developing countries are
concerned, a distinction must be made between the level of
development in these countries and the violation of
fundamental human rights at work .

Concerning the latter point, the Commission agrees with the
Honourable Member that exploitation exists, especially in
child labour and prison work, and the existence of certain
types of slavery . The Commission is currently examining
which ways would be the most effective to combat such
practices while avoiding any protectionist solutions .

Finally, it should be remembered that the recent
negotiations leading up to the conclusion of the Uruguay
Round enabled the statement that the Member States will be
able to discuss any suggestions for further items to be added
to the World Trade Organization 's working programme to
be included " in the annexed document approving the
creation of that organization . It is not, therefore, impossible
for future discussions to establish a link between social and

commercial standards within the framework of the

WTO .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-403 / 94

payment transactions ) in the twelve Member States, in order
to protect consumers from what at times appears to be an
arbitrary fixing of charges by banks, especially in Germany,
in so far as consumers have a legally founded right to a
system of charges for payment transactions which reflects
market conditions ?

Can the Commission also say whether all banks are
permitted to open giro accounts in freely convertible
^ currencies throughout the Community so that payments

may be effected without having to convert into the currency
of the country in which the bank is located ?

Answer given by Mr Vanni d'Archirafi

on behalf of the Commission

( 27 April 1994 )

The Commission is considering whether to propose a
Directive on cross-border transfers, in particular on retail
payment . If a proposal of this kind were to be made, it would
exclusively concern the transparency of customer
information as well as certain additional aspects . In no case
could ' price regulation ' be envisaged . The determination of
prices falls into the area of free competition and cannot be
regulated by a measure under Community law .

The second part of the question concerns the freedom of
capital movements . This freedom is complete, so that the
opening of accounts denominated in foreign currencies
should be possible in all Member States, as far as foreign
exchange regulations are concerned . An exception applies in
Greece until 30 June 1994 which might make it possible for
residents in Greece to open such accounts for less than one
year in foreign banks .

by Johanna-Christina Grund ( NI ) WRITTEN QUESTION E-404 / 94
to the Commission by Alexandros Alavanos ( GUE )

(2 March 1994 ) to the Commission

( 94 / C 362 / 58 ) (2 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 59 )

Subject : Suspected unauthorized agreement between banks

in Germany concerning the levying of bank
charges

Can the Commission please say if it is planning to introduce
a Directive in 1994 with the specific purpose of regulating
national and international interbank dealings ( in particular

Subject : Exclusion of the Prefecture of Messenia from the

Retex Programme

Under the Retex Programme for Greece, eligible regions are
divided into two major geographical categories which
include 42 of the 52 prefectures in the country .

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 31

This scheme : WRITTEN QUESTION E-4 11 / 94

by Carles-Alfred Gasoliba i Bohm ( ELDR )

1 . divides the country in a curious fashion, the logic of
which is not apparent in the light of the detailed
information regarding the structuring of Greek industry
provided in the tables annexed to the programme,
and

2 . excludes the Prefecture of Messenia, where there is a
significant concentration of textile and clothing
undertakings .

The consequences are two-fold : firstly, textile and clothing
undertakings in this prefecture will not receive subsidies for
modernization, and secondly, workers will be deprived of
the opportunity of acquiring more specialized vocational
skills and retraining, where this is desirable .

Will the Commission say whether it is able to provide
detailed information to justify this division of the
prefectures in the eligible regions and explain why the
Prefecture of Messenia is excluded, what action it intends to
take to ensure that major undertakings such as ' Lekkas Co .
Ltd ' and the ' International Clothing Industry ' and also
other, smaller plants, are included in this programme, so as
to safeguard employment for their employees and, finally,
what action it intends to take to address the problems facing
workers employed by ' Lekkas Co . Ltd '?

Answer given by Mr Millan
on behalf of the Commission

( 22 April 1994 )

Under the terms of the Commission notice to the Member

States laying down guidelines for operational programmes
which Member States are invited to establish within the
framework of Retex ( J ), the Greek authorities forwarded to
the Commission a list of the regions eligible ( NUTS III )
when they submitted their operational programme
proposal .

In its notice concerning Retex, the Commission suggested
that Member States concentrate the application of the
programme in areas experiencing the greatest problems,
while leaving to the Member States a margin of discretion in
determining such areas . The Greek authorities decided not
to propose Messenia prefecture . In the specific case of the
firm ' Lekkas S.A. ', the Commission would ask the
Honourable Member to refer to its answer to Oral question
H-23 / 94 from Mr Ribeiro given during Question Time in
the part-session of 11 March .

(!) OJ No C 142, 4 . 6 . 1992 .

to the Commission

(2 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 60 )

Subject : Fraud through smuggling of packets of tobacco

According to the Union of Tobacconists ' Association in
Spain, smuggling of packets of tobacco is taking place on a
massive scale in Spain and other Member States of the
European Union, which is highly detrimental to the tobacco
distribution and sales of legally established traders .

Is the Commission aware of this boom in illegal imports and
does it consider that a Community-wide programme to
combat the fraud arising from them should be
organized ?

Answer given by Mrs Scrivener

on behalf of the Commission

(3 May 1994 )

The Commission is aware of certain aspects of the situation
described in the report from the Union of Associations of
Estanqueros of Spain received with the Honourable
Member 's question, in particular the withdrawal of
cigarettes from the Community transit regime while in
transit to a point of exit from the Community, which has
occurred in Spain .

In this context, the Commission has adopted amendments
to the provisions on guarantees under the Community
transit legislation, which increase the financial impact if, as
was mentioned in the report, transit documents are left
undischarged .

It is of course the responsibility of the administrations of
Member States to ensure the control of goods in transit and
the correct application of customs duties ( Community own
resources ) as well as excise duties and value added tax .
However, under Council Regulation ( EEC ) No 1468 / 81 on
mutual assistance in the customs and agricultural areas ( x ),
the Commission is actively involved in assisting the Member
States with their enquiries aimed at detecting such frauds
and identifying those responsible . It is clear that the
organization and indeed the effects of this type of fraud go
beyond the boundaries of a single Member State, and the
Commission and the Member States are already working
together to ensure a Community approach to tackling the
evasion of customs and fiscal provisions applicable to
cigarettes imported from third countries .

(!) OJ No L 144, 2 . 6 . 1981 .

No C 362 / 32 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

WRITTEN QUESTION E-441 / 94

by Christine Oddy ( PSE )

to the Commission

(3 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 61 )

Subject : Glue sniffing by street children

Is the Commission aware that many street children in Latin
America are addicted to glue sniffing ?

What steps will the Commission take to persuade European
manufacturers of these glues to add mustard seed oil to their
product which by its foul smell, renders the glue
' unsniffable '.

including any increases caused by the change to new
premises ?

2 . If the JRC 's current competitive approach is applied to
the Institute, how much of its work will be devoted to
requests from the Commission 's services and how much
to those from other potential users ?

3 . What link should be established between the level of
participation of Member States in international centres
and programmes and their use of the Community 's
prospective technology services ?

Answer given by Mr Ruberti
on behalf of the Commission
Answer given by Mr Marin . ( IS April 1994 )
on behalf of the Commission

( 14 April 1994 )

The Commission is indeed aware of the problem of glue
sniffing among street children in Latin America . Several of
the projects it has financed under the Programme of
North-South Cooperation against Drugs ( Budget line
B7-5080 ) were in the area of prevention of drug
consumption and re-habilitation or social reinsertion of
street children .

1 . The total staff costs of the Institute for Prospective
Technological Studies for the 1993 financial year were ECU
2,4 million . ECU 4,4 million is earmarked for the 1994
financial year . Running costs including expenditure on
scientific activities, were ECU 1,4 million for the 1993
financial year, and ECU 2,5 million is earmarked for 1994 .
It is therefore planned to increase the levels of scientific
work carried out by the Institute during the current year .

The Commission has however no competence in respect of
the suggestion made by the Honourable Member . The Commission will continue to be responsible for the staff
costs and scientific running costs of the Institute in Seville as
announced ( x ), while the Spanish authorities will pay the
cost of the facilities and infrastructure to enable the Institute

to be located in Seville .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-443 / 94

by Carlos Robles Piquer ( PPE ) 2 . At the moment, the Institute carries out most of its

to the Commission work in support of the Commission . In future, it is planned

(3 March 1994 ) that of outside the Institute bodies will . carry out competitive work on behalf

to the Commission

(3 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 62 )

Subject : Transfer to Seville of the Institute for Prospective

Technological Studies of the Joint Research Centre

( JRC )

The Joint Research Centre ( JRC ) is apparently preparing to
transfer the seat of its Institute for Prospective
Technological Studies from Ispra to Seville, where it is
expected that Spain will bear the costs of the necessary
premises and infrastructure .

Can the Commission provide the following information ?

1 . What are the current staff costs and running costs of the

Institute and will the JRC continue to bear these costs,

3 . The link between the participation of Member States
in international centres and programmes and their use of
the Institute 's services will be strengthened through
collaboration with national industrial and research

organizations and by means of a European Economic
Interest Grouping which is being set up between the
Institute, the TGI of the INI Group ( Spain ) and centres in the
other Member States .

(!) OJ No C 214, 7 . 8 . 1993 .

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 33

WRITTEN QUESTION E-452 / 94

by Concepció Ferrer ( PPE )

to the Commission

(7 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 63 )

Subject : Housing shortage

There are currently estimated to be 3 million homeless
people in the European Union .

This problem, apart from revealing the inadequacy of the
present social security and social welfare systems, is one of
the principal and most important causes, along with
unemployment, of social exclusion .

Given that the phenomenon of social exclusion is increasing
alarmingly throughout the Union, does the Commission
plan to submit to the Council a proposal for a
recommendation indicating measures which might help
solve the serious problem of the shortage of housing for
those in greatest need ?

Answer given by Mr Flynn
on behalf of the Commission

(4 May 1994 )

The task of combating social exclusion and poverty,
including the provision of assistance to the homeless, is
firstly and primarily the responsibility of the Member
States .

The Commission supports and contributes to the national
measures for the social integration of the homeless and for
the improvement of housing conditions, notably by the
Poverty 3 medium-term Community action programme to
combat exclusion and promote solidarity .

The Commission has recently proposed a new and more
ambitious specific programme on the basis of the experience
gained .

Furthermore, in September 1989 the Council adopted a
resolution on combating social exclusion, in which housing
is mentioned, and in 1992 it adopted a recommendation on
sufficient resources and social assistance .

Moreover, as part of the Community initiative on
Employment and Development of Human Resources, a
specific section entitled Horizon will be targeted at these
groups of people excluded from the labour market, such as
the underprivileged and the handicapped . An initiative on
urban areas ( Urban ) has also been adopted in this
domain .

The new Objective 3 of the Structural Funds provides for
support for measures for the integration of people excluded
from the labour market .

In the measures to promote social integration, the
Commission emphasises partnership, the involvement of the
persons concerned and a multi-dimensional approach to
social exclusion .

Where necessary, the local promoters of social integration
strategies should take account of the housing question .

Since housing is outside the field of competence of the
Community, the Commission will not be proposing a
specific programme for the construction of housing for
those in greatest need .

Lastly, the Commission supports the exchange of
information between housing ministers of the Member
States during their informal meetings . The final declaration
presented at the end of the most recent meeting of housing
ministers on 19 and 20 October 1993 referred to the link

between housing conditions and social exclusion .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-461 / 94

by Gerard Deprez ( PPE )

to the Commission

(7 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 64 )

Subject : Konver : operational programmes for Belgium in

1993

What operational programmes did the Commission adopt
for Belgium in 1993 under the Konver Community
initiative ?

In particular, can the Commission state :

1 . the total cost of these projects ?

2 . the territories covered by them ?

3 . the Community assistance earmarked for them, with,
where appropriate, the proportions to be funded by the
ERDF and the ESF ?

4 . wheter any contribution is planned to come from the

private sector ?

5 . the main sectors selected as objectives of the
programmes : innovation and technology transfer,
vocational training, conversion of decommissioned
military sites, etc .?

No C 362 / 34 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

Answer given by Mr Millan industry by insisting, in these days of word processors, that
on behalf of the Commission all applications for ESF and ERDF funds are typed or

( 25 April 1994 ) hand-written on forms as provided ?

During 1993 the Commission adopted two operational
programmes for Belgium under the Konver initiative, one
for Wallonia and one for Flanders .

The operational programme for Wallonia, at a total cost of
ECU 8 286 935, includes measures to be financed in the
provinces of Liege, Hainaut and Luxembourg and makes
limited use of the possibilities available under the new
Regulations of incurring expenditure outside the areas
eligible under Objectives 1, 2 and 5(b ).

The financial contributions to the various operations are as
follows :

( ECU

European Regional Development Fund 719 524

European Social Fund 377 130

National public expenditure 1 183 493

Private expenditure 6 006 788

Total 8 286 935

Under the 1993 Konver Programme, Wallonia will
implement measures of three types :

— the conversion and training of staff in the military arms

industriy ;

— the development of locally-generated potential ;

— studies of conversion relating to the reuse of abandoned

military sites .

The operational programme for Flanders, whose total cost
is ECU 420 550, provides finance for vocational training
measures in that region . Community assistance totals ECU

189 247, to be paid from the European Social Fund . No
contribution from the private sector is expected .

Answer given by Mr Millan
on behalf of the Commission

(3 May 1994 )

Written communications from the Member States to the
Commission in the area of the operations of the European
Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund
( ESF ) may be prepared by electronic means . In the case of
the ESF, applications for assistance are required to be
accompanied by a computerized form listing the operations
regarding each form of assistance so that it can be followed
through from budgetary commitment to final payment .

In addition the Structural Funds have co-financed, in

( objective No 1 ) areas many plans for the creation or
reinforcement of data processing in national and regional
administrations dealing with the preparation and processing
of programming .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-486 / 94

by Ursula Schleicher ( PPE )

to the Commission

( 14 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 66 )

Subject : EU aid for dams in the river Acheloos in Greece

1 . Can the Commission confirm reports that Greece is
planning to build a series of dams and reservoirs on the river
Acheloos so that a third of the volume of water can be
diverted, via an 18-km tunnel on the Aegean side of Greece
in the plain of Thessaly, to be used mainly to irrigate cotton
plantations which are already subsidized to more than 70 %
by the EU ?

2 . If these reports are true, have there been any
environmental impact assessments, and what percentage of
the funds come from the European Union ?
WRITTEN QUESTION E-477 / 94

by Glyn Ford ( PSE )

to the Commission

Answer given by Mr Millan
(7 March 1994 ) on behalf of the Commission

( 94 / C 362 / 65 ) (6 May 1994 )

Subject : Format for funding applications

Can the Commission confirm that it is supporting a special
programme to maintain the size of the European typewriter

The Commission understands that the Greek authorities
intend to pursue the Acheloos project and have included
provision for this in their Regional Development Plan for
the period 1994-1999 .

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 35

For its part, apart from those components already financed Answer given by Mr Pinheiro
under the Integrated Mediterranean Programmes, the on behalf of the Commission
Commission has not yet taken any decision on this project . (6 May 1994 )
When it does so it will take environmental aspects into full

account .

Answer given by Mr Pinheiro

(6 May 1994 )

The Commission feels it would be premature to comment on
the success of a multilingual European channel such as
Euronews, which did not start broadcasting until 1 January

1993 and is still at a very early stage in its development .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-487 / 94

by Henry McCubbin ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 14 March 1994 )

94 / C 362 / 67 )
WRITTEN QUESTION E-533 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )
Subject : Disposal of grain stocks to the Commission

( 14 March 1994 )

What programmes does the Commission have in operation ( 94 / C 362 / 69 )
for the disposal of grain taken into intervention stocks ?

Do any of these programmes include the use of grain for
pig-feed, and if not would this be a suitable method of
disposal ?

Answer given by Mr Steichen

on behalf of the Commission

(5 May 1994 )

Since the beginning of the 1993 / 94 marketing year the
Commission has put 4,6 million tonnes of grain from
intervention stores on sale on the internal market . 2,4
million tonnes have been sold to date . In addition 18,9
million tonnes of intervention grain have been put on sale on
export markets, of which 13,9 million tonnes have been sold
to date . The quantities of maize ( 350 000 tonnes ), of barley

( 92 000 tonnes ) and of sorghum (5 000 tonnes ) sold on the
internal market may be used for animal feed, including
pig-feed .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-531 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 14 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 68 )

Subject : The success of the Euronews channel

Can the Commission state whether it approves of the
progress to date of Euronews, the first European public
service in the television news channels market ?

Subject : The adoption of measures which will contribute

more effectively to the construction of a Europe
based on European citizenship

Does the Commission intend, and by what means, to put
pressure on the Council to adopt measures which will
contribute more effectively to the construction of a Europe
based on European citizenship and equal rights for all its
inhabitants ?

Answer given by Mr Vanni d'Archirafi

on behalf of the Commission

(4 May 1994 )

Being aware of the importance of Union citizenship in the
context of the Treaty on European Union, the Commission
has not failed to exercise its right of initiative, as will be seen
from the proposals it has already made :

1 . Right to vote in elections to the European Parliament :

Proposal for a Commission Directive of 27 October

1993 i 1 ); Adoption of the Directive by the Council on
6 December 1993 ( 2 ).

2 . Right to vote in local elections : Proposal for a

Commission Directive of 16 February 1994 ( 3 ).

3 . European citizenship : The report provided for in

Article 8e of the EC Treaty, as inserted by the Union
Treaty, was adopted by the Commission on
21 December 1993 ( 4 ).

4 . Right to residence : Proposal for a new Directive on the
right of residence of students of 17 May 1993 ( 5 );

No C 362 / 36 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

Adoption of the Directive by the Counncil on
29 October 1993 ( 6 ).

5 . Free movement of persons ( Article 7a ): Implementation
of the second stage of the Commission strategy for
abolishing checks on individuals at internal frontiers
and, in particular, the adoption by the Commission on
24 November 1993 of the proposal for a Regulation on
visas ( Article 100c ( 1 ) of the Treaty ) ( 7 ).

In addition, the joint declaration of Parliament and the
Commission of 9 February 1994 provides for a new
communication to be presented by the end of 1994 that will
focus on strengthening and extending the rights linked to
Union citizenship .

On the other hand, the proposal for a Directive, which was
adopted by the Commission on 13 April 1994, on the
methods of information and consultation in

Community-scale undertakings or groups of undertakings,
establishes the framework for negotiations between
management and labour which may lead to an agreement on
the establishment of a European Works Council for the
purposes of informing and consulting employees .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-552 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission

(M COM(93 ) 534 final . ( IS March 1994 )
( 2 ) OJ No L 329, 30 . 12 . 1993 .
( 3 ) COM(94 ) 38 final . ( 94 / C 362 / 71 )

( 4 ) COM(93 ) 702 final .

( 5 ) COM(93 ) 209 final .

( 6 ) OJ No L 317, 18 . 12 . 1993 . Subject : Relations with North Korea

( 7 ) COM(93 ) 648 final .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-534 / 94

Does the Commission intend to seek ways of improving
relations between the Community and North Korea ?

Answer given by Mr Van den Broek

on behalf of the Commission

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission (4 May 1994 )

( 14 March 1994 )

Although there are no formal diplomatic relations between
( 94 / C 362 / 70 ) the Democratic People 's Republic of Korea and the
Community as such, events in that country are nevertheless
followed with interest .

Subject : Establishing the legal and institutional framework

for international collective bargaining at
Community level

Does the Commission intend to put forward proposals
laying down the legal and institutional framework for
international collective bargaining at Community level on
an inter-professional and sectoral basis and at the level of
multinational companies and border areas ? If so, when does
it intend to put forward such proposals ?

Answer given by Mr Flynn
on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 1994 )

At the present moment, the Commission does not intend to
put forward proposals for Regulations laying down the
legal and institutional framework of European collective
bargaining at different levels .

It is, however, necessary to point out that dialogue between
management and labour at Community level, as outlined in
Articles 3 and 4 of the Agreement on Social Policy which is
annexed to the EU Treaty, is specifically limited to a period
of nine months, unless the management and labour
concerned and the Commission decide jointly to extend it

( Article 3 paragraph 4 )

The Commission is of the opinion that the DPRK should
honour all its obligations under its Safeguards Agreements
with the International Atomic Energy Agency . Until the
DPRK complies with IAEA requirements, it will find it
difficult to emerge from the isolated situation in which
it finds itself . Moves by the DPRK to normalize its
international relations and to contribute to the peace and
stability of the entire Korean peninsula would be welcome
and could in time allow for a further evaluation of the

Community 's position with regard to relations with the
DPRK .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-611 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 16 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 72 )

Subject : Protection of wetlands in the region of
Chrysoupolis

In the region of Chrysopoulis, not far from the town, there
are seven lakes, the largest one being the lake of

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 37

Alatzas-Giolas . These lakes are surrounded by abundant
vegetation and provide a refuge for thousands of aquatic
and semi-aquatic birds . Given that ecologists have alleged
that these important wetlands in the region of Chrysoupolis
are threatened by hunting and the intensive use of
herbicides, what action does the Commission intend to take
to protect them ?

Answer given by Mr Paleokrassas

on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 1994 )

Greece has not classified the wetlands in question as a
Special Protection Area, according to Article 4 of Directive
79 / 409 / EEC 0 concerning the conservation of wild birds,
which at present is the only legal basis providing sufficient
ground for intervention on behalf of the Community for
nature conservation relating to distinct sites . Nor have these
wetlands been identified as being of Community
importance .

Consequently, there is no basis for Commission
intervention concerning their protection and

management .

(!) OJ No L 103, 25 . 4 . 1979 .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-620 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 16 March 1994 )

funding a research project concerning measurements of
relative sea-level variations in the Mediterranean basin and

their geophysical interpretation .

Patras is among the location being studied . Among the
participating institutions, is the Dionysos Satellite
Observatory of the National Technical University of
Athens .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-630 / 94

by Willi Rothley ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 17 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 74 )

Subject : Information on EC funding for Rhineland Palatinate in 1993

How much European Community funding did
Rhineland-Palatinate receive in 1993 from the following
sources, and for what measures :

1 . the European Regional Development Fund ( ERDF ),

2 . the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee
Fund ( EAGGF ) — Guidance Section,

3 . the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee
Fund ( EAGGF ) — Guarantee Section,

( 94 / C 362 / 73 ) 4 . the European Social Fund ( ESF ),

Subject : Land-slides along Patras coastal strip

According to the Greek newspaper ' Ethnos ' (5 November

1993 ), every year there are land-slides along Patras coastal
strip so that it is now level with the sea . Experts say that
these land-slides are due to the existence of a seismic

faultline and stress the need for research to ascertain
whether there is any threat to the inhabitants of this region
should seismic activity occur along this faultline . Will the
Commission consider financing research to determine the
gravity of the threat posed by land-slides along the Patras
coastal strip ?

Answer given by Mr Ruberti
on behalf of the Commission

( 29 April 1994 )

In the frame of the Third Framework Programme
( Environment Programme 1991-1994 ), the Commission is

5 . EC research programmes,

6 . EC programmes in the energy sector,

7 . EC programmes in the environment sector,

8 . other EC programmes ?

Answer given by Mr Delors
on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 1994 )

Because of the length of the answer and the many tables it
includes, the Commission is sending it direct to the
Honourable Member and to Parliament 's Secretariat .

No C 362 / 38 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

Answer given by Mr Vanni d'Archirafi

WRITTEN QUESTION E-633 / 94 given by
on behalf of the Commission

by Kenneth Collins ( PSE )

to the Commission ( 27 April 1994 )

( 17 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 75 )

Subject : Latin America

In Brazil and Uruguay, EC spirit drinks are subject to
discriminatory internal taxation .

Has the Commission raised this matter with the authorities

of both countries ?

Answer given by Mr Marin
on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 1994 )

Yes . The Commission has raised this matter on several
occasions, notably in the context of the Joint Committees set
up under the cooperation agreements concluded with those
two countries .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-640 / 94

by Sérgio Ribeiro ( GUE )

to the Commission

( 17 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 76 )

Subject : Directive on money laundering

Directive 91 / 308 / EEC i 1 ) on preventing the use of the
financial system for the purposes of money laundering is a
fundamental instrument in the fight against drug trafficking
and other illegal activities .

Quite apart from the shortcomings to which attention was
drawn at the appropriate time, I am concerned about the
Directive 's operational status, in which connection the
' Committee ' referred to in Article 13 is of decisive

importance .

I would therefore ask when this committee was set up,
whom it comprises, how many times it has met and on
whose initiative, what decisions it has taken and what advice
and opinions it has returned ?

As a preliminary comment it is probably useful to indicate
that the Contact Committee created by Article 13 of Council
Directive 91 / 308 / EEC on money laundering is not a
regulatory committee able to take binding decisions in the
framework of Community law . It is designed to permit the
exchange of views between Member States and the
Commission in order to facilitate the implementation and
thorough application of the Directive . The Committee is not
allowed to deal with individual cases of money laundering
and does not play any role in the co-operation between the
police and the judiciary .

As provided in Article 13(3 ) of the Directive, the Committee
is composed of the representatives of Member States and the
Commission and chaired by a Commission representative .
Member States are free to decide the composition of their
delegation for each meeting, usually national officials from
the ministries of finance and of justice and from the financial
supervisory authorities . The Commitee has been convened
by the Commission three times : in April 1992, in January
and December 1993 . The discussions have been focused on
a large number of practical issues arising from the
application of the money laundering Directive . The
proceedings of the Contact Committee are advisory in
nature and are not subject to the taking of formal decisions
by vote .

In accordance with the Agreement on the European
Economic Area the EFTA countries which are signatories of
the text will participate in the meetings of the Committee
with regard to the functions provided for in paragraphs a )
and b ) of Article 13(1 ) of the Directive .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-641 / 94

by Freddy Blak ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 17 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 77 )

Subject : State aid to the MTW shipyard in Wismar,

Germany

Does the Commission intend to ensure that all the
conditions laid down for this aid, in particular that
increased operating aid is not payable after 31 December

1993, are met ?

In connection with the extension of the Seventh Directive on
(!) OJ No L 166, 28 . 6 . 1991, p . 77 . aid to the shipbuilding industry, which has just been

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 39

extended for one year, it was again made perfectly clear that
this implies no extension to the special exemption for
Germany, which permitted increased operating aid of up to
36% to shipyards in the new German Lander . Will the
Commission confirm that, by 1 January 1994, DM 304
million had been made available to the MTW shipyard,
made up of DM 191,2 million in operating aid and
DM 112,8 million in aid for investment and closure, and
that further operating aid will not be made available under
the terms of the exemption, which has now expired ?

Answer given by Mr Van Miert

on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 1994 )

The Commission can confirm that it approved the release of
a first portion of aid on 23 December 1992 . This first
portion consisted of DM 191,2 million operating aid,
DM 94,8 million investment aid and DM 18,0 million
closure aid .

As regards further portions, these are held up by the
questions raised by the possible relocation of the yard . At
present the Commission is investigating all aspects of this
case, including the possibility of authorizing aid tranches
after 31 December 1993, but always under the 36 % ceiling
authorized by the derogation .

Answer given by Mr Vanni d'Archirafi

on behalf of the Commission

(2 May 1994 )

Several proposals in Parliament 's resolution on tourism in
the year 2000 ( A3-352 / 93 ) were discussed as part of the
inter-institutional debate on the programme of Community
action to assist tourism, but were not, in the end,
adopted .

These proposals will be reconsidered in future discussions of
a possible extension to the programme to take effect on
1 January 1996, thus providing an opportunity to consider
whether and to what extent the proposals are in keeping
with the principle of subsidiarity ; the discussions will also
examine whether a specific Article on tourism should be
included in the EC Treaty .

Following the result of this debate, the Commission will
decide whether it needs to augment its departmental

resources .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-657 / 94

by Carlos Robles Piquer ( PPE )

to the Commission

( 17 March 1994 )

WRITTEN QUESTION E-647 / 94
( 94 / C 362 / 79 )

by Leen van der Waal ( EDN )

to the Commission

( 17 March 1994 )

94 / C 362 / 78 ) Subject : Community aid for water supplies in the
Maghreb

Subject : Subsidiarity and EC tourism policy

At its sitting of 18 January 1994, the European Parliament
adopted the Cornelissen report on ' Tourism in the approach
to the year 2000 ' ( A3-352 / 93 ).

With reference to this report, will the Commission answer
the following questions :

1 . Does the Commission consider that the measures which
it is called on to take by the report 's many requests for
action in fact form part of its duties and powers in the
light of the subsidiarity principle ?

2 . Which paragraphs can it accept ?

3 . Can it say by how many staff it must expand its services
in order to accomplish the tasks which it agrees to take
on ?

The most recent report by the UN 's Food and Agriculture
Organization ( FAO ) highlights the fact that water is a
dwindling and increasingly and valuable resource, listing 21
countries suffering from water shortages which will be
extremely serious by the year 2000 .

With the exception of Hungary, these countries are all
African ; the Maghreb countries, whose orographical and
hydrological conditions are well-known, are especially
affected .

Given the special ties, both past and present, which link the
EU and the Maghreb countries, can the Commission state
what Community aid has been forthcoming to alleviate
water shortages in the Maghreb ? Does it not think that it
should cooperate in drawing up and implementing a
medium - and long-term programme to solve the Maghreb 's
water shortage problem ?

No C 362 / 40 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

Answer given by Mr Marin Answer given by Mr Ruberti
on behalf of the Commission on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 1994 ) (2 May 1994 )

The Commission is aware of the disturbing water resource
situation in North Africa . It was the prime mover behind the

1989 Algiers Declaration and the 1991 Rome Charter
which deal precisely with this difficult problem which may
hold back the development of the Maghreb economies and
endanger water supply to the population of these
countries .

Substantial aid has been provided for this sector in the
successive financial protocols concluded with the Maghreb
countries, reflecting the Maghreb countries ' concern about
this whole question . Projects ranging from water supply to
dams of varying sizes and water pricing policy have been
financed . It has always been stressed that water pricing must
reflect as closely as possible the opportunity cost of this

resource .

The Commission is of course willing to cooperate more
closely with the Maghreb countries in this area through a
medium and long-term water management programme .
Other donors such as the World Bank are also active in this

area .

The European Centre for the Development of Vocational
Training ( Cedefop ) has created a multilingual vocational
training thesaurus . The most recent edition was published in

1992 in seven languages ( EN / FR / DE / IT / GR / ES / PT ). The
thesaurus has been developed by Cedefop as a working
instrument for use in indexing documents for its
bibliographical database . The members of Cedefop 's
documentary information network ( Italy, Greece, Spain,
Portugal ) asked to translate this thesaurus in their own
language . Cedefop invited the Netherlands, Belgium and
Denmark to consult with their authorities in order to see
whether the necessary investment should be made in
developing a Danish and Dutch version . Due to the
considerable investment of human resources that would
have been necessary, this proposal was not taken up .
Cedefop is of the opinion that for the practical purposes of
work at Community level, the existing seven language
versions are sufficient . Nevertheless, if there should be a
change of view on the part of the authorities concerned, and
they were prepared to make the necessary investment to
develop Dutch and Danish versions, Cedefop would be
happy to include these in the next revision of the thesaurus
which will probably take place in 1996 / 97 . In addition to
this work, Cedefop will publish during 1994 a multi-lingual
vocational training glossary containing 250 words . All nine
languages of the Community will be used .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-664 / 94
by Jaak Vandemeulebroucke ( ARE ) WRITTEN QUESTION E-666 / 94

to the Commission by Raymonde Dury ( PSE )

( 21 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 80 )

to the Commission

( 21 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 81 )

Subject : Languages used in Commission publications
Subject : Eurojus and citizens

I understand that the European Centre for the Development
of Vocational training has published a multilingual glossary
of terms to do with vocational training .

However, it has been published in only seven languages .
Danish and Dutch are not included .

Given that the Centre reports to the Commission, I feel that
the Commission has a responsibility for the Centre .

Why was the glossary not published in all the official
languages ? Does not the Commission feel that this is an
infringement of Regulation No 1 of 1958 ( x ) ( as currently
amended )? Does the Commission not feel that once again it
is contradicting its own view that no language enjoys
primacy ?

A brochure published by the Brussels office presenting
Eurojus states that ' this service is free of charge and designed
for the use of citizens '. Is the last word to be understood in
the sense of the European citizenship defined in the Treaty
on European Union ? Does this mean, therefore, that the
services of Eurojus are not available to those who live in a
Member State of the European Union but are not
Community nationals ?

Answer given by Mr Pinheiro

on behalf of the Commission

(4 May 1994 )

primacy ? Eurojus began operating in Belgium in 1988 when the

concept of ' European citizen ' did not yet have a legal
(!) OJ No 17, 6 . 10 . 1958, p . 385 . definition .

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 41

Eurojus answers queries from individuals regarding such WRITTEN QUESTION
things as their tax status and welfare position . Answers can by Karla Peijs ( PPE )
be given only on matters where Community law has some

to the Commission

bearing .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-696 / 94

to the Commission

The nationality of the individuals is not relevant, since
Eurojus will answer queries from anyone resident in a
Member State, whether they are a Community national or

not .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-669 / 94

by Hiltrud Breyer ( V )

to the Commission

( 21 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 82

Subject : University of Saarbrucken

The University of Saarbrucken is preparing to embark upon
a new branch of basic research entitled ' Comparative
environmental ethics ', which will investigate topics such as
' Environment and Morality ', ' The Development of
Perceptions of Nature ' and ' The Conflict between the
Economy and the Environment '.

1 . Does the Commission consider it worthwhile funding
research of this kind ?

2 . If so, where and how can one apply for EC funding ?

Answer given by Mr Ruberti
on behalf of the Commission

( 22 April 1994 )

1 . Research on environmental ethics is important and
included among the research tasks of the ' socio-economic
environmental research ' area of the R&D Programme on
' Environment ', Third Framework Programme .

2 . Funding of Community environmental R&D is
implemented through calls for proposals published in the
Official Journal . The next call for proposals within the
Environment Programme will be published within the
Fourth Framework Programme which is currently under
discussion .

( 21 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 83 )

Subject : EC labelling for bicycles

Is the Commission aware that China is getting round the
anti-dumping duties imposed on Chinese bicycles by the
European Union by exporting sub-assemblies ? The
sub-assemblies are bicycle components and so are not
covered by the anti-dumping duties .

Is the Commission aware that, as a result of such practices,
the intended reduction in the numbers of Chinese bicycles
dumped on the European market is not being achieved ?

If so, can it say what it plans to do about this situation ?

Is the Commission also aware that the imported
components are frequently of such inferior quality that the
European bicycle component industry is calling for the
introduction of EC labelling in order to protect consumers ?
If so, what steps does it plan to take ?

Answer given by Sir Leon Brittan

on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 1994 )

Bicycle components which are imported together in the
form of a complete kit, whether or not partially assembled,
are classified as a complete bicycle under CN code 871200
and are accordingly liable to the anti-dumping duty
introduced by Regulation ( EEC ) No 2474 / 93, if originating
in China . Bicycle components which are not imported in this
format are correctly declared and entered at importation as
bicycle parts under the various appropriate CN codes, and
the current anti-dumping measures do not apply .

The Commission is aware that imports of dumped bicycle
parts could undermine the effect of the abovementioned
anti-dumping duty . An examination of the situation and
possible measures with regard to such imports would,
however, only be possible in the framework of a new
proceeding which would require a complaint to be
introduced by the producing industry in the Community .
Such a complaint would have to submit sufficient evidence
that bicycle parts are being dumped into the Community by
Chinese exporters .

No C 362 / 42 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

In the absence of Community safety requirements for
bicycles and bicycle parts, national safety requirements
apply .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-697 / 94

by Karla Peijs ( PPE )

to the Commission

( 21 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 84

Subject : Internal distortion of competition in the textile

industry

It is assumed that the Commission is aware that the
Portuguese textile and clothing industry was granted an
ECU 400 million subsidy and borrowing facilities of ECU
500 million when the GATT negotiations were concluded
on 15 December 1993 .

If it is, does it agree that similar policy instruments should be
incorporated into a European industrial policy which
enables the whole European textile and clothing sector to
increase its competitiveness vis-a-vis non-European
competitors, particularly now that the protection afforded
to the European textile and clothing sector is to be removed
as a result of the GATT agreement ?

Does the Commission also agree that this.money should not
go direct to the textile and clothing firms but should for once
genuinely be used to promote diversification ?

If so, can it state how it intends to monitor this ?

If so, does it agree that such an amount of money, if used
improperly, might have a highly distorting effect on
competition in the European Union 's internal market ? The
purpose of the internal market was after all to strengthen
European industry as a whole on international markets, not
to strengthen Portuguese industry at the expense of its
counterparts in other Member States, who are also facing
the consequences of the GATT agreement .

Will the Commission, as guardian of the European Treaties,
check whether a decision which has such far-reaching
consequences is compatible with European legislation ?

the specific and vital nature of the textile and clothing sector
for Portugal, taking account of its importance in
employment, production and exports for this Member
State . The Council agreed an exceptional ECU 400 million
allocation for the modernization of the Portuguese textile
industry .

In line with the Council 's request, the Commission has
proposed a Community Initiative which is currently being
considered by the Parliament, the Committee of the
Regions, the Economic and Social Committee and a
Management Committee of Member States ' representatives,
in common with the other draft Community Initiatives .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-704 / 94

by Marianne Thyssen ( PPE )

to the Commission

( 21 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 85 )

Subject : Imports of bicycle components and semi-finished

bicycles from the Far-East

1 . Is the Commission aware that anti-dumping duties on
bicycles from the Far-East are being evaded by importing
bicycle components and semi-finished bicycles from the
same countries ?

2 . Does the Commission intend to impose normal import
duties or anti-dumping duties on semi-finished bicycles ?

3 . Will the Commission impose minimum import duties
on all bicycle components ?

4 . Is the Commission considering abolishing the GSP

( Generalized System of Preferences ) for bicycle components
from the Far East ?

5 . Are there any compulsory safety standards for bicycle
components, regardless of origin ? Is the Commission
considering such standards ?

Answer given by Sir Leon Brittan

on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 1994 )

Bicycle components which are imported together in the

Answer given by Mr Millan form of a complete kit, whether or not partially assembled,
on behalf of the Commission

are classified as a complete bicycle under CN code 8712 00

(6 May 1994 ) and are accordingly liable to the anti-dumping duty

introduced with Regulation ( EEC ) No 2474 / 93 ( J ), if
originating in China . Bicycle components which are not
When agreement was reached on the results of the GATT imported in this format are correctly declared and entered at
negotiations, the Commission and the Council recognised importation as bicycle parts under the various appropriate

Answer given by Mr Millan
on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 1994 )

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 43

CN codes . These are not covered by the abovementioned
Regulation .

The imposition of anti-dumping duties on bicycle parts
would only be possible in the framework of a new
proceeding which would require a complaint to be
introduced by the producing industry in the Community .
Such a complaint would have to submit sufficient evidence
that bicycle parts are being dumped into the Community
and are causing injury to the Community industry .

The current third-country duty rate for bicycles is 17 % and
bicycle parts is 8 % . These tariff rates are bound in a GATT
scheme and therefore cannot be increased unilaterally .

Under the current GSP scheme, which is the same as that
applied in previous years, albeit on a six monthly basis
which will probably be extended until the end of 1994, these
products are eligible to GSP benefit . However, the
Commission is currently elaborating a scheme to be applied
for the next ten years, which will be implemented, at the
latest, on 1 January 1995 . It is in this context that this
subject will be addressed . It may be observed that the third
country duty rate for these products, originating from
China, has been reintroduced within the framework of
safeguard clauses of the GSP in the course of each year since

1991 .

So far as concerns safety requirements, no specific standards
exist at Community level for bicycles or bicycle components,
and thus the standards established at national level apply .
The question of setting up Community standards is
currently being considered .

(!) OJ No L 228, 9 . 9 . 1993 .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-706 / 94

by Georgios Saridakis ( PPE )

to the Commission

( 24 April 1994 )

governing the sector have been declared transitional until
the definitive reorganization of telecommunications in
Greece ?

How does the Commission view the continued funding
of the OTE which ~ will retain a monopoly of
telecommunications services in breach of Community
legislation ?

0 ) OJ No L 192, 24 . 7 . 1990, p . 10 .

Answer given by Mr Bangemann

on behalf of the Commission

( IS April 1994 )

Under the terms of Article 7 of Directive 90 / 388 / EEC,
Member States must ensure that the granting of licences and
the surveillance of the conditions of use of the network are
carried out by a body independent of the public
telecommunications organization .

The Court of Justice clarified the notion of independence in
its judgment of 27 October 1993 in Case C-69 ' Decoster ',
making the point inter alia that two departments of the same
administration, one representing the interests of the State
shareholder in a public enterprise and the other performing
a regulatory function, cannot be considered to be
independent of each other . This interpretation suggests that
if the capital of a telecommunications operator is controlled
by a Ministry, it is essential that the regulatory body should
be a distinct entity .

The Commission expects to receive detailed proposals from
the Greek authorities on the cofinancing of OTE investment
under the 1994-1999 Community Support Framework . The
Commission 's approval will be subject to the existence of a
satisfactory legislative framework and to implementation of
the Community legislation .

94 / C 362 / 86 ) WRITTEN QUESTION E-709 / 94

by Hiltrud Breyer ( V )

Subject : Abolition by the Greek Government of the

National Telecommunications, Commission

The Greek Government has stated its intention of abolishing
the independent National Telecommunications
Commission ( EET ) set up under law 2075 / 1992 in
accordance with Directive 90 / 388 / EEC (*), this law having
been approved by the Commission 's services . How does the
Commission view plans to transfer all the competencies of
the EET to the Ministry of Transport and Communications
which also has the right to appoint and dismiss all the
members of the Board of Directors of the Greek
Telecommunications organization ( OTE ) and what
safeguards are provided for ' liberalized ' bodies providing
telecommunications services, given that the arrangements

to the Commission

( 25 February 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 87 )

Subject : Monopoly position of AgrEvo GmbH

1 . It is the declared aim of AgrEvo GmbH to obtain a
varietal license, following field trials, in order to establish a
monopoly on the European internal market . Was the
Commission aware that :

— AgrEvo GmbH, as a result of a merger, has become the

largest producer of pesticides on the European internal
market ?

No C 362 / 44 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

— as such, AgrEvo GmbH is the only large firm active in the

area of herbicide-resistant plant breeding ?

Was the Commission fully informed of this, and were all
relevant documents submitted to it ?

2 . What specific criteria led the Commission to the
conclusion that AgrEvo will not acquire a dominant
position on the pesticides market ? Where does the
Commission rank AgrEvo among the largest producers of
pesticides or herbicide-resistant plants on the European
market ?

3 . According to the Commission authorization for the
merger, there are many German and non-German rivals in
the area of pesticides and hence AgrEvo will not acquire
control of the market .

Which firms on the European internal market are
challenging AgrEvo for its dominant position in the area of
herbicide-resistant plant breeding ?

Answer given by Mr Van Miert

on behalf of the Commission

( 14 April 1994 )

Following an investigation under of Council Regulation

( EEC ) No 4064 / 89 ( the Merger Regulation ), the
Commission authorized a transaction by which Hoechst AG
and Schering AG combined their crop protection products
into a joint venture, the Hoechst Schering AgrEvo GmbH in
December 1993 . Based on its examination of the transaction

under the Merger Regulation, the Commission concluded
that the joint venture faced competition both from other
multinational crop protection producers, as well as from
producers of generic products . In view of the existence of
alternative suppliers available to customers in the market,
the Commission determined that the joint venture would
not create or strenghten a dominant position within affected
markets where both Hoechst and Schering had been present
and, thus, would not raise competitive concerns .

The Honourable Member raises questions regarding the
possibility that the joint venture, AgrEvo GmbH, might
create or strengthen a dominant position in either the
traditional crop protection market or the still-evolving area
of herbicide-resistant plant breeding . The Commission
takes the view that no such dominance is created or

threatened . On the traditional crop protection market there
is adequate competition from several substantial
multinational competitors . In the still evolving area of
herbicide-resistant plant breeding it is premature to
conclude that any firm has yet established a concrete market
position, since the technology is not yet commercially
available in the European marketplace . Furthermore,

several of the same multinational firms that compete with
the joint venture in crop protection products appear to be
developing competitive offerings in the field of plant
breeding as well .

1 . — In assessing the likely competitive impact of the joint

venture, the Commission looked at the position of
the notifying parties not only in the overall crop
protection market, but also in individual relevant
product markets for particular pesticides, fungicides,
herbicides, and insecticides . While both companies
manufactured various crop protection products,
Hoechst was active primarily in cereal herbicides and
insecticides, whereas sugar beet herbicides and
fungicides accounted for the main part of Schering 's
crop protection business . The analysis of the joint
venture 's market position extended beyond a
consideration of AgrEvo 's total Europe-wide
turnover for all pesticides . In examining the
individual crop protection product markets that
might be affected by the establishment of the joint
venture, the Commission found that the parties faced
competition from several large multinational
agrochemical manufacturers, including Ciba Geigy,
Bayer, BASF, Rhone Poulenc, DuPont, ICI,
Monsanto and Dow Elanco . Although not all of these
are active in all crop protection product markets and
Member State markets, Hoechst and Schering
competed with some of them in each market . While
the joint venture was very strong in certain pesticide,
fungicide, and herbicide markets, there were other
markets in which it had very little, or no,

presence .

— It appears that several of the large agrochemical

companies named above — e.g., ICI, Ciba Geigy,
Monsanto and Cyanamid / Shell — are also currently
involved in developing herbicide-resistant crops .
Some firms are working in conjunction with seed
companies and others are working independently .
Consequently, it would not appear to be accurate to
characterize AgrEvo as the ' only large firm active ' in
the field of herbicide-resistant plant breeding .

2 . As noted above, the presence of several multinational

agrochemical companies competing in the production
and sale of crop protection products, each with
substantial resources and technological capabilities
comparable to those of the joint venture, reflects a
market with a fairly large number of significant
competitors . As a result, the position of the joint venture
does not appear to create or strengthen a dominant
position because of the competitive strength of the
remaining competitors .

3 . It appears that the breeding of herbicide-resistant crops is

a new, and relatively unproven, technology that has not
yet been commercialized in Europe ( although it has been
introduced on a limited basis in the US ). Thus, in the
present case, it would be speculative to attempt to assess
the competitive strength of a particular firm 's technology
for the development of herbicide-resistant plants .

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 45

Moreover, it does not appear that a party 's strength in
traditional crop protection products would necessarily
translate into a strong market position in breeding
technology . As a result, it could not be assumed that
AgrEvo 's market share in certain crop protection products
would guarantee to the joint venture a certain market share
in plant breeding . As noted above, many of the most
successful manufacturers of crop protection products are
the same large research-based companies that are also
involved in R&D in plant breeding . Each — like AgrEvo —
has substantial resources, capabilities and incentives to offer
competition in this new and wide-open field of specialized
plant breeding . Thus, it is unclear at this time that any
particular firm or firms will be the market leaders in this
emerging industry .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-721 / 94

by Diego Santos López ( ARC )

to the Commission

( 22 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 88 )

Subject : Cessation of activity by Andalusia 's fishing fleet in

protest against the fisheries agreement with
Morocco

In its reply to Oral Question H-63 / 93 ( x ) the Commission
states that it had not noted, on the part of the Moroccan
authorities, any shortcomings in their observance of the
conditions provided for in the EEC-Morocco fisheries

agreement .

This year, Andalusia 's fishing fleet has once again remained
in port in protest against Morocco 's unsatisfactory
operation of, and failure to comply with, the above
agreement . Amongst other things it has complained at
discrimination, one-sided application of technical rules,
unjustified delays in the granting of permits, seizures,
massive exports of young fish during biological recovery
periods, etc .

Does the Commission still believe that Morocco is

complying with the agreement ?

Is the Commission satisfied with the workings of the joint
committee ?

Does it consider that maintaining the biological recovery
periods at two months, despite the Community 's request to
the Moroccan authorities for them to be reduced to one

month ( see reply to Oral Question H-63 / 93 ), is justified ?

Answer given by Mr Palekrassas

on behalf of the Commission

( 25 April 1994 )

The fisheries agreement between the Community and
Morocco is complex and, for both parties, often very
difficult to manage because of the number of vessels
concerned, the variety of species fished and the multiplicity
of provisions governing the conditions under which vessels
may operate . It is therefore understandable that problems
arise regularly at various levels of application .

At the meeting of the joint committee in January 1994
several matters were resolved or clarified . With regard to the
biological recovery periods, it was decided to keep the
duration as specified in the agreement ( except in the case of
cephalopod vessels, for which a three-month period applies,
because of the state of the stocks ). However, the
Community has asked Morocco to agree to the biological
recovery periods being reduced to one month or being
modulated for certain types of fishing . This possibility is
under discussion by the Moroccan authorities .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-723 / 94

by Jaak Vandemeulebroucke ( ARE )

to the Commission

( 22 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 89 )

Subject : Elections in El Salvador

Elections are to be held in El Salvador on 20 March 1995 .

Following the conclusion of the peace agreements in January

1992, these elections are of exceptional importance . They
are, however, surrounded by a number of problems . It looks
at the moment as though the Tribunal Supremo Electoral,
which is responsible for recording voters on the electoral
registers, will not manage to register on time those
Salvadorians who have not hitherto had a voting card . Such
problems have arisen particularly in areas previously under
the control of the FMLN . In addition, the electoral registers
need to be updated ; for example, the names of voters who
have died must be deleted . The replacement of the former
Policia Nacional by the Policfa Civil Nacional has also been
delayed . Finally, the death squads are still in existence . Over
the last few months a number of people, most of whom
belonged to the FMLN, have been murdered or found dead
under suspicious circumstances .

Can the Commission say what measures the European
Union envisages to ensure that the elections scheduled for
(*) Debates of the European Parliament 3-429 ( March 1993 ). 20 March 1995 are held in the proper way ?

No C 362 / 46 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

Answer given by Mr Marin
on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 1994 )

The Commission shares the Honourable Member 's

sentiments regarding the importance and political
significance of the March 1994 elections, as well as his
concern at the problems which may make it difficult for
them to be held properly . It would further point out
that :

( a ) On 28 October 1993 the Community and its Member
States made a statement in which they expressed their
deep concern at the recrudescence of political violence
in El Salvador . However, it must be stressed that the
Salvadorian Government has agreed to an international
committee of enquiry being set up in order to throw
light on a number of crimes and that officials from two
Member States ' police forces will be on the
committee .

( b ) The Commission has provided financial support for a

number of initiatives in preparation for the elections,
including :

— reconstituting ID papers destroyed during the

fighting ( ECU 900 000 ; project carried out through
the UNHCR );

Will the Commission say :

1 . How it views this measure to exclude Thebes, and

2 . what it intends to do to ensure that the Thebes Labour

Centre is included in programmes funded by the
Community ?

Answer given by Mr Flynn
on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 1994 )

Member States are responsible for the management of
operational programmes . However, as the Commission has
no details of the Thebes Labour Centre, it has asked the
competent Greek authorities for information on this matter .
The Honourable Member will be informed as soon as the

Commission has received this information .

. WRITTEN QUESTION E-741 / 94

by Elda Pucci ( ELDR )

to the Commission

— support for the Tribunal Supremo Electoral in

registering voters ( carnetización ) ( ECU 400 000 ). (2 March 1994 )

registering voters ( carnetización ) ( ECU 400 000 ).

( 94 / C 362 / 91 )
( c ) The Commission has also contributed to the funding of
the Police Academy ( ECU 400 000 in 1993 ).

( d ) Lastly, the Commission will be providing substantial

support for the international monitoring of the legality
of the elections (a number of observers, as well as
logistics back-up will be made available ).

WRITTEN QUESTION E-736 / 94

by Mihail Papayannakis ( GUE )

to the Commission

( 22 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 90 )

Subject : European Social Fund and Thebes Labour
Centre

The city of Thebes is located in one of the regions in Greece
with the highest rate of deindustrialization accompanied by
very serious problems of unemployment, poverty and
economic decline in general . The European Social Fund has
financed various ( controversial ) seminars to retrain the
workforce . However, the labour centre of Thebes which had
organized some of the most successful of these seminars has
recently been excluded from this funding .

Subject : The railway system in Sicily and harmonization of

investments

Huge sums of money have been allocated in Italy for
building the high-speed Naples — Milan — Turin rail
network . Meanwhile, Sicily continues to suffer considerable
disadvantages as far as rail transport is concerned, as the
railway lines on the island are only single-track .

By way of example, I would draw the Commission 's
attention to the following :

1 . Palermo — Messina ( around 220 km ) — rail journey
time : four hours

2 . Marsala — Castelvetrano — Palermo ( around 100 km ) —

rail journey time : three and a half hours

3 . Agrigento — Messina ( 260 km ) — rail journey time :
seven hours and twenty minutes .

Is the Commission aware that the Italian railway authorities
are thereby ensuring that the gap between Sicily and the rest
of Europe is growing ever wider ?

Could the Commission not support, by means of a
Community Regulation, the development of the principle
whereby, before investing in high-speed railways, the

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 47

Member States should develop rail transport in the Is the Community aware of this situation and is it going to
less-favoured regions ( for example, by creating two-track take any action ?
lines between densely populated towns such as Palermo and
Messina )?

Answer given by Mr Paleokrassas

on behalf of the Commission

Answer given by Mr Matutes (5 May 1994 )

on behalf of the Commission

( 22 March 1994 )

The Council meeting on 17 December 1990 gave a
favourable reception to the master plan for the European
high speed train network . In that plan Sicily is represented
by a line that has been upgraded for speeds of roughly 200
km / h between Palermo and Messina . Any such upgrade
would result in a journey time between those two cities of
two and a half hours .

In addition the Commission is drawing up a master plan for
conventional rail within a working party . Within that plan,
which will shortly be presented within a Commission
communication on multi-modal transport, the railway line
between Siracusa and Messina via Catania would be added

to the Palermo — Messina line referred to above .

The inclusion of those two lines in the European master plan
gives the Italian Government the option of asking the
Community to help in their improvement . That
contribution could come either from appropriations
specifically earmarked for trans-European networks or
from the ERDF . Other tools such as EIB loans could also be

used .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-746 / 94

by José Apolinârio ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 22 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 92 )

Subject : Effects on the cod trade of the entry into force of

the European Economic Area

According to Portuguese cod dealers the entry into force of
the European Economic Area has produced a situation of
manifest inequality between Community countries and
countries such as Norway and Iceland which, in addition to
their own production, acquire frozen cod from third
countries at practically zero rates of duty, process it and
introduce it on to the Community market, unrestricted by
quotas and duty-free .

(5 May 1994 )

In the EEA Agreement, which entered into force on

1 January 1994, the Community has granted tariff
exemption for fresh and frozen whole cod, as well as for
most dried or salted cod products, mainly in order to
facilitate the raw material access for the Community 's
processing sector .

These tariff exemptions, annexed to Protocol 9 on trade in
fish and other marine products, are however conditional on
the observance of the EEA rules of origin, to be found in
Protocol 4 to the Agreement . This Protocol, and especially
its Article 3 ( 1 ) ( 2 ), sets out in detail the conditions to be
fulfilled for a product to obtain EEA origin . Fish caught by
third country vessels, or final products, manufactured on
basis of third country raw material, are not and can not be
eligible for preferential EEA tariff treatment .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-749 / 94

by Gérard Deprez ( PPE )

to the Commission

( 22 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 93 )

Subject : Action programme on public health — prevention

of heart disease and cancer

WHO-funded research into heart disease carried out in the
Toulouse region has led to the conclusion that the
antioxidants found in red wine may help to prevent heart
disease and cancer . Other studies have also apparently
linked the taking of Vitamin E — another antioxidant — to
a reduced risk of contracting heart disease and stomach

cancer .

Is the Commission aware of these conclusions or similar
ones ? Has the Community funded research on this
subject ?

In the context of the implementation of the action
programme on public health, and in view of the fact that the
Council resolution of 13 December 1993 on the future

orientation of the ' Europe against cancer ' programme

No C 362 / 48 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

stresses the importance of developing research into cancer WRITTEN QUESTION E-761
prevention at Community level, does the Commission by José Vazquez Fouz ( PSE )
intend to make specific proposals for providing Community

to the Commission

funding for further research in this area with a possible view
to confirming these conclusions ? ( 22 March 1994 )

WRITTEN QUESTION E-761 / 94

to the Commission

( 22 March 1994 )

Answer given by Mr Flynn
on behalf of the Commission

(3 May 1994 )

The Commission is aware of the importance of vitamins and
other anti-oxidants in the prevention of cancer and
cardiovascular diseases .

In the field of cardio-vascular diseases, the Community
medical research programme ( Council Decision adopting
a specific research and technological development
programme in the field of biomedicine and health
( 1990-1994 )) ( ! ) contains two projects relating to the
harmful effects of oxidising mechanisms and the essentially
beneficial effects of antioxidants .

The ' Europe against Cancer ' programme ( Decision of the
Council and the representatives of the Governments of the
Member States meeting within the Council on 17 May 1990
adopting a 1990 to 1994 action plan in the context of the
' Europe against Cancer ' programme ) ( 2 ) is to organize an
anti-cancer campaign in the second week of October 1994
on the subject of ' fruit and vegetables '. The objective is to
make people more aware of the beneficial role of fibre,
mineral salts and vitamins in these foodstuffs in preventing
cancer . The campaign is based on a dossier drawn up by the
International Cancer Research Centre, which has carried
out an exhaustive review of the data available on the

correlation between the major nutrients and foods and the
risk of cancer . In addition, since 1989 the programme has
co-financed long-term studies in seven Member States

( Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands and
the United Kingdom ) monitoring 350 000 individuals over
a ten-year period in order to correlate their eating habits and
their state of health . The Commission intends to continue

this co-financing under the third action plan which it is to
propose to the Parliament and the Council, as it has
indicated in its communication ( 3 ) on the framework for
action in the field of public health .

Other studies of anti-promoter agents will be encouraged in
close coordination with the Community medical research

programme .

(!) OJ No L 267, 24 . 9 . 1991 .
( 2 ) OJ No L 137, 30 . 5 . 1990 .
( 3 ) COM(93 ) 559 final .

( 94 / C 362 / 94 )

Subject : Agreement regulating trade in tropical
hardwood

The planet 's great forests are a key element in the survival of
the human race ; a large proportion of these forests are
located in tropical zones and in economically weak
countries, which means that valuable tropical hardwood is
seen only as a resource capable of generating major export
revenue, while other aspects of the issue are ignored .

As the agreement regulating trade in tropical hardwoods is
currently under discussion, could the Commission state its
criteria and the positions which it intends to defend in this
connection ?

Answer given by Sir Leon Brittan

on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 1994 )

On 26 January 1994, the text of a successor agreement to
the International Tropical Timber Agreement 1993 was
adopted by the 4th session of the United Nations
Conference under whose auspices this text had been
negotiated . The European Union entered a reservation on
the final text, because it felt that closer study of it was
necessary to establish its position . The Commission, in close
collaboration with Member States, is presently considering
the implications of the agreement in detail, and is striving to
reach a definitive position as soon as possible .

Further, the Commission wishes to draw the Honourable
Member 's attention to the European Union statement on the
sustainable management of forests, which was made on
24 January 1994 at the conference . This statement
confirmed the commitment to the conservation, sustainable
management and development of all forests . It expressed its
hope that negotiations on a global convention on forests can
be initiated as soon as possible, which would result in the
establishement of globally agreed mechanisms to monitor
performance in these matters in all forests . This should
allow for the integration of the aims of the ITTO Year 2000
objective into a legally binding instrument covering all types
of forests .

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 49

WRITTEN QUESTION E-767 / 94

by José Vazquez Fouz ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 22 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 95 )

Subject : Aid to coastal fishermen in Galicia

At its January part-session, Parliament adopted a resolution,
tabled by myself on behalf of the Socialist Group, on the
storms which had affected the Galician coastal fishing fleet,
with severe implications for fishermen 's and, indeed, for
their futures ( B3-077 / 94 ). The resolution, which was
adopted unanimously, put forward real solutions to a real
problem, which, in order to take effect, need to be
implemented by the Commission .

What measures is the Commission going to take ?

Can it state, in particular, what compensation will be made
available, and how, to Galician fishermen affected by these
storms, particularly by the desalination of sea water by
extremely heavy rain ?

cannot be granted to remedy the consequences of recurring
events such as bad weather .

(!) OJ No L 346, 31 . 12 . 1993 .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-771 / 94

by Ludivina Garcia Arias ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 22 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 96 )

Subject : Use of cohesion funds in the Autonomous
Community of the Principality of Asturias

The 1993 budget includes the Cohesion Fund for funding
transport and / or environment infrastructure projects in
Spain, Greece, Ireland and Portugal . What projects are being
or are to be carried out in the Principally of Asturias under
these funds in 1993 and 1994 ?

Answer given by Mr Schmidhuber

on behalf of the Commission

(4 May 1994 )
Answer given by Mr Paleokrassas

on behalf of the Commission

(5 May 1994 ) The Commission would refer the Honourable Member to
the answer given to Written Questions Nos 4080 / 93 and
4087 / 93 by Mr Enriques Sapena and Mr Vasquez Fouz
respectively, which related to similar matters ( 1 ).

As a result of the integration of the Community structural
instruments in the fisheries sector into the Community
Structural Funds, the Member States may implement
measures which they consider necessary provided such
measures comply with the Regulations governing the
Structural Funds .

Council Regulation ( EC ) No 3699 / 93 of 21 December 1993
laying down the criteria and arrangements regarding
Community structural assistance in the fisheries and
aquaculture sector and the processing and marketing of its
products (*) provides that Member States may take
measures involving the temporary cessation of activity .

Such measures may benefit from financial assistance from
the financial instrument for fisheries guidance ( FIFG )
provided that their aim is partially to offset loss of income
arising from the temporary cessation of fishing activities as a
result of unforeseeable one-off events, particularly those
with biological causes .

Although public assistance can partially offset losses of
income linked to temporary cessation of activities by certain
segments or subsegments of the fleet, aid from the FIFG

(!) OJ No C 289, 17 . 10 . 1994, p . 56 .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-785 / 94

by Birgit Bjørnvig ( ARC )

to the Commission

( 23 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 97

Subject : VAT on veterinary treatment to destroy pets

The 1993 ' animal lover of the year ' in Denmark has drawn
my attention to the following :

Since, as a result of the sixth VAT Directive, all animals are
regarded as purchasable and saleable goods and the
common VAT system contains no reduced VAT rate for
veterinary treatment, it may be so expensive to have a pet

No C 362 / 50 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

destroyed, for example, that many owners themselves The Commission is currently preparing a communication on
attempt to put animals down, causing animals unnecessary the implementation of Article 128 of the EC Treaty .
suffering because of ignorance .

Pets which may die as a result of disease, for example, can
hardly be described as goods, since no-one will buy a dead
cat or dog .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-822 / 94

Might not therefore VAT exemption be permitted for
veterinary treatment to have pets destroyed ?

Answer given by Mrs Scrivener

on behalf of the Commission

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 23 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 99 )

Subject : Uniform protection for EU citizens by diplomatic
(4 May 1994 ) and consular authorities in third countries

As the Honourable Member correctly points out, services
supplied by vets are, like most services, subject to VAT . The
only provision for the application of a reduced rate is in
agricultural production, which excludes the treatment of
househould pets . The Commission doubts, however,
whether the incidence of VAT in the price of veterinary
treatment is such as to have the dramatic effect that the

Honourable Member describes, and does not consider that
exemption from VAT is justified .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-821 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 23 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 98 )

Subject : Proposals on cultural issues

Has the Commission submitted proposals on cultural issues
in accordance with Article 128 of the Treaty on European

Union ?

Answer given by Mr Pinheiro

on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 1994 )

In accordance with Article 128 of the EC Treaty,
Community action on cultural matters is aimed at
encouraging cooperation in the fields specifically provided
for, while respecting national and regional diversity .
Furthermore, programmes or actions aimed at
encouragement must be adopted unanimously by the
Council in codecision with the Parliament, after obtaining
the opinion of the Committee of the Regions .

Has the Commission submitted proposals, pursuant to
Article 8c of the Treaty on European Union, on providing
uniform diplomatic and consular protection for EU citizens
in third countries ?

Answer given by Mr Van den Broek

on behalf of the Commission

(4 May 1994 )

According to the new Article 8c EC Treaty every citizen of
the Union shall, in the territory of a third country, where he
is not represented, be entitled to protection by the
diplomatic or consular authorities of any Member State, on
the same conditions as the nationals of that Member State .
The Treaty on European Union hence does not oblige
Member States to harmonize their laws, i.e. to render them
uniform, but to provide to all Union citizens the same
protection as would be accorded to their own nationals .

Before the entry into force of the TEU, a set of ' Guidelines
for the protection of unrepresented EC nationals by EC
missions in third countries ' was elaborated in the
framework of EPC . These guidelines set out the basic
principles according to which Community missions have to
provide assistance in case of distress, such as assistance in
case of death, serious accident or illness, arrest or detention
as well as with regard to arrangements for providing
financial advances . These guidelines came into force on

1 July 1993 . The authorities of all third countries were
accordingly informed by the Presidency by note verbale .
Within Member States these guidelines were made public
through press statements of the respective ministries of
foreign affairs . Moreover, all Community Missions and
Commission Delegations were informed .

At present, implementing work continues under the CFSP .
In fact the establishment of a common formal emergency
travel document to be issued by Missions and permitting
travel for a single journey back to the home Member State,
country of permanent residence or, exceptionally, the
destination of the applicant is in its final phase .

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 51

Moreover, the possible expansion towards further areas of
consular protection is currently explored within the CFSP
framework .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-846 / 94

by Mary Banotti ( PPE )

to the Commission

(9 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 101 )

WRITTEN QUESTION E-826 / 94 Subject : EC research and development policy

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 30 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 100 )

Subject : Action against counterfeit products

Within the context of the Framework Programme for R&D,
what, in the case of Ireland, is the percentage of funds
distributed to multiannual firms in order to improve their
industrial competitiveness ? How do the figures in Ireland
compare to other Member States ?

Will the Commission be submitting proposals to step up
action against counterfeit products and protect industrial
design ? Answer given by Mr Ruberti
on behalf of the Commission

( 24 March 1994 )

Answer given by Mrs Scrivener

on behalf of the Commission

(4 May 1994 )

The Commission is aware of the damage done to
Community industry by counterfeit products and has been
taking measures against goods bearing counterfeit
trademarks produced in third countries ( Regulation ( EEC )
No 3842 / 86 of 1 December 1986 (*)).

These measures have been stepped up and extended to other
intellectual property rights, such as design, in the proposal
for a Regulation which the Commission forwarded to the
Council on 16 August 1993 ( 2 ).

This proposal, on which Parliament and the Economic and
Social Committee have expressed their opinions, is currently
being examined by the Council . The Council gave its
agreement to the proposal on 10 March and the
Commission hopes that a final decision can be adopted in
the very near future .

As far as action against counterfeit designs and models
within the Community is concerned, the Commission has
submitted a proposal for a Regulation on Community
design to Parliament and the Council ( 3 ).

The Commission does not have statistics on the
participation of multinationals in RTD projects . It is
however possible to provide figures and relevant
percentages by Member State as well as the share of big
enterprises and small - and medium-size enterprises .

The Commission would, however, like to point out that
expenditure by Member State does not give any clear
indication about the real benefit that companies and other
organizations within the Member States draw from the
Community 's R&D programmes .- The main advantage of
the programmes consists in the fact that every single partner
has access to the totality of the results of the project in which
it is involved — whatever its financial contribution and
whatever Community funding it receives . Another major
benefit is the creation and development of a European
research Community infrastructure ( networks, for
example ). Therefore, the national breakdown of figures can,
at best, only indicate approximately the interest in the
various programmes .

With this proviso the Commission transmits direct to the
Honourable Member and the Secretariat general of the
Parliament summary tables, covering by Member State
commitments from the Community research budget

( over the period 1987-1993 ) to industrial participants
in Community research programmes, and covering
(*) OJ No L 357, 18 . 12 . 1986 . commitments from programmes such as Telematics and

( 2 ) OJ No C 238 2 . 9 . 1993 . Esprit .

( 2 ) OJ No C 238, 2 . 9 . 1993 .

( 3 ) COM(93 ) 342 final — COD 463 .

No C 362 / 52 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

WRITTEN QUESTION E-850 / 94

by Christopher Jackson ( PPE )

to the Commission

( 30 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 102 )

3 . in which premises it is planned to house these
staff ?

Answer given by Mr Van Miert

on behalf of the Commission

Subject : Information and communication policy (4 May 1994 )

Do the Commission 's plans to incorporate information and
communication as an element in all its policies also include
information applicable to disabled people ? The Translation centre for the bodies of the Union, referred
to in the Declaration adopted by the represantatives of the
Governments of the Member States meeting at Head of State
and Government level on 29 October 1993, will provide
translation services for the bodies and departments whose

Answer given by Mr Pinheiro seats were determined by the Decision to which the

on behalf of the Commission

declaration was attached, with the exception of the

(4 May 1994 ) European Monetary Institute and the future European

Central Bank in Frankfurt .

Answer given by Mr Pinheiro

on behalf of the Commission

(4 May 1994 )

The Commission 's intention to incorporate information
and communication as an element in all its policies also
included information applicable to disabled people .

Steps are also being taken to provide information in a form
which is accessible to people with visual or hearing
impairments .

On 2 February 1994, pursuant to Article 235 of the EC
Treaty, the Commission adopted a proposal for a
Regulation setting up a translation centre for bodies of the
European Union, which was sent to the Council and
Parliament . The aim of this proposal is to set up an
interagency Centre with administrative autonomy and its
own budget financed entirely from contributions by the
decentralized agencies and bodies .

Some of the decentralized agencies and bodies, though still
in the process of establishing themselves, have already been
set up by Council Regulations already in force and are
assumed to be sending their translation requests to the
WRITTEN QUESTION E-855 / 94

by Ben Fayot ( PSE ) centre .

to the Commission

( 30 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 103 )

Subject : Translation centre

I

In October 1993, the European Council decided to set up 'a
translation centre for the bodies of the Union, . . . within the
Commission 's translation departments located in
Luxembourg '.

Now, five months later, is the Commission in a position to
indicate precisely :

1 . whether all translations from the various agencies and

bodies are being sent to Luxembourg ;

2 . whether, in order to deal with the extra work thus

created, new staff ( for permanent posts ) are planned or
indeed have been recruited, and how many ;

Pending adoption of the Regulation setting up the
translation centre in Luxembourg, the Commission 's
translation service is helping by providing translations
against payment for the decentralized bodies which already
exist or are in the process of being set up .

1 . All requests for translations must be sent to
Luxembourg ;

2 . The Centre will have an establishment plan and a budget

financed by adjustable flat-rate contributions from the
decentralized bodies to carry out this new translation
work ;

3 . The future Translation Centre 's Management Board

will be responsible for the establishment plan and the
choice of premises .

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 53

WRITTEN QUESTION E-861 / 94 WRITTEN QUESTION E-875 / 94
by Mihail Papayannakis ( GUE ) by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission to the Commission

( 30 March 1994 ) ( 30 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 104 ) ( 94 / C 362 / 105 )

Subject : Thebes Municipal Water Supply and Sewerage

Corporation ( Degat ) and the Cohesion Fund

It is alleged that the Degat has been guilty of a number of
irregularities as part of its municipal sewerage and
biological purification plant and that inter alia it has failed
to commission an environmental impact study . However,
there is a document by the Ministry for Economic Affairs
notifying the Degat that this project has been included in the
Greek programme for the Cohesion Fund ( Project
No 93524 / 4 and Work Register 32 / 2 ).

Will the Commission say whether :

1 . it has received an application for the funding of the
above project under the Cohesion Fund ;

2 . it considers that, in this particular case, Community

legislation has been complied with ; and

3 . it intends to approve funding in this particular case ?

Answer given by Mr Schmidhuber

on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 1994 )

On 2 July 1993 the Commission received an application
from the greek authorities for cofinancing of a project in
respect of the Thebes sewerage and biological purification
plant .

This application was not followed by an environmental
impact study, which must accompany applications under
Council Regulation ( EEC ) No 792 / 93 establishing a
cohesion financial instrument . Accordingly no action could
be taken on the application .

After taking the abovementioned omission into
consideration, the Commission notified the Greek
authorities of its objections by letter dated 23 December

1993 .

Subject : Consumers ' rights

What Community resources and measures will be used to
safeguard the rights of consumers in the Member States
from misleading advertising and unsafe goods ?

Answer given by Mrs Scrivener

on behalf of the Commission

(5 May 1994 )

In the field of misleading advertising, the Council
has adopted Directive 84 / 45 0 / EEC relating to the
approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative
provisions of the Member States concerning misleading
advertising ( a ). All the Member States have transposed this
Directive .

As regards Community resources to protect consumers
against unsafe products, it should be noted that product
safety, on the basis of a high level of protection, is a constant
feature of all specific Community legislation designed to
harmonize national rules on the characteristics of goods
placed on the market .

Moreover, the Community has adopted several horizontal
instruments with a view to promoting a global safety policy . .
The main instruments are :

— Council Decision 89 / 45 / EEC on a Community system

for the rapid exchange of information on dangers arising
from the use of consumer products ( 2 ), extended by
Council Decision 90 / 352 / EEC ( 3 ) until the entry into
effect of Directive 92 / 59 / EEC which integrates it and
lends it a new dimension ;

— Directive 92 / 59 / EEC ( 4 ) on general product safety,

which will enter into effect on 29 June 1994 ;

— Council Decision 86 / 138 / EEC ( 5 ) on accidents involving

consumer products and Decisions 90 / 534 / EEC ( 6 ) and
93 / 683 / EEC ( 7 ) extending this system ;

— Council Decision 93 / 580 / EEC ( ) concerning the
institution of a Community system for the exchange of

No C 362 / 54 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

information in respect of certain products which may
jeopardize consumers ' health or safety .

judicial findings of fact . The cases communicated in 1993
involved a total of ECU 248 million .

This information is given in the Commission 's Annual
(!) OJ No L 250, 19 . 9 . 1984 . Report on the fight against fraud ( 2 ).

( 2 ) OJ No L 17, 21 . 1 . 1989 .

( 3 ) OJ No L 173, 6 . 7 . 1990 .

( 4 ) OJ No L 228, 11 . 8 . 1992 .
( s ) OJ No L 109, 26 . 4 . 1986 .

(M OJ No L 67, 14 . 3 . 1991 .
( 2 ) See tables on page 8 of the 1992 Report ( COM(93 ) 141 final )

( 6 ) OJ No L 296, 27 . 10 . 1990 . and page 40 of the 1993 Report ( COM(94 ) 94 final ).

( 7 ) OJ No L 319, 21 . 12 . 1993 .

( 8 ) OJ No L 278, 11 . 11 . 1993 .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-906 / 94

by Sir Jack Stewart-Clark ( PPE )

to the Commission

( 30 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 107 )

WRITTEN QUESTION E-881 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE ) Subject : Youth unemployment

to the Commission

( 30 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 106 )

Subject : Community money lost through fraud in the

agricultural sector during 1993

On the basis of the information available to the Union, how
much Community money was lost through fraud in the
agricultural sector in 1993 ?

Can the Commission give the comparative statistics of
unemployment in each of the countries of the European
Union, along with equivalent figures for those in the
under-25 age group ? If, as I believe, the rate of
unemployment in the under-25 age group is markedly above
the average unemployment rate, this is a cause for great

concern .

What steps are being taken to reverse this situation ? I am
sure that the Commission will agree that young people are
the life-blood of our future society and our economy . Those
who are unemployed after leaving school or university start
life with a great disadvantage . Is it not surprising, therefore,
that crime rates amongst this age group are rising ?

Answer given by Mr Flynn
Answer given by Mr Schmidhuber on behalf of the Commission

on behalf of the Commission
(5 May 1994 )
(6 May 1994 )

Comparative statistics on unemployment, including those
for young people under 25 are published by Eurostat every
Article 3 of Regulation ( EEC ) No 595 / 91 <•) requires month in the ' Unemployment ' bulletin .
Member States to communicate to the Commission
irregularities relating to the EAGGF Guarantee Section For the month of January 1994, the latest month for which
which have been the subject of primary administrative or data are available, the seasonally adjusted figures are :

EU 12 B DK D EL ES F IRL IT L NL PT UK

Total unemployment 10,9 9,9 10,3 6,0 22,9 11,2 18,2 11,2 3,0 10,0 5,7 10,3

Youth unemployment 21,1 20,5 11,1 5,2 39,2 23,6 27,7 31,4 6,5 16,9 11,2 17,5

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 55

The Commission agrees that in many Member States, the
very high rate of youth unemployment gives cause for
concern . This was also recognised in the White Paper

' Growth, competitiveness and employment ', which
contained specific proposals for adapting education and
training systems to help young people to improve their
qualifications, and also proposed a ' Youthstart ' guarantee
in order to respond more effectively to the problems facing
young people in the labour market .

These proposals are being followed up in the context of the
Action Plan agreed at the European Council in Brussels .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-918 / 94

by José Valverde Lopez ( PPE )

to the Commission

( 12 April 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 108 )

Subject : Directive on money-laundering of drug money

Directive 91 / 308 / EEC on prevention of the use of the
financial system for the purpose of money laundering ( J )
came into force on 1 January 1993 . Has it been transposed
into national law in all the Member States ?

(!) OJ No L 166, 28 . 6 . 1991, p . 77 .

Answer given by Mr Vanni d'Archirafi

on behalf of the Commission

WRITTEN QUESTION E-979 / 94

by Antoni Gutiérrez Diaz ( GUE )

to the Commission

( 12 April 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 109 )

Subject : The James Bay II dam and the Euro-Quebec

Hydro-Hydrogen Pilot Project : protection of the
native population and environmental damage

The Government of Quebec is planning to build a second
dam at James Bay . The environmental impact studies
undertaken have given a warning of the social and
environmental damage which the project could cause and
which, moreover, have been demonstrated by the effects of
the first James Bay dam (' La Grande '):

— diversion of rivers and destruction of hunting and fishing

activities, the main means of existence of the native
peoples, who have been displaced from their traditional
settlements ;

— the appearance of mercury and changes in the salt level

in the waters of James Bay and Hudson Bay, which could
result in the disappearance of the Beluga whale which
systematically seeks refuge there .

Hydro-Quebec and the government are stirring up ethnic
confrontation with the Cree and Inouit Indians in order to

break down their resistance .

A group of companies from Germany and six other EC
countries are working with Hydro-Quebec on the
Euro-Quebec Hydro-Hydrogen Pilot Project ( EQHHPP ),
by means of which hydrogen will be obtained using
electricity generated by the second James Bay dam for
export as a fuel to the EC .

In the light of the above information,

1 . Is the Community involved in financing the
EQHHPP ?

2 . What view does the Commission take of the James Bay II

(4 May 1994 ) project as the EQHHPP, given the likely social and
environmental implications thereof ?

At the moment of drawing up this reply, all Member States,
bar Greece, Ireland and the United Kingdom, have notified
the Commission of the implementation of Directive
91 / 308 / EEC on money laundering . The United Kingdom
has also reportedly implemented the text but the official
notification has not yet been received .

The Commission is following the infringement procedures
provided for in the EEC Treaty against the Member States
which have not implemented the Directive but it expects
that the necessary outstanding legislation will be adopted in
a very short period of time and the procedures will not need
to be pursued before the Court .

Answer given by Sir Leon Brittan

on behalf of the Commission

(4 May 1994 )

The concept of a hydrogen-based, clean and renewable
system, as conceived by the Commission Joint Research
Centre of Ispra, is currently being investigated by the
Commission and the government of Quebec under the
project title ' Euro-Quebec Hydro-Hydrogen Pilot
project '.

The purpose of this pilot project is to demonstrate the
utilisation of a clean and renewable energy source in
applications such as electricity and heat co-generation,
vehicle and aviation propulsion and hydrogen enrichment of
natural gas for use in industry and households .

No C 362 / 56 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

The 100 MW pilot project is coordinated by the Joint
Research Centre and is being carried out contractually by
eight Quebecian and around twenty Community industrial
firms and institutions . It is carried out in four phases, of
which two have already been completed : Phase I,
' Assessment ', was completed in March 1987, and Phase II,
' Detailed system definition ', was completed in March 1991 .
The project is currently in its Phase III.O, ' Hydrogen
application demonstration projects ', which will be
completed by 1997, and the subsequent Phase III ' Detailed
engineering and specifications ' will take another 1-2 years .
Finally, Phase IV ' Construction ' is planned to last 4-5

years .

The ' Euro-Quebec Hydro-Hydrogen Pilot Project ' has
received a total European funding of ECU 35,7 million
covering Phase II, Phase III.O and a supplementary R&D
programme ( ECU 19,7 million from the Commission and
ECU 16 million form industry . With ECU 9,1 million of
funding from Quebec ( ECU 6,1 million from the Quebec
government and ECU 3 million from industry ), the overall
funding of the ' Euro-Quebec Hydro-Hydrogen Pilot
Project ' is in the order of ECU 45 million .

The 100 MW ' Euro Quebec Hydro-Hydrogen Pilot Project '
represents only a small fraction of the overall hydro-electric
potential of Quebec ( estimated at 40-60 000 MW ).
Furthermore, hydro-electricity is only one of the possible
sources for providing hydrogen by electrolysis, others being
sources such as solar power and natural gas . The
' Euro-Quebec-Hydro-Hydrogen Pilot Project ' has no direct
relation in this respect to the James Bay II project .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-l 132 / 94

by José Lafuente Lôpez ( PPE )

to the Commission

( 30 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 110 )

Subject : Possible Community contribution to water supply

plans for the island of Majorca

The alarm given by the local and regional authorities of
Majorca ( Spain ) concerning the situation with regard to the
supply of drinking water to the island 's main tourist centres
has made it clear once again that an immediate solution
must be found to this problem, which is Majorca 's Achilles '
heel, so as to permit the island 's considerable tourist
development to continue .

Among the possible solutions being discussed it seems that
those which have most chance of being carried out are the
ones which involve building facilities for the transfer of
water to Palma from Sa Costera, entailing the recovery of

water which is now going directly into the sea, and building
a desalination plant in Calvia with the capacity to convert
40 000 litres of salt water a day into drinking water .

In order to carry out both projects, the Spanish Government
has undertaken to contribute Ptas 12 000 million . What
contribution can be expected from the Community by way
of participation in these projects as well as in any other
project which might also help solve this urgent problem
which is adversely affecting the island of Majorca ?

Answer given by Mr Millan
on behalf of the Commission

(4 May 1994 )

The European Regional Development Fund will contribute
to the financing of investments in areas in Mallorca covered
by Objective 2, which concerns the conversion of regions or
parts of regions seriously affected by industrial decline, or in
areas covered by Objective 5(b ), which concerns
development and structural adjustment in rural areas .

Community assistance must concern problems specifically
affecting these areas and must be covered by programmes
negotiated with the Member States .

For a project to benefit from Community assistance, it must
fall within the scope of the development priorities
determined by the authorities of the Member State and be
included, on that basis, in the plans to be presented to the
Commission for 1994-1996, in the case of Objective 2, and
1994-1999 in the case of Objective 5(b ).

The plans will then be examined by the Commission in the
framework of partnership with a view to their adoption .
The purpose of the process is to determine the extent to
which the planned measures will contribute to meeting the
abovementioned Objectives in the light of, among other
factors, the available funds .

At this stage, the Commission does not know the content of
the measures which will be included in the future
development plan for the Balearic Islands .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1141 / 94

by Cristiana Muscardini ( NI )

to the Commission

( 30 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 111 )

Subject : Tanning industry

The shortcomings of the now concluded Uruguay Round
are having extremely damaging repercussions on the
tanning industry .

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 57

Protectionism as regards raw materials, which corners half
of all resources and severely distorts international
competition, has been overlooked, thus creating a
psychological inducement to resort to it .

Many countries prohibit or levy taxes on the export of raw
or semi-finished hides, which are thus used for domestic
consumption, having been sold at, on average, 20% less
than the going rate . Essentially, such practices constitute a
form of subsidy, enabling tanneries and related
manufacturers to dump their products on the European
market .

The export of tanned hides from Europe, and hence from
Italy, which accounts for half of Europe 's production, is
frequently hampered by such high duties that the projected
across-the-board cut by about one third will make no
practical difference . A 10% rate is sufficient to close a
market to Italian production .

One absurd case in point is Japan, which has maintained

13-16 % charges on quotas of tanned hides admitted into
the country, equivalent to just 2% of its total production,
and increased charges on non-quota imports to 30 % within
eight years .

Does the Commission not believe that when adjustments
and improvements are made to the Uruguay Round
agreement, corrective action will have to be taken in order to
resolve this vexed issue ?

WRITTEN QUESTION E-l 148 / 94

by Cristiana Muscardini ( NI )

to the Commission

( 30 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 112 )

Subject : Polish ban on exports of raw and semi-finished

hides

Because Polish production of tanned hides has apparently
fallen by between 35 % and 40 % in the last four years, the
Polish Government has decided to implement protectionist
measures cutting exports of raw and semi-finished hides to
the Community and imposing a 50% duty on authorized

export quotas .

The provisions adopted by the Polish authorities manifestly
contravene Articles 7 and 1 3 of the agreement concluded by
the EEC-Poland Joint Committee . Moreover, Article 19 of
the agreement prohibits export restrictions and all measures
having equivalent effect .

Can the Commission therefore approach the Polish
authorities and demand that they observe the agreements
already signed ?

Can it also take steps to protect employment in the tanning
industry, bearing in mind that in Italy alone, there are
23 000 . people working in 2 200 firms, accounting for half
of the Community labour force in the sector ?

Answer given by Sir Leon Brittan

on behalf of the Commission Answer given by Sir Leon Brittan

on behalf of the Commission
(4 May 1994 )
(5 May 1994 )

The elimination of trade distorsions in the leather sector,
which is characterized by high and peak tariffs and
non-tariff measures — such as export restrictions on raw
materials — applied by a number of third countries, was
among the priority objectives of the Community .

Some countries were prepared to reduce their very high
tariffs albeit to still high levels and bind them against
increase . Japan made a substantial cut reducing the primary
rate on quota trade from 20 % to 16 %, and 15 % to 12 %,
and the 60% secondary rate on non-quota trade to 30 % .
This will be implemented over eight years .

However, as the overall results in terms of both tariff
reduction and elimination of restrictions were less than the
Community sought, it scaled back its own tariff offer in
order not to accentuate the discrepancies . The Commission
will be keeping a close eye on the post-Uruguay Round
situation, especially as regards the stricter disciplines of the
new World Trade Organization when it comes into
force .

The Commission is fully aware of the importance to the
tanning industry of access to Polish hides . This issue has
been raised with the Polish authorities on several occasions

including the most recent meeting of the EU-Poland Joint
Committee when the Commission requested that the Polish
authorities allow sufficient exports to meet the needs of
Community industry . To date, the Polish authorities have
not changed their position and therefore the Commission is
continuing to apply pressure with the aim of persuading the
Poles to reverse their position . This point will be put on the
agenda of the first Association Committee with Poland
which will take place in June .

As elaborated in its White Paper on growth, competitiveness
and employement, tackling the structural causes of
unemployment is a priority for the Commission . Although
no specific programme exists for the tanning industry it is
able to benefit from many of the initiatives that the
Commission has taken to boost competitiveness, find new
markets for exports and protect employment . For example,
the tanning industry benefits from different Community
programmes to promote training and technical
development . It also participates in the Commission 's
export promotion ( Exprom ) initiative which seeks to

No C 362 / 58 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

develop new markets for textile, footwear and leather
products .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-l 149 / 94

by Cristiana Muscardini ( NI )

to the Commission

( 30 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 113 )

Subject : Therapeutic communities

The rules laid down by the Italian Minister of Health
relating to drug addiction and, more specifically, to regulate
the therapeutic communities which have already been in
existence for some time mark a real retrograde step in the
fight against drugs since, among other things, they stipulate
that the directors of such communities must hold academic

qualifications .

Contrary to the stipulations of the Minister of Health, the
law can never be deemed to have retro-active effect .
Furthermore, the most popular therapeutic communities,
and the ones which record the highest cure rates, are those
run by educators who may not hold academic qualifications,
but have acquired years of experience in rehabilitating drug
addicts .

In addition, judges are at present taking a particularly
vindictive attitude to communities which claim the highest
proportion of rehabilitated patients, a typical case being that
of S. Patrignano, the director of which is Vincenzo
Muccioli .

Will the Commission draw up a Directive to aid therapeutic
communities, taking into account above all the various
methods of treatment and the number of persons genuinely
rehabilitated, without debarring those educators who
cannot lay claim to specific academic qualifications but have
long been involved at the practical level in the arduous task
of rehabilitation ?

Answer given by Mr Flynn
on behalf of the Commission

WRITTEN QUESTION E-l 154 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 30 March 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 114 )

Subject : Implementation of all Single Market Directives

From the data it has available can the Commission say
whether the Member States of the EU are implementing all
the Single Market Directives ?

WRITTEN QUESTION E-l 160 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the . Commission

(5 April 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 115 )

Subject : Implementation of Directive 90 / 313 / EEC

Are the Member States of the EU implementing the
provisions of Directive 90 / 313 / EEC ( ! ) in their entirety ?

(!) OJ No L 158, 23 . 6 . 1990, p . 56 .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-l 172 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission

(5 April 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 116 )

(4 May 1994 ) Subject : Implementation of Directives 89 / 48 / EEC and
92 / 51 / EEC

The drawing up or the reform of criteria governing the
authorization of health and social services for drug addicts
and the definition of the required level of training for staff in
these services does not fall within the Community 's area of
competence . These matters are the exclusive prerogative of
the Member States, who alone are authorised to take the

necessary steps .

Can the Commission say whether all the Member States
of the EU fully implement the provisions of
Directives 89 / 48 / EEC (*) and 92 / 51 / EEC ( 2 ) concerning the
recognition of professional qualifications .

(!) OJ No L 19, 24 . 1 . 1989, p . 16 .
( 2 ) OJ No L 209, 24 . 7 . 1992, p . 25 .

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 59

WRITTEN QUESTION E-l 184 / 94

QUESTION E-l 184 / 94 Union are fully complying with the provisions of Directives

Kostopoulos ( PSE ) 91 / 263 / EEC (*) concerning telecommunications terminal

to the Commission equipment, including the mutual recognition of their
conformity ?

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

(S April 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 117 ) (!) OJ No L 128, 23 . 5 . 1991, p . 1 .

Subject : Implementation of Directive 91 / 689 / EEC

Are all the Member States of Community implementing
Directive 91 / 689 / EEC (M on hazardous waste ?

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1205 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission

(!) OJ No L 377, 31 . 12 . 1991, p . 20 . (5 April 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 121 )

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1202 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission

(5 April 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 118 )

Subject : Implementation of Directive 76 / 76 8 / EEC

Can the Commission say, on the basis of the data available
to it, whether all Member States of the European Union
are fully complying with the provisions of Directive
76 / 768 / EEC 0 ?

Subject : Implementation of Directive 90 / 388 / EEC

Can the Commission say, on the basis of the information
available to it, whether all Member States of the European
Union are complying with the provisions of Directive
90 / 388 / EEC (*) which seeks to make telecommunications
policy bodies independent of the national authorities of the
Member States ?

t 1 ) OJ No L 192, 24 . 7 . 1990, p . 10 .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1255 / 94

(M OJ No L 262, 27 . 9 . 1976, p . 169 . by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission

(7 April 1994 )
WRITTEN QUESTION E-1203 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission

(5 April 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 119 )

Subject : Implementation of Directive 92 / 44 / EEC

Can the Commission say, on the basis of the information
available to it, whether all Member States of the European
Union are fully complying with the provisions of Directive
92 / 44 / EEC C ) on the application of open network provision
to leased lines ?

Subject : Incorporation of Directives 91 / 156 / EEC and
91 / 271 / EEC into national law in the Member

States

By April 1993 the Member States ought to have
incorporated into national law Directive 91 / 156 / EEC (*) on
waste and, by June 1993, Directive 91 / 271 / EEC ( 2 ) on
urban waste-water treatment . Have all the Member States of

the European Union taken steps to incorporate these
Directives into their national law ?

(*) OJ No L 78, 26 . 3 . 1991, p . 32 .

( 94 / C 362 / 122 )

(!) OJ No L 165, 19 . 6 . 1992, p . 27 . ( 2 ) OJ No L 135, 30 . 5 . 1991, p . 40 .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1204 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission

(5 April 1994 )

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1332 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 15 April 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 120 ) ( 94 / C 362 / 123 )

Subject : Implementation of the provisions of Directive

91 / 263 / EEC

Can the Commission say, on the basis of the information
available to it, whether all Member States of the European

Subject : Application of Community Directives on the

environment

Will the Commission say, on the basis of the information
at its disposal, which Community Directives on the

No C 362 / 60 Official Journal of the European Communities 19 . 12 . 94

environment have not yet been implemented by all Member application of Community law, adopted by the Commission
States, including Greece ? What steps is the Commission on 29 March 1994 ( J ).
taking to deal with this matter ?

(!) COM(94 ) 500 .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-13 77 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )
WRITTEN QUESTION E-l 171 / 94

to the Commission
by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

( 15 April 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 124 )

to the Commission

(5 April 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 126 )
Subject : Transposition of Directive 89 / 104 / EEC into the

national law of the Member States

Can the Commission say whether the Member States of the
European Union have transposed the provisions of Directive

89 / 104 / EEC (*), the first Directive on trade marks into their
national law ? If not, can the Commission say whether it has
initiated the relevant proceedings to deal with this violation
of Community law ?

Subject : Improvement of vocational training schemes for

young people in the services sector

Does the Commission intend to take any measures to
improve vocational training schemes for young people in the
services sector ?

Answer given by Mr Ruberti
(M OJ No L40, 11 . 2 . 1989, p . 1 . on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 1994 )

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1378 / 94

by Sotiris Kostopoulos ( PSE )

to the Commission

( 15 April 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 125 )

Subject : Implementation of Directive 77 / 45 3 / EEC in the

Member States of the European Union

Can the Commission say whether all the Member States
of the European Union are implementing Directive
77 / 45 3 / EEC (*) which provides that specialized vocational
training for nurses responsible for general care must
comprise at least three years of study or 4 600 hours of
theoretical and practical teaching ? 1

The Community vocational training programmes currently
in force and the Leonardo Programme ( 1 ), which is the
subject of a proposal from the Commission to the Council
and is expected to come into force on 1 January 1995,
encourage improvements in the quality of vocational
training systems . These programmes are aimed at all young
people, including those participating in vocational training
schemes in the services sector . The Commission is thus
already supporting the improvement of vocational training
systems, including training for young people in this sector,
and will continue to do so to an even greater extent in the
future .

(M COM(93 ) 686 final .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1263 / 94

(») OJ No L 176, 15 . 7 . 1977, p . 8 . by Winifred Ewing ( ARE )

to the Commission

( 13 April 1994 )

Joint answer to Written Questions E-1154 / 94, E-1160 / 94, ( 94 / C 362 / 127 )

E-l 172 / 94, E-l 184 / 94, E-1202 / 94, E-1203 / 94,
E-1204 / 94, E-1205 / 94, E-1255 / 94, E-1332 / 94, E-1377 / 94

Subject : Aid for trade

and E-1378 / 94

given by Mr Delors
on behalf of the Commission

In view of the recent revelations that British development

on behalf of the Commission

aid to Malaysia has been linked to arms sales contracts, and

(5 May 1994 ) given that the interests of the donor country are often as

much of a factor in the allocation of aid as those of the
recipient, will the Commission please give full details of the
The Honourable Member is referred to the 11th report to procedure it follows to ensure that EU development aid
the European Parliament on the monitoring of the contracts are awarded solely for the purposes of human

(5 May 1994 )

19 . 12 . 94 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 362 / 61

development, poverty reduction, infrastructure, food Answer given by Mr Marin
production and environmental improvement and are in no on behalf of the Commission
way linked to arms sales or other trade deals ? ^ y [ a y ^ 994 ^

Answer given by Mr Marin
on behalf of the Commission

(5 May 1994 )

On the procedures for awarding contracts financed by
development aid, the Commission refers the Honourable
Member to its reply to her Question No 1264 / 94 ( ] ) in
which the Commission set out the procedures applicable for
authorising contracts under aid to ACP countries . Under aid
to other developing countries similar procedures are
followed, in accordance with the applicable financial
regulations of the Community . The Commission confirms
that the criteria for award of contracts following those
procedures are directly based on the development objectives
of the projects and programmes in question and not on
commercial objectives .

The Commission is of the opinion that the lack of qualified
human and technical resources in most developing
countries, in particular in several ACP countries, constitutes
the most important reason for the actual and relatively low
level of participation of ACP companies to Community
financial contracts . This also explains why their
participation in service contracts is lower than that, for
example, in works contracts where the percentage of ACP
companies ' participation is significantly higher .

regulations of the Community . The Commission confirms In relation to the procedures for the award of contracts, the

Commission draws the attention of the Honourable

that the criteria for award of contracts following those
procedures are directly based on the development objectives Member to the fact that, according to the Lome Convention,
of the projects and programmes in question and not on contracts are awarded by the governments of the ACP
commercial objectives . countries . This occurs following jointly agreed rules laid

down in the General Regulations adopted by Decision
No 3 / 90 of 29 March 1990 of the ACP / EEC Council of
(M See below .
Ministers .

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1264 / 94

by Winifred Ewing ( ARE )

to the Commission

( 13 April 1994 )

( 94 / C 362 / 128

Subject : EU Development aid policy

Will the Commission please explain why African,
Caribbean and Pacific companies are awarded less than
17% of the aid and just 6,2% of the technical assistance
contracts under the EU Development Aid Programme ?
What steps will the Commission take to ensure that
development aid contracts are awarded impartially and in
close cooperation with locally-based development experts
rather than for political and commercial reasons ?

According to these rules, the contracts are awarded
subsequently to the launching of tenders among, or
negotiations with, ACP or Community companies and
experts selected by the beneficiary ACP country in
agreement with the Commission . The award takes place on
the basis of an evaluation of the bids or negotiation results
carried out by the ACP country and after its proposal
for award has been approved for financing by the
Commission .

The evaluation of the bids is carried out in accordance with

the evaluation criteria laid down in the tender documents,
themselves issued by the ACP country, upon approval by
the Commission, and established, where need be, with the
help of specialized technical assistance and in accordance
with the provisions of the abovementioned General
Regulations .

The Commission does, therefore, not consider that further
steps are needed to ensure that contracts are awarded
impartially .