WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2202/97 by Hiltrud BREYER to the Council. Novel food regulation No 258/97 - Publication of data on novel food products
C 82/44 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 17. 3. 98 (98/C 82/81) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2200/97 by Hiltrud Breyer (V) to the Council (25 June 1997) Subject: Novel food regulation No 258/97 › Access to data on novel food products Will there be public access to these data banks, or will some data be subject to confidentiality? (98/C 82/82) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2202/97 by Hiltrud Breyer (V) to the Council (25 June 1997) Subject: Novel food regulation No 258/97 › Publication of data on novel food products Will both the scientific data that have been submitted and the evaluation of such data be published? Joint answer to Written Questions E-2198/97, E-2200/97 and E-2202/97 (28 October 1997) The detailed rules governing the protection of data provided by an applicant for a marketing authorization are adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 13 of the Regulation referred to by the Honourable Member. Regulation No 258/97 (1) makes no provision for the systematic publication of either the scientific data submitted or the evaluation of that data, nor does it make provision for the designation of authorities competent for recording data concerning the products approved or notidied in accordance with that Regulation. (1) OJ L 43, 14. 02. 1997. (98/C 82/83) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2213/97 by Jean-Pierre Bazin (UPE) to the Commission (30 June 1997) Subject: Harbour dues in EU ports › unfair competition According to a comparative study of harbour dues, the dues charged by the Belgian port of Zeebrugge are considerably lower (approximately 50% on average) than the European average. This difference can only be accounted for by the existence of massive state aid or local practices which are not in line with the EU rules. Can the Commission investigate these practices, which are damaging to ports in the Union, and, if necessary, adopt all requisite measures to re-establish conditions more amenable to fair competition? Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission (12 September 1997) The Commission does not normally monitor tariff practices nor does it aim to harmonize tariffs in the port sector. However, in specific cases, such a matter may be examined in the context of individual complaints. Low port tariffs do not necessarily mean that these particular ports benefit from state aid. Instead low tariff levels can be due to other factors such as the ports’ commercial policy or efficient port management. Each situation has to be examined individually in order to establish whether there is aid involved