WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1660/97 by Alexandros ALAVANOS to the Commission. Concentration of ownership of media organizations in Europe and pluralism
C 45/72 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 10. 2. 98 5. The suitability of tenderers is evaluated with the aid of award criteria that must be included in the contract notice and the tender specifications. There is no provision in the Regulation for precise rules covering organisational aspects of the evaluation, which in practice is carried out by a committee of officials. The involvement of several units or services is recommended (see Vade-mecum of the Commission’s Advisory Committee on Procurement and Contracts). The award criteria are assessed on a yes/no basis (yes = the tenderer satisfies the criterion or no = the tenderer does not satisfy the criterion). These two questions are redundant, since Community institutions do not make payment in kind for 6. and 7. contracts under Title IV of the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (contracts other than external aid). (1) OJ L 356, 31. 12. 1977. (2) OJ L 315, 16. 12. 1993. (3) OJ L 209, 24. 7. 1992. (4) OJ L 199, 9. 8. 1993. (98/C 45/86) WRITTEN QUESTION P-1653/97 by Ulf Holm (V) to the Commission (5 May 1997) Subject: Monopoly on sales of medicine There is a long-standing monopoly on all sales of medicines in Sweden. The wholly state-owned dispensing chemist also has a monopoly on sales of OTC medicines, although vitamins, minerals, natural preparations and health foods are not covered by the monopoly. A chain of food-retail shops is now planning to sell products such as headache tablets, pointing out that internal market rules do not permit restrictions on the sale of such products. Does the Commission consider that Sweden has a right to maintain the monopoly on sales of medicines? Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission (26 June 1997) The Commission has not received any official complaints concerning the Swedish monopoly on sales of medicines. Nevertheless the compatibility of a state monopoly based on legislation with the principle of free movement of goods is currently under examination by the Court of justice and by the Commission. The Commission wishes to draw the attention of the Honourable Member to the fact that concerning the Swedish retail monopoly Systembolagetí there is a preliminary ruling pending before the Court of justice (Case C-189/95 Franze·n). (98/C 45/87) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1660/97 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (14 May 1997) Subject: Concentration of ownership of media organizations in Europe and pluralism Commission proposal COM(90) 78 of 21. 12. 1990 highlights the importance of pluralism in the functioning of the democracy in the European Union. However, in practice the existence on the market of multiple channels in no way guarantees the provision of different types of information from different sources (pluralism); on the contrary, the existing situation exclusively favours entrepreneurs and owners of media organizations