WRITTEN QUESTION P-1972/99 by Gilles Savary (PSE) to the Commission. Harmonisation of driving restrictions for heavy goods vehicles at weekends and on public holidays (proposal for a directive COM(1998) 115 final of 25 May 1998.
1. 8. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 219 E/55 Despite promises by the Italian revenue authorities and the support of Fischler & Co, the refund of the VAT has not yet been paid. Is it true that VAT refunds should be paid within six months, and if it is, what action will the Commission take in respect of Italyís failure to comply? Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission (10 November 1999) Article 7(4) of the Eighth Council Directive 79/1072/EEC of 6 December 1979 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes ü Arrangements for the refund of value added tax to taxable persons not established in the territory of the country (1) requires Member States to make refunds of VAT to taxable persons not established in the territory of the Member State within six months of the date when the applications for the refunds were submitted. Member States are required to state the grounds for refusal of an application within the same period. According to the information at the Commissionís disposal, the eighth directive on the refund of value added tax to taxable persons established in other Member States has been duly transposed into Italian law. Nonetheless, the Commissionís attention has been drawn to various technical problems concerning compliance with the time limit for the refund of VAT paid in Italy by taxable persons who are not established in that country. The Commission has contacted the Italian authorities and is trying to resolve these problems as soon as possible. The Commission nonetheless points out that, according to its sources, the Italian authorities have already taken action on all refund applications submitted by foreign taxable persons for the year 1995. In view of these facts, the Honourable Member would be advised to provide the Commission with practical details concerning the specific case raised, thereby enabling the Commission to take whatever action may be appropriate. (1) OJ L 331, 27. 12. 1979. (2000/C 219 E/065) WRITTEN QUESTION P-1972/99 by Gilles Savary (PSE) to the Commission (19 October 1999) Subject: Harmonisation of driving restrictions for heavy goods vehicles at weekends and on public holidays (proposal for a directive COM(1998) 115 final of 25 May 1998 What is the state of play regarding the Commissionís position and its work, following the conclusions of the Council of Ministers of Transport, which met in Luxembourg on 6 October 1999, in connection with driving restrictions for heavy goods vehicles at weekends and on public holidays? Is the Commission still working on the harmonisation of time-slots for the circulation of heavy goods vehicles at weekends and on public holidays? for a directive COM(1998) 115 (1) still in its current form, or does the Commission intend to change or simply to withdraw its proposal? In particular, the proposal is If changes are envisaged, what is the basis for a compromise, and what is the timetable for such changes? (1) OJ C 198, 24. 6. 1998, p. 17. Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission (10 November 1999) The Commission can inform the Honourable Member that following the Transport Council on 6 October 1999, and the discussions on the proposal for a Council and Parliament directive on harmonised rules for driving restrictions on heavy goods vehicles involved in international transport on designated roads, it is currently working on a revised proposal for the directive. C 219 E/56 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 1. 8. 2000 During the Transport Council, there was a substantial degree of agreement on two issues: the obligation for the Member States to notify the restrictions in advance to the Commission for the sake of greater transparency; and the harmonisation of the scope of the restrictions which means that a common list of exceptions will be established. However, the issue of restrictions during the weekends and public holidays is still pending. The strength of feeling on the subject in both the Council and Parliament is leading to polarised position being taken. Therefore, the Commission intends to adopt and present to Council and Parliament by the end of 1999 a revised proposal which aims to take into account on the one hand the implications for the internal market of the restrictions to the circulation of heavy goods vehicles on the Trans European road network, and on the other hand the need to ensure that due consideration is given to the limitations adopted by Member States for legitimate and justified reasons. (2000/C 219 E/066) WRITTEN QUESTION P-1974/99 by Theodorus Bouwman (Verts/ALE) to the Commission Subject: Interreg, URBAN, partnership and sustainable development (19 October 1999) The European Commission adopts today (14 October 1999) the Guidelines for the new Community Initiatives Interreg and URBAN. Pillars of this yearís reform of the Structural Funds are the principles of partnerships and sustainable development. Two other recent communications from the Commission have similar objectives: the European Spatial Development Perspective, which was also discussed at the informal meeting of the EU ministries on urban and regional planning held in Tampere, on 4-5 October 1999, and the Framework for Action on Sustainable URBAN Development. Parliamentís resolutions on the two Commissionís communications request the Commission to give an appropriate follow-up to its two strategic documents (1). Can the Commission explain how it intends to make sure that the broadest range of national, local and regional partners, including local authorities and NGOs, can take part in the conception, implementation and follow-up of the projects financed under Interreg and URBAN? Will partnership be playing a selective role in the choice of the projects? How will the Commission make sure that the philosophy of the European spatial Development Perspective and the Framework for Action on Sustainable URBAN Development as well as the recommendations of the European Parliament on these two communications, will be respectively shaping structural interven- tions financed under Interreg and those under URBAN? In particular, will sustainable regional and local car-free transport schemes and ecological urban renewal will be considered priority areas to be supported? (1) See EP reports by Mr Novo Belenguer (A4-0206/98, resolution adopted on 2 July 1998) ü OJ C 226, 20. 7. 1998, p. 42 and by Mr Orlando (A4-0247/1999, resolution adopted on 4 May 1999). Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission (18 November 1999) The adoption on 13 October 1999 by the Commission of the draft guidelines for the Interreg and URBAN Community initiatives (1) constituted the first step in the overall approval process for these two initiatives. In line with the code of conduct on the implementation by the Commission of structural policies, the Commission will ensure that the opinions of the Parliament are taken into consideration before the final adoption of the guidelines. As indicated in paragraph 7 of the draft Interreg guidelines and paragraph 9 of the draft URBAN guidelines, the Commission will ensure that strong partnership will be one of the governing principles of both Community initiatives in the next programming period