WRITTEN QUESTION No. 656/98 by Stéphane BUFFETAUT to the Commission. Aid to shipbuilding
C 354/18 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 19. 11. 98 (98/C 354/44) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0654/98 by Esko Seppa¤nen (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (10 March 1998) Subject: Restrictions on the use of antibiotics for animals in Finland and Sweden In their EU accession negotiations, Finland and Sweden obtained the right to apply tighter restrictions on the use of antibiotics for animals than in the other Member States. This was permitted because the misuse of antibiotics makes bacteria resistant to many antibiotics which humans need. Does the Commission propose to continue allowing exceptional provisions for Finland and Sweden, or is it › with better justification › preparing restricitons on the use of antibiotics in other countries too? Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (22 April 1998) The Commission cannot, under the terms of the Act of Accession, extend the period of validity of the special arrangements governing the use of antibiotics in Finland and Sweden. The Act of Accession requires that the Commission decide on the soundness of the arguments put forward by Finland and Sweden as justification for a partial or total ban on the use of antibiotics permitted as additives in animal feed by Council Directive 70/524/EEC of 23 November 1970 concerning additives in feedingstuffs (1). If there is scientific proof of the risks alleged by Finland and Sweden, the Commission will have to prohibit the use of the antibiotics concerned throughout the Community. In the absence of such proof it will have to ask the two Member States to put an end to the current prohibitions. The Commission will at all events consult the relevant scientific committee. (1) OJ L 270, 14. 12. 1970. (98/C 354/45) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0656/98 by Ste·phane Buffetaut (I-EDN) to the Commission (10 March 1998) Subject: Aid to shipbuilding The US authorities have announced their intention of reopening the Philadelphia Navy Yard with the aid of massive subsidies, in flagrant breach of the OECD agreement which contains a standstill clause on aid. The Commission regarded this provision as being sufficiently binding not to have raised the aid ceilings for shipbuilding in Europe. Does the Commission intend to apply restrictions in Europe, on the basis of an OECD agreement rejected by the French National Assembly, which its trading partners are not themselves applying? Answer given by Mr Van Miert on behalf of the Commission (8 April 1998) The so-called standstill clause to which the Honourable Member refers is not part of the Organisation for economic co-operation and development (OECD) agreement itself, which has not yet entered into force, but part of the final act of the negotiations concluding that agreement. According to its provisions, the parties agreed not to increase existing subsidy levels or to introduce new measures of support pending entry into force of the agreement. The Commission shares the Honourable Memberís concern about the apparent breach of these arrangements by the United States. The Commission has written to the American authorities and asked for further explanations and details on the content of the arrangements and their conformity with the standstill clause