WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2888/98 by Carlos ROBLES PIQUER to the Commission. Works of art as debt payments to the Community
14. 5. 1999 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 135/133 Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission (4 December 1998) The Commission is collecting the information it needs to answer the question. It will communicate its findings as soon as possible. (1999/C 135/161) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2886/98 by Jaime Valdivielso de Cué (PPE) to the Commission (28 September 1998) Subject: Trade with Russia The agreement signed on 23 July 1998 on bilateral trade in textile products between the EU and Russia abolished some 30 quotas on Russian exports. Has an assessment been made of the potential impact of the said agreement on the textile sector in the EU as a whole, and in Spain in particular? Answer given by Sir Leon Brittan on behalf of the Commission (21 October 1998) The agreement between the Community and Russia concluded on 20 July 1998 abolishes textile and clothing quotas previously maintained by both parties. It also confirms that the provisions of the Cooperation and Partnership Agreement with Russia apply equally to the textile and clothing sector, thus providing a clear and stable legal framework for trade in textiles. At this stage it is difficult to assess precisely what impact abolishing the 28 Russian quotas will have on Russian exports, since the full statistics are currently available only for the first five months of 1998. Given the low level of use of most of the Russian quotas when they were in force, and the downward trend in Community imports of textiles from Russia (ECU 246 million in 1997, ECU 244 million in 1996 and ECU 277 million in 1995), the elimination of 28 quotas will probably not result in a significant increase in Community textiles imports. Since Russia’s share of total imports of textile and clothing products is also falling (0,44 % in 1997, 0,51 % in 1996 and 0,61 % in 1995), it is unlikely that Russian textile exports will have a serious impact on the EU textile sector. (1999/C 135/162) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2888/98 by Carlos Robles Piquer (PPE) to the Commission (28 September 1998) Subject: Works of art as debt payments to the Community In certain instances, and for various reasons, undertakings and individuals alike are obliged to repay sums to the EU Exchequer. On occasion, the difficulty created by the financial situation in which undertakings or individuals find themselves, aggravated further by a shortage of liquidity, makes it preferable for them, as a last resort, to pay off their debt by handing over works of art under their ownership