WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3484/97 by Richard HOWITT to the Council. The Warsaw Convention and an Essex resident held hostage in Kuwait - claim against British Airways
25. 5. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 158/125 Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission (21 November 1997) Port financing and charging systems in the Community differ considerably between European ports. At present, each Member State decides whether, and to what extent, to charge users for the provision of port services and facilities, including maritime access and navigational aids. The Commission does not normally monitor tariff practices nor does it aim to harmonize tariffs in the port sector. Public support for port infrastructure is normally not considered as state aid within the meaning of Article 92 of the EC Treaty as long as the infrastructure is open to all users, in the public interest and on the basis of non-discriminatory access. However, public financing of port superstructure (such as buildings, semi-mobile and mobile equipment) whose access is restricted to certain users is considered as state aid and its compatibility with the EC Treaty has to be examined on that basis. In the forthcoming green paper on ports and maritime infrastructure, the issue of infrastructure financing and charging will be addressed extensively. The green paper is likely to be adopted towards the end of 1997 and will subsequently be submitted to the Parliament. Further measures in the port sector will, to a large extent, depend on the outcome of the discussions with the other Community institutions, Member States and interested parties following the publication of the paper. (98/C 158/162) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3481/97 by Panayotis Lambrias (PPE) to the Commission (31 October 1997) Subject: Application of Community law by Member Statesí national court As the manner in which Community legislation is applied by the Member Statesí national courts is an important source of Community law, will the Commission say whether it systematically monitors the case-law of the national courts and takes account of judgments with a direct or indirect bearing on Union legislation? Answer given by Mr Santer on behalf of the Commission (16 December 1997) The Commission regularly keeps abreast of judgments given by national courts in cases where Community law is applicable. The information it gathers is used for the preparation of Annex VI (Application of Community law by national courts) to the annual report to the European Parliament on monitoring the application of Community law (1). This annex is generally in two parts: the first concerns application of Article 177 of the EC Treaty and the second records significant judgments of national courts of final instance. (1) OJ C 332, 3. 11. 1997. (98/C 158/163) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3484/97 by Richard Howitt (PSE) to the Council (3 November 1997) Subject: The Warsaw Convention and an Essex resident held hostage in Kuwait › claim against British Airways Given the long-standing complaint from Essex resident Mr Edward Hammett and 367 passengers of British Airways flight 149, that the airline recklessly and intentionally landed in Kuwait after the Iraqi