WRITTEN QUESTION E-0128/00 by Antonio Tajani (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Bank charges in Italy.
24. 10. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 303 E/145 The Council would also point out to the Honourable Member that the Parties agreed in the 4. aforementioned exchange of notes to resume the official negotiations on the Wines and Spirits Agreement in March 2000 with a view to concluding them before 1 June 2000 and enabling the said Agreement to enter into force on 1 September 2000. (2000/C 303 E/157) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0128/00 by Antonio Tajani (PPE-DE) to the Commission (27 January 2000) Subject: Bank charges in Italy Various European banks are suspected of having cartel agreements to maintain high commission charges on foreign exchange transactions following the introduction of the euro. On the basis of the investigations already begun, and those currently in progress, will the Commission: 1. 2. indicate which Italian banks have already been investigated, and with what results; state what measures it intends to take to put an end to such practices, which have been condemned many times by consumersí associations but have always been denied by the banks. Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission (2 March 2000) The Commission has begun investigations into the bank charges on foreign exchange transactions in the Member States participating in the euro, following various complaints from consumersí associations and others. The Commission has conducted on-the-spot checks on two Italian banks. These checks were made 1. with the assistance of the national authority responsible for competition matters. This authority, the Bank of Italy, has adopted two decisions on bank charges. The first was adopted on 25 November 1999 and related to a recommendation by the Associazione Bancaria Italiana (Association of Italian Banks) that its members introduce a new schedule of bank charges following the introduction of the euro on 1 January 1999; this recommendation was deemed a restrictive practice incompatible with the rules on competition. The second decision, which was adopted on 18 January 2000, was directed at a group of banks known as the Friends of the Bankí and dealt partly with bank charges on cross-border payments. The Bank of Italy concluded that there had been collusion in the fixing of these charges and that this constituted a restrictive practice; it consequently decided to impose fines on the banks concerned. The Commissionís investigations are still in progress. Any measures it takes will depend on what 2. proof can be found as to the existence of restrictive practices. (2000/C 303 E/158) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0129/00 by Ria Oomen-Ruijten (PPE-DE) and Bartho Pronk (PPE-DE) to the Commission Subject: Single programming document 2000-2006 (27 January 2000) On 19 October 1999 the Dutch Minister for Social Affairs and Employment forwarded to the Commission the single programming document (SPD) for ESF (Objective 3) measures for the period 2000 to 2006