WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3515/97 by John IVERSEN to the Commission. Intervention stocks
25. 5. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 158/137 (98/C 158/179) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3515/97 by John Iversen (PSE) to the Commission (12 November 1997) Subject: Intervention stocks What will it cost to destroy the 600 000 tonnes of beef currently in EU intervention storage? Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (18 December 1997) The Commission would like to emphasize the theoretical nature of the Honourable Memberís question, since it is not the Commissionís intention to incinerate this beef. The costs of incineration of beef would in particular depend on the capacity available and the distance the meat needs to be transported. The bids between 300 ECU per tonnes and 1200 ECU per tonnes received by the United Kingdom intervention agency implementing Regulation (EC) No 1757/96 of 10 September 1996 adopting exceptional additional support measures for the beef market in the United Kingdom (1) may serve as a guideline. (1) OJ L 230, 11. 9. 1996. (98/C 158/180) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3517/97 by Niels Sindal (PSE) to the Commission (12 November 1997) Subject: Road safety How many people were killed or injured in road accidents in Denmark in the last year for which statistics are available, and how can these figures be interpreted in relation to the number of fatal accidents per million registered cars (a) in Denmark and (b) in Europe overall? What is the estimated economic cost of fatal road accidents in Denmark? What does the Commission suggest can be done to reduce the number of road accident deaths and injuries? Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission (18 December 1997) In 1994 546 people were killed in traffic accidents in Denmark and 9757 were injured. Based on the number killed by million inhabitants over the period 1991-1994, the position of Denmark is better than the European average. Clearly, it is difficult to make precise comparisons between Member States as there are a number of factors, such as the quality of infrastructure, which are not comparable. The figures given above are, however, a clear indication of the relative rate of deaths and injuries and, as national, local and police authorities and safety organisations continually emphasise, there is always room for further improvement. The Commission has calculated that the direct cost of road accidents (including the cost of police and emergency services, vehicle repairs, and the lost economic output from those killed), is 45 000 MECU per year for the Community as a whole. When divided by the 45 000 fatalities per year this gives us an average of one MECU per death and associated injuries. In Denmark the 1 MECU testí would produce a cost for road deaths of about 550 MECU per year