WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2125/97 by Hiltrud BREYER to the Commission. Novel food regulation No 258/97 - Safety tests (SUPPLEMENTARY ANSWER)
C 158/2 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 25. 5. 98 (98/C 158/02) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1870/97 by Gerardo Ferna·ndez-Albor (PPE) to the Commission (30 May 1997) Subject: EU involvement in the development of As Pontes, Galicia The government of the Spanish region of Galicia has signed a cooperation agreement with one of the principal electricity companies of the country and with the trade unions concerning the economic development of the district of As Pontes, Galicia. The reindustrialization plan will run until 2001. The regional government will invest 300 million and the electricity company 900 million. How could the European Union take part in this plan, what could it contribute and under what Community programme or specific measure could it consider participating in the development of the district? Supplementary answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (21 November 1997) In order to specify the final source of a possible financial contribution from the structural funds to the collaboration agreement signed by the Xunta de Galiciaí with the electricity company Endesa and the representatives of the trade unions concerning the economic development of the Galician area of As Pontes, it would be necessary to receive an application from the authorities involved requesting specific funding for this project under an individual structural intervention programme. Given that such a request has not been received, it would be premature to identify the specific origin of the possible funds for this project, particularly since the Spanish region of Galicia benefits from over 20 programmes financed by Community structural funds, a number of which (among them the operational programme Galicia 1994-1999) could provide financial aid to a project of these characteristics if the necessary conditions were met. (98/C 158/03) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2125/97 by Hiltrud Breyer (V) to the Commission (23 June 1997) Subject: Novel food regulation No 258/97 › Safety tests In the event of authorization being given for a genetically modified plant line pursuant to the varieties directive, following thorough testing of the change in its metabolites are all plants resulting from crops-breeding from this line tested for possible metabolitic change? Supplementary answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (1 December 1997) Under the current Community provisions on the common catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant species and on the marketing of vegetable seed (70/457/EEC and 70/458/EEC respectively) (1) a plant variety is officially accepted for certification and marketing only if it is distinct, stable and sufficiently uniform. A variety shall be regarded as distinct if, whatever the origin, artificial or natural, of the initial variation from which it is has resulted, it is clearly distinguishable in one or more important characteristics from any other variety known in the Community. Where Commission decisions concerning the placing on the market of genetically modified plant material, seed included, are required, these are based on the examination of the relevant dossier submitted under Council Directive 90/220/EEC on the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms (2) having taken into account all the information forwarded by the Member States and found that the information on the environmental risk contained in the dossier is sufficient to enable the Commission to take a decision on the placing on the market