WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3125/97 by Graham MATHER to the Commission. BA/AA merger
C 134/90 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 30. 4. 98 The relevant industry has already been contacted on the working document mentioned under point 2 and 3. further consultations are foreseen. 4. The Commission does not find it appropriate to finance part of the costs for the authorisation of plant protection products. The Commission is of the opinion that the measures mentioned in the reply to written question E-1761/97 can contribute to an easier authorisation of plant protection products containing micro-organisms as far as it is demonstrated that the risks from use of such products are lower than those that can generally be expected from chemical plant protection products. (1) OJ L 230, 19. 8. 1991. (98/C 134/115) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3125/97 by Graham Mather (PPE) to the Commission (13 October 1997) Subject: BA/AA merger British Airways has recently been extremely critical of the analysis carried out by the Commission regarding its proposed merger with American Airlines. Specifically, questions have been raised over the issue of slot allocation at Heathrow. Where the UK Office of Fair Trading proposed that BA should surrender 168 slots per week, the Commission has proposed a figure of 358. What methodology was followed by the Commission to arrive at this figure, and why is it so much greater than the OFT figure? Answer given by Mr Van Miert on behalf of the Commission (30 October 1997) The Commission has conducted an analysis on the basis of Articles 85 and 86 of the EC Treaty and has arrived at the preliminary view that the proposed alliance between British Airways and American Airlines raises serious competition concerns. The Honourable Member will appreciate that the Commission is not in a position to give details on a case that is currently subject to scrutiny under the competition rules. (98/C 134/116) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3126/97 by Gerardo Ferna·ndez-Albor (PPE) to the Commission (13 October 1997) Subject: Encouragement of youth exchanges between businesses in the various Member States In recent years there has been a significant increase in youth exchanges. This helps young people to gain experience of the world outside their own countries. However, it appears that the area which has been least explored is that of youth exchanges between businesses in the various Member States. Such exchanges would enable young people to swap their usual job on a temporary basis for another, similar one in some other Community country. The young people involved in such an exchange would all benefit from the experience. Could the Commission say what experience it has in this matter and what projects and other initiatives it intends to launch in order to encourage young people to exchange jobs with a view to gaining experience of other countries and other ways of working, with due regard to the legal provisions which would have to be coordinated for the purpose?