WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1949/97 by Sebastiano MUSUMECI to the Commission. Ban on Sicily Region's aid to tourist operators
C 21/124 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 22. 1. 98 Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (30 June 1997) The operational programme for Sicily is suffering from serious delays in implementation with a gap of around 10% (latest figures) between projected and incurred expenditure for measures part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, and when the Monitoring Committee for the Community Support Framework met in Rome on 22 May 1997 it was held to be be among the programmes at risk. In particular the tourism investment measures to which the Honourable Member refers (2. 1 Aid for tourism and 2. 3 Rural tourism) have so far shown no expenditure and the national authorities do not expect the first payments before the end of 1998 or beginning of 1999. Tto avoid the risk of losing resources the Commission is in process of assessing with the national authorities, as part of a wider reprogramming of assistance affected by implementation problems, the possibilities of adjusting the programme in line with the state of and outlook for realisation of its various measures. Adjustment would not at this stage involve any reduction in total Community aid to Sicily and the resources would be retained in the same field of action (Subprogramme 2 Tourism and cultural assets). (98/C 21/238) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1947/97 by Cristiana Muscardini (NI) to the Commission (4 June 1997) Subject: Torture inflicted on mares to produce the Premarin drug The Impronteí review, which is printed and distributed by the LAV (Italian Anti-Vivisection League) has for some time denounced the fact that 75 000 mares are tortured in the United States and Canada to enable the American Wieth-ayerst laboratories to prepare substances used to produce the Premarin drug. The torture inflicted on the mares consists in depriving them of adequate water supplies (i. e. giving them only 22 litres of water a day instead of the 50 they need), so as to obtain a much more concentrated urine. The method used to collect their urine also causes them pain and severe injuries. Will the Commission therefore ensure that imports of this drug are banned in Europe so as to discourage such cruel practices? Answer given by Mr Bangemann on behalf of the Commission (8 July 1997) Will the Honourable Member please refer to the answer given by the Commission to written questions E-1784/96 and 1785/96 from Mrs Van Dijk (1). Generally speaking the international trade rules do not allow the Community to ban the import of products from non-member countries on the grounds that those products are obtained in those countries under conditions which would be considered unacceptable within the Community, especially since those products do not constitute any hazards to the lives and health of persons and animals within the Community. (1) OJ C 11, 13. 1. 1997. (98/C 21/239) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1949/97 by Sebastiano Musumeci (NI) to the Commission (4 June 1997) Subject: Ban on Sicily Regionís aid to tourist operators The Commission has prohibited the Sicily Regional Council from subsidizing tourist transport to the island by charter, rail, boat and coach operators because it considers that the measures in question constitute a form of aid