WRITTEN QUESTION No. 141/98 by Alexandros ALAVANOS to the Commission. Community 'Pesca' initiative for Greece
22. 6. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 196/119 Through the adoption of the third liberalization package for civil aviation the Commission created the legal framework in which the air carriers can set their tariffs freely in accordance with their commercial policy. The Commission has no competence to impose tariffs on undertakings. The Commission would however consider taking action in case of infringement of the competition rules of Article 85 of the EC Treaty › for example by air carriers fixing common prices › and Article 86 of the EC Treaty › for example by air carriers abusing their dominant position by hindering a competitor to enter a specific route by charging excessively low fares. The fact that at present only one air carrier operates on this route does not, in itself, constitute an infringement of the competition rules. The non-availability of economy air fares on the route mentioned by the Honourable Member is not limited to Parliament plenary weeks. Reduced fares are available all year round provided travellers stay over the weekend. This is not in itself a violation of the competition rules. The Commission is however not limited to taking action under the competition rules. Under Council Regulation (EEC) No 2409/92 of 23 July 1992 on fares and rates for air services (1) Member States may require airlines to file scheduled fares with the Member States. Should a fare be excessively high to the disadvantage of users in relation to the overall long-term fully allocated costs of the carrier, then the Member States concerned may intervene against the fare and suspend the application of the basic fare. Also the Commission may at any time examine whether a fare complies with the criteria set out under this Regulation on receipt of a complaint from any party with a legitimate interest. (1) OJ L 240, 24. 8. 1992. (98/C 196/166) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0141/98 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (2 February 1998) Subject: Community Pescaí initiative for Greece The Community Pescaí initiative for Greece comprises four Sub-Programmes and a fifth for technical assistance. As there is a timetable for each of sub-programmes 1 to 4, will the Commission say: 1. what progress has been made with the sub-programmes and what measures have been taken in each sub-programme, and 2. whether there have been any delays in taking up funds and, if so, what the main reasons for the delays are? Answer given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission (13 March 1998) 1. Administrative arrangements in Greece for the four main parts of the PESCA programme are now complete. The authorities state that for private investments applications must reach the local fisheries department by 31 March and that the national commitment decisions will be taken before the end of June. The commitment decisions for public investments are in preparation. Once these procedures are completed the programme can actually be implemented. 2. The delay in starting the programme can be imputed largely to lack of the necessary coordination for implementation of a multifund programme requiring the involvement of several public departments. As a result none of the available appropriations has so far been used. The administrative arrangements now made mean that the first payments to recipients under the programme should be made in the second half of this year