WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1894/97 by Amedeo AMADEO to the Commission. Integrated groundwater protection and management
22. 1. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 21/113 Will the Commission ensure that amendments which only involve alterations at the level of implementation are adopted by means of a committee procedure, with the participation of the Scientific Committee for Food, after prior consultations with the different socio-economic groups represented on the Scientific Committee for Food? (1) OJ C 76, 11. 3. 1997, p. 34. Joint answer to Written Questions E-1889/97 and E-1890/97 given by Mr Bangemann on behalf of the Commission (26 June 1997) In accordance with Directive 89/107/EEC, the framework directive on food additives, the list of additives the use of which is authorized to the exclusion of all others and the list of foodstuffs to which these additives may be added, the conditions under which they may be added and where appropriate, a limit on the technological purpose of their use must be adopted by the Parliament and the Council in accordance with the co-decision procedure laid down by Article 189b of the EC Treaty. In its recent green paper on the general principles of food law in the European Union (1), the Commission has explicitly drawn attention to the difficulties in updating the rules on additives to take account of technical and scientific progress, and has invited comments from all interested parties on this question. These comments will be considered in the light of the institutional and intergovernmental discussions in progress and may lead the Commission to bring forward proposals to simplify the relevant procedures. (1) COM(97) 176. (98/C 21/224) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1894/97 by Amedeo Amadeo (NI) to the Commission (4 June 1997) Subject: Integrated groundwater protection and management The Commission Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision on an action programme for integrated groundwater protection and managementí (COM(96) 0315 final › 96/0181 COD) (1) sets out an action programme comprising four main lines of action: planning and management of groundwater protection, creating a regulatory framework for fresh water abstraction, development of instruments for control of groundwater pollution from diffuse sources and development of instruments for control of point source emissions and discharges. Where groundwater pollution from diffuse sources is concerned, will the Commission pay particular attention to cleaning up soil contaminated by long-standing or accidental pollution, bearing in mind that a Community frame of reference is needed concerning responsibilities and the financing of the measures? Will the Commission turn its attention to the fact that many Member States have failed to announce measures to transpose Directive 91/676/EEC (2) on nitrates? Will it also impose official controls on the substances contained in recycled sewage sludge and consider the advisability of imposing more stringent limit values on atmospheric emissions of substances which contribute to acidification? (1) OJ C 355, 25. 11. 1996, p. 1. (2) OJ L 375, 31. 12. 1991, p. 1