WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2900/98 by Mihail PAPAYANNAKIS to the Commission. Cooperative organizations
15. 10. 1999 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 297/37 (1999/C 297/049) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2885/98 by Jaime Valdivielso de Cué (PPE) to the Commission (28 September 1998) Subject: Fisheries In the light of the repeated use of drift nets by vessels from various EU Member States in bonito fishing grounds in the Bay of Biscay in both the present and previous fishing years, does the Commission envisage imposing penalties of any kind on the culprits in question, given the serious harm caused to the fisheries sector in Spain as a whole, and in the Basque country in particular? Answer given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission (26 November 1998) Driftnet fishing for tuna will be prohibited only from 1 January 2001. In line with Council decisions on the subject, driftnets are authorised and the restrictions for 1998 and earlier years have mainly concerned their permitted lengths. The Commission has worked hard to ensure that these provisions are complied with and it has sent a report of its observations each year to Parliament. In these reports, the Commission has noted that the rules limiting the authorised maximum length to 2. 5 km have been satisfactorily implemented since 1995, and no infringements have been detected. There can therefore be no question of imposing penalties. In any case, it is the duty of Member States to penalise infringements. The Commission for its part will continue to monitor compliance with the rules on the use of driftnets and will similarly ensure compliance with the ban on their use when the time comes; if any infringements are detected, it will be analysing the action taken by Member States. (1999/C 297/050) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2900/98 by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NG) to the Commission (2 October 1998) Subject: Cooperative organizations By introducing legislation to regulate the debts of cooperative organizations (Law 2538/97 on the cancellation of debts), the Greek Government has dealt with an issue which successive governments in the country had long neglected. The latter had refused to take timely steps to tackle the problem of how cooperative organizations were to bear the costs of harvesting products affected by Chernobyl and of how to tackle the effects of a government social policy which had led to the accumulation of debts. The cancellation of the debts of cooperative organizations, which the Commission believes to be anti-competitive, is tantamount to over- looking the responsibility of successive governments during the period 1981 to 1995, since these debts consist of interest outstanding on loans granted as part of the social policy. An attempt by the Commission to overturn this law could be interpreted as a stance in favour of private sector companies and against the cooperative sector, as well as representing a serious blow to cooperative organizations. The Commission should also bear in mind that it should not take a decision of this kind which would hamper the serious efforts now being made to regulate cooperatives’ liabilities as regards the credit system and restore order in this sector so that it can play a vital role in maintaining farm incomes, which will be hit by the reform of the CAP and liberalisation of the market, as well as helping to develop the agricultural sector in Greece. Has the Commission assessed all the implications of any decision to overturn the law on the cancellation of the debts of cooperative organizations?