WRITTEN QUESTION E-1850/99 by Isidoro Sánchez García (ELDR) to the Commission. The Tan Tan nuclear power station (Morocco).
18. 7. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 203 E/67 Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission (30 November 1999) In terms of civil law, the practices denounced by the Honourable Member may come under the rules of Council Directive 84/450/EEC of 10 September 1984 relating to the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning misleading advertising (1). This seems to be the case in this instance, given that the win is announced in sales promotions. This Directive has already been transposed by all Member States, and as a result all national rules in force are applicable. It is interesting to note that in certain Member States the penalty provided for is purely and simply for the consumer to obtain, without any further conditions, the prize of which he has been notified. In terms of criminal law, only national legislation is applicable. Moreover, it should be noted that in future, following the adoption of Directive 98/27/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 1998 on injunctions for the protection of consumersí interests (2), Member States will have the right to designate the courts or administrative authorities competent to rule on proceedings commenced by independent public bodies specifically responsible for protecting the collective interests of consumers or by organisations whose purpose is to protect the collective interests of consumers, and which seek the cessation or prohibition of any infringement of the Directives listed in the Annex to the Directive, without prejudice to the rules of private international law, with respect to the applicable law. The deadline for transposal of this Directive by Member States is 31 December 2000. However, consumers wishing to lodge a complaint concerning commercial practices which are believed to be dishonest may contact the International Marketing Supervision Network (IMSN). The IMSN is an informal network made up of authorities responsible for the application of laws on commercial practices in more than two dozen countries, most of which are members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The networkís mandate is to distribute information on cross-border commercial activities which may affect consumer interests and to encourage international collaboration between the authorities responsible for law enforcement. In 1999 the European members of the IMSN (including all Member States) created the subgroup IMSN- Europeí, in which the Commission is involved, being represented by the Health and Consumer Protection DG. The IMSN may be contacted via the website http://www. ari. net/imsn, which lists the contact addresses for each Member State. (1) OJ L 250, 19. 9. 1984. (2) OJ L 166, 11. 6. 1998. (2000/C 203 E/082) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1850/99 by Isidoro SÆnchez García (ELDR) to the Commission (13 October 1999) Subject: The Tan Tan nuclear power station (Morocco) The announcement that a nuclear power station is to be built at Tan Tan on the Moroccan Atlantic coast has caused the citizens and institutions of the Canary Islands, the nearby ultra-peripheral Community region considerable social alarm and grave environmental concern. Does the Commission intend, in its aid programmes for Morocco, to lay down conditions with a view to establishing strict nuclear safety standards in the area? C 203 E/68 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 18. 7. 2000 Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission (19 November 1999) In reply to the fears expressed by the Honourable Member, there are at present no nuclear power projects in Morocco being financed by the Community. Were the Moroccan authorities to make a request of this kind, very strict conditions would obviously be laid down based on the precise rules regarding nuclear safety and subject to the approval of the competent departments and authorities. The Tan-Tan project concerns a demonstration unit for the desalination of sea water and not electricity generation. This unit is to be developed with cooperation from China and it will have a 10 megawatt reactor (NHR-10) with a production capacity of 8 000 cubic metres of fresh water per day. This project is being developed under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Morocco has concluded cooperation agreements with a specialised French body, the Direction de la sßretØ des installations nuclØaires (DSIN)í (Directorate for nuclear plant safety), in order to obtain assistance in analysing nuclear projects and for supervising and monitoring existing and future plant. (2000/C 203 E/083) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1851/99 by Jaime Valdivielso de CuØ (PPE-DE) to the Commission (13 October 1999) Subject: External relations Last Thursday, 16 September 1999, the Commission admitted that only a small portion of the TACIS Programme appropriations reach Russia; to be precise, only € 4 million of the € 140 million granted in aid under this programme reached the country. What mechanisms does the Commission intend to set up in order to prevent the recurrence of such situations? What is the timescale for implementing these mechanisms? Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission (15 November 1999) The Commissionís statement to the Parliament, on 16th September 1999 included the following: Community assistance is, as this house will know, primarily delivered through the TACIS programme which is centrally managed from Brussels. The funds concerned are predominantly used to pay Community firms to provide technical expertise and advice for Russia. Only a very small proportion of the funds therefore goes to Russia. Indeed it is only € 4 million of the total of € 140 million. That € 4 million is obviously directly managed by our representation in Moscow. In other words, virtually all the TACIS funding to Russia (some € 140 million per year) is not transferred to accounts in Russian banks, but rather, is used to pay Community firms to provide technical expertise and advice for Russia. These arrangements are usual for technical assistance programmes in transition countries. This does not mean that the benefits and results of the project do not reach Russia. It simply ensures some protection against funds going astray in Russia