WRITTEN QUESTION No. 928/98 by Concepció FERRER to the Commission. Role of SMEs in the European Union
C 323/96 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 21. 10. 98 (98/C 323/141) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0914/98 by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE) to the Commission (26 March 1998) Subject: Tinned tuna and bonito in agreements with third countries Can the Commission provide information on the undertakings accepted with regard to imports of tinned tuna and bonito under EU agreements with third countries, indicating the individual quantities by country of origin? (98/C 323/142) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0915/98 by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE) to the Commission (26 March 1998) Subject: Semi-preserves of salted anchovies and anchovies in oil in agreements with third countries Can the Commission provide information on the undertakings accepted with regard to imports of salted anchovies and anchovies in oil under EU agreements with third countries, indicating the individual quantities by country of origin? Joint answer to Written Questions E-0907/98, E-0908/98, E-0909/98, E-0910/98, E-0911/98, E-0912/98, E-0913/98, E-0914/98 and E-0915/98 given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission (30 April 1998) Because of the length of the answer, which includes a number of tables, the Commission is sending it direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliamentís Secretariat. (98/C 323/143) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0928/98 by Concepcio· Ferrer (PPE) to the Commission (26 March 1998) Subject: Role of SMEs in the European Union The Commission has recognized the decisive role played by small and medium-sized enterprises with regard to the creation of jobs. The annual report of the Court of Auditors for 1996 calculated that ECU 1 200 million are allocated each year to actions in favour of small and medium-sized enterprises under the ERDF, and this large sum demonstrates the importance of SMEs within the European Union. Nevertheless, even though it recognizes the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises, the Commission did not include SME representatives in the work of drawing up guidelines with a view to the extraordinary European Council on employment. Will the Commission open the social dialogue to representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises in order to make that dialogue more dynamic and adopt final measures which are more in tune with the actual situation and interests of European Union citizens? Answer given by Mr Papoutsis on behalf of the Commission (14 May 1998) The importance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for economic and employment growth was re-confirmed by the Luxembourg European Council. The employment guidelines highlighted the need to improve the business environment in favour of SMEs and to involve social partners in the implementation process of these guidelines