WRITTEN QUESTION No. 576/98 by Gérard CAUDRON to the Council. Double taxation for border workers
2. 10. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 304/133 Answer (8 June 1998) Under the Treaty, the Commission is competent to represent the Community in the WTO and therefore before the Panel and the Appeals Panel. The Honourable Memberís questions should consequently be put to the Commission. (98/C 304/200) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0575/98 by Ge·rard Caudron (PSE) to the Council (3 March 1998) Subject: Motorway driving in thick fog Another tragedy has occurred on a motorway in foggy weather. In less than two years the Lille-Ghent motorway has been the scene of two major pile-ups, which killed around fifty people and injured even more. The accidents happened in extreme weather conditions. These are clearly not isolated incidents in the European Union › the statistics speak for themselves. It is quite clear that appeals to drive carefully in order to avoid the worst are ignored. Can the Council give its views on the possibility of closing motorways temporarily when there is thick fog? Can the Council say whether it intends to take steps which may put an end to these lethal accidents on motorways in particularly thick fog? Answer (28 May 1998) Improving transport safety is a priority in common transport policy, as laid down in Article 75(c) of the Treaty, and is central to the Councilís concerns. With regard to road safety in particular, the Council adopted conclusions at its meeting on 17 and 18 June 1997 on the Commission communication Road safety in the European Union - the programme for the years 1997-2001. í In its conclusions, the Council lays down a number of guidelines aimed at facilitating the promotion of road safety at both national and Community levels. However, it should be noted that the power to make proposals is conferred by the Treaty on the Commission and that the specific measures to which the Honourable Member refers fall within the sphere of competence of the Member States. (98/C 304/201) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0576/98 by Ge·rard Caudron (PSE) to the Council (3 March 1998) Subject: Double taxation for border workers The Commission and the European Parliament have expressed their views on several occasions concerning the double taxation affecting certain border workers. The legislative work being carried out by our colleague Mrs Van Lancker is taking shape and should allow significant progress to be made in remedying this anomaly in this age of the single market and the introduction of the Euro