WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3806/97 by Roberto MEZZAROMA to the Commission. Construction of the Messina Bridge
C 187/62 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 16. 6. 98 Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (19 January 1998) The promotion of rural and on-farm tourism is one measure part-financed by the Guidance Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) in most operational programmes under Objectives 1 and 5(b), in the Leader Community Initiative and also where included in improvement plans under Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 950/97 of 20 May 1997 on improving the efficiency of agricultural structures (1). However, tourism operations are contained in subprogrammes combining several measures (diversification and rural development in particular), so it is not possible to identify the appropriations intended for tourism or provide a quantitative breakdown by Member State. (1) OJ L 142, 2. 6. 1997. (98/C 187/99) WRITTEN QUESTION P-3806/97 by Roberto Mezzaroma (UPE) to the Commission (17 November 1997) Subject: Construction of the Messina Bridge Is the Commission in a position to report on the future construction of the bridge across the Strait of Messina, and indicate in particular: 1. how much funding the EU has allocated to it and for how many years; 2. whether a project has been drawn up and, if so, by which consultancy; the cost of the project and the projectís financial backers; 3. whether the project carries proper guarantees for the construction of the bridge, from the environmental and geological points of view and from the point of view of links between the continent and Sicily; 4. whether the instructions issued by the EU have been complied with; 5. which firms will take part in the competition for tenders to carry out the project? Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission (30 January 1998) The Community has not committed any funds for the development of the Messina Strait bridge. Concerning the procedures for the awarding of the design and execution of the work, the Italian authorities have informed the Commission that they are subject to the approval of a new law. The preliminary design have been awarded to the company called Stretto di Messina S. p. A; according to law No 1158 of 17 December 1971 and to interministry decree No 3437 of 27 December 1985. (98/C 187/100) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3811/97 by Hilde Hawlicek (PSE) to the Commission (26 November 1997) Subject: Customs discrimination against camcorders with input sockets European amateur film and video makers are placed at a disadvantage in their creative activities. For customs purposes in the EU camcorders equipped with input sockets are treated like normal video recorders. In order to avoid these customs disadvantages,the manufacturers omit important connections from the equipment. As a result amateur video makers do not have the possibility of using the newest processing technologies. It is anyway unlikely that an amateur video maker would contemplate recording programmes with a camcorder