WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2870/98 by Patricia McKENNA to the Commission. Phosphorous pollution from detergents
14. 5. 1999 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 135/131 Reply (20/21 December 1998) The Code of Conduct on arms exports was adopted on 8 June 1998 with a view to setting high common standards which should be regarded as the minimum for the management of, and restraint in, conventional arms transfers by all Member States, and to strengthen the exchange of relevant information with a view to achieving greater transparency within the Union. The facts mentioned by the Honourable Member in his question have not been brought to the attention of the Council. The Honourable Member will be aware that individual arms export decisions, and therefore the implementation of the Code, remain the responsibility of the Member States and of their national licensing authorities. Pursuant to the provisions of the Code, the Council is currently engaged in the definition of the detailed procedure for the envisaged reporting exercise. (1999/C 135/158) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2867/98 by Clive Needle (PSE) to the Commission (28 September 1998) Subject: Code of conduct on arms control Despite the Code of Conduct on Arms Control agreed in May, the German company Heckler and Koch have signed a contract with MKEK of Turkey under which the latter will manufacture 200 000 combat rifles. Given human rights abuses in Turkey does this contravene the Code of Conduct, and what steps is the Commission taking on this issue? Answer given by Mr van den Broek on behalf of the Commission (5 November 1998) The Union’s code of conduct on arms exports was formally adopted by the General Affairs Council of 8 June 1998. The code lists various criteria for Member States to take into account when selling military supplies to third countries. These criteria include compliance with the Member States’ international undertakings and the human rights situation in the country of destination. However, the code of conduct is not an instrument of Community policy and cannot therefore, under the rules of the Treaty, be enforced by the Commission. Each Member State is accordingly responsible for interpreting the criteria listed in the code and assessing how they apply to its arms sales. (1999/C 135/159) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2870/98 by Patricia McKenna (V) to the Commission (28 September 1998) Subject: Phosphorous pollution from detergents Detergents are a major source of phosphorous in waste water. Such pollution has resulted in a legal ban on phosphorous in detergents in Italy and Switzerland and voluntary agreements with the detergent industry in a in other countries, such as Germany and the Netherlands. This has resulted, for example,