WRITTEN QUESTION E-1969/99 by Piia-Noora Kauppi (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Co-incineration of waste.
18. 7. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 203 E/97 Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission (30 November 1999) The funds blocked in 1996 amounted to € 9 396 867 and DM 14 750 The amounts recovered were € 9 385 673,55 and DM 15 367,07. The criteria to open bank accounts in Bulgaria changed in March 1996. After an evaluation of the banking situation it was decided that the PHARE funds should be held in well-capitalised banks having a strong back up from their shareholders. The banks that, in the Commissionís opinion, fulfilled these requirements were the ING Bulgaria, the Bulbank, the Raiffeissen and the Dresdner bank. These are the banks with which the Commission has operated since then. From 1998 on the Commission redefined the criteria used in order to select the banks where the PHARE funds can be held. In this context, the PHARE funds related to programmes approved in 1998 and onwards must be held at the central bank or in a government guaranteed bank account. The Commission has no knowledge of further cases of a banking crisis affecting Commission funds. (2000/C 203 E/123) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1967/99 by Anna Karamanou (PSE) to the Commission (5 November 1999) Subject: Restructuring of Commission departments As the restructuring of Directorate-General X is justifiably giving cause for concern and raising question marks about the fate and future of the information for women unit of former DG X, will the Commission say whether that unit will be transferred to the Directorate-General for Employment, as originally planned? Can the Commission also provide details about the progress and development of the campaign for combating domestic violence? Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission (4 January 2000) The Commission would refer the Honourable Member to the reply it gave to Oral Question H-726/99 by Mrs Valenciano Martínez-Orozco during question time at Parliamentís December 1999 part-session (1). (1) Debates of the European Parliament (December 1999). (2000/C 203 E/124) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1969/99 by Piia-Noora Kauppi (PPE-DE) to the Commission (5 November 1999) Subject: Co-incineration of waste In its proposal for a Council directive on the incineration of waste (COM(98) 558) (1), the Commission proposes that the same requirements be imposed on fuel from combustible municipal waste sorted at the place of origin which is co-incinerated at local district heating plants as on fuels from waste incineration plants. In Finnish conditions, for example, this would mean in practice a sharp drop in the number of waste incineration plants and the concentration of waste incineration into large units. As a consequence, emissions from transport alone would increase considerably in the Nordic countries, where distances are C 203 E/98 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 18. 7. 2000 considerable. In Finland, particularly in recent years, collection, processing and quality control systems have been developed for combustible waste, which in turn are based on local waste incineration units. Does the Commission propose, in its directive, to take account of the specific conditions in the Nordic countries? How does it intend to ensure that the new directive continues to encourage the development of waste collection and treatment systems in Northern Europe? (1) OJ C 372, 2. 12. 1998, p. 11. Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission (8 December 1999) The Commission proposal on the incineration of waste (1) was adopted on 7 October 1998. The Parliament gave its first reading on 14 April 1999. The Council adopted a common position on 25 November 1999. When preparing the proposal the Commission carried out intensive discussions with experts from all Member States as well as with all others concerned. These discussions as well as the negotiations in the Council have lead to a common position which takes into account the specific requirements of the Scandinavian Member States. The common position seeks to establish the same requirements for the co-incineration of waste as for the incineration of waste. For combustion plants co-incinerating waste more stringent emission limit values generally apply compared to plants not using waste. However, the problem is not always compliance with tighter emission limit values, but the costs for the measurement requirements of the directive. In order to deal with this the future directive provides for the possibility of obtaining an authorisation from the authority to reduce the frequency of the measurements, which should reduce the costs for operators. The Commission is therefore of the opinion that the future directive will not discourage Member States from establishing waste collection and pre-treatment systems. (1) COM(98) 558 final modified by COM(1999) 330 final. (2000/C 203 E/125) WRITTEN QUESTION P-1973/99 by John Purvis (PPE-DE) to the Commission (19 October 1999) Subject: Financial services The Commissionís Framework for Action in Financial Services sets out the general framework for measures in this field in the next five years. These measures are relevant to ensuring the competitiveness of the Unionís financial services sector and industry whilst safeguarding consumer interests. Financial services measures so far adopted at the European level have not been applied in the same manner in all the Member States. Could the Commission please provide a list of measures in the respective countries which are not 1. being applied uniformly in the EU? 2. What measures do the Commission propose to take to ensure uniform implementation of these already existing measures in the EU?