WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2395/97 by Carmen FRAGA ESTÉVEZ to the Commission. Ban on the transhipment of swordfish catches by the Community fleet in Chilean ports
C 117/16 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 16. 4. 98 (98/C 117/19) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2380/97 by Evelyne Gebhardt (PSE) to the Commission (10 July 1997) Subject: Assistance for the Lake Constance region Can the Commission say how much assistance the Lake Constance region (Landkreis Konstanz, Landkreis Bodenseekreis, Lindau-Bodensee, Land Vorarlberg) has received from the European Union since 1990? Supplementary answer given by Mr Santer on behalf of the Commission (24 November 1997) In view of the length of its answer, the Commission is sending it direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliamentís Secretariat. (98/C 117/20) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2395/97 by Carmen Fraga Este·vez (PPE) to the Commission (10 July 1997) Subject: Ban on the transhipment of swordfish catches by the Community fleet in Chilean ports Since 1990 Chile has been banning the transhipment of swordfish caught outside its waters by the Community fleet, which constitutes a violation of GATT Article V. 1 concerning áfreedom of transití. The ban is based on the request for a health certificate, which is unjustified for merchandise in transit and in practice is equivalent to preventing transhipments, thereby violating the freedom of transit established by the afore-mentioned Article V of GATT. In her answer to Question H-0320/96 (1) on the same subject Commissioner Bonino said that the problem could be settled under Article 30 of the EU/Chile Cooperation Agreement and that otherwise Article V of GATT would be the only possible solution. Can the Commission therefore say when it intends to call for the application of Article V of GATT to solve this problem? (1) Debates of the European Parliament (May 1996). Answer given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission (20 October 1997) Article 30 of the new Cooperation Agreement with Chile signed on 21 June 1996 provides for cooperation on fishing matters, including resource conservation. On the disagreement to which the Honourable Member refers over landing of swordfish caught by Community vessels outside the Chilean exclusive economic zone the Commission has ascertained Member States’ positions through the appropriate channels and agreed with Chile on the need for an initial exchange of information on this fishery and the state of stocks, with the ultimate aim of establishing technical and scientific cooperation in this area. Owing to lack of available information no progress has so far been made. However, given that cooperation ought to facilitate the adoption of a mutually satisfactory solution to the present difficulty, both parties are at the moment completing collection of the necessary information with a view to opening technical discussions in the very near future