WRITTEN QUESTION P-1844/99 by Olivier Dupuis (TDI) to the Commission. Article 58 ‐ Belgian law on bribes and compliance with competition rules.
C 219 E/32 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 1. 8. 2000 It pointed out that the operational programmes to be implemented by producersí organisations under the new market organisation introduced by Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 of 28 October 1996 on the common organization of the market in fruit and vegetables (1) may include restructuring and reminded the Greek authorities of the opportunities offered by the EAGGF Guidance Section. Following a meeting with the Greek authorities in December 1998, the Commission undertook a technical mission to the main production areas in Greece from 9 to 13 January 1999. Consideration of the results of the mission confirmed the conclusions sent in November 1998, which were therefore notified to the Greek authorities by letter dated 15 July 1999. (1) OJ L 297, 21. 11. 1996. (2000/C 219 E/039) WRITTEN QUESTION P-1844/99 by Olivier Dupuis (TDI) to the Commission (11 October 1999) Subject: Article 58 ü Belgian law on bribes and compliance with competition rules Article 58 of the Belgian Tax Code explicitly grants firms the right to give bribes, euphemistically defined as ásecret commissionsí, if such payments are acknowledged as standard practice, stating that the Finance Ministry may stipulate that the sums involved should be regarded as professional expenses, provided that the commissions do not exceed normal limits and that the firm pays the relevant taxes. Is the Commission aware of this law on bribes in Belgium? Does it regard this law as being consistent with the letter and spirit of the Treaties? Has it been informed by Belgium of the countries in which that Member State regards such payments as being standard practice? In particular, can the Commission state whether Belgium regards such payments as standard practice in other Union countries? Moreover, does the Commission not regard the legalisation of bribes as a breach of the principles governing competition? Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission (8 November 1999) In the absence of harmonisation measures, direct taxation falls within the Member Statesí sphere of freedoms competence, subject provided for by the Treaty. to observance of Community law and in particular the fundamental As part of the efforts to combat corruption, the Council of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) adopted, in April 1996, a recommendation that its members should prohibit the tax deductibility of bribes paid to foreign public officials. The signing of the Convention of 17 December 1997 on combating bribery of foreign public officials in international business transactions, which was ratified by Belgium, has had a major impact on the revision of the contracting countriesí legislation in implementation of the 1996 recommendation. In its communication of 21 May 1997 on the Communityís anti-corruption policy, the Commission stated that it would raise the question of tax deductibility for bribes with the Member States in the appropriate fora, with a view to reaching consensus to abolish such provisions in the framework of a joint concerted move (1). According to the information available to the Commission, Belgium has arrangements which, following authorisation from the Minister of Finance, allow ásecret commissioní to be treated, under certain conditions, as business expenditure where the firm pays tax on this commission, calculated at the standard rate, which is set by the Minister and may not be less than 20 %. However, Article 7 of the Law of 10 February 1999 on the elimination of corruption lays down that such authorisation may not be granted for obtaining or keeping public procurement contracts or administrative authorisations. 1. 8. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 219 E/33 This new measure should enable Belgium to implement, as other Member States have already done or will do, the positions taken by the OECD and the Commission on ending the deductibility of bribes paid to foreign public officials. (1) COM(97) 192 final. (2000/C 219 E/040) WRITTEN QUESTION P-1847/99 by Monica Frassoni (Verts/ALE) to the Commission Subject: Waste tip in Dos Aguas, Valencia, Spain (11 October 1999) In its reply to my Question E-1528/99 (1) on the Dos Aguas waste tip in the Valencia region the outgoing Commission stated that it was unaware of the facts concerned and that it would hold the talks required to clarify the issue and establish that the relevant directives were being correctly applied. Can the new Commission state how it intends to investigate the issues raised in Question E-1528/99, given the serious risk of the pollution of water resources used both for irrigation and as drinking water? In addition, what steps has the Commission taken vis-à-vis the Spanish authorities with a view to ensuring compliance with Directives 91/156/EEC (2) and 97/11/EC (3)? Does the Commission intend to investigate the environmental in connection with this project? What measures does the Commission plan to take in order to ensure that the waste tip complies with the provisions of Article 14 of Directive 1999/31/EC (4)? impact assessment procedure carried out (1) OJ C 27 E, 29. 1. 2000, p. 111. (2) OJ L 78, 26. 3. 1991, p. 32. (3) OJ L 73, 14. 3. 1997, p. 5. (4) OJ L 182, 16. 7. 1999, p. 1. Answer given Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission (22 November 1999) Following Written Question E-1528/99 (1) suspected infringement investigation into the facts set out therein (reference B-99/2191). from the Honourable Member, the Commission started a In the course of its enquiries the Commission requested the Spanish authorities to submit their observa- tions. On that occasion, information was requested on the measures taken to comply with the Directive 75/442/EEC, as amended by Directive 91/156/EEC, on waste, Directive 85/337/EEC, as amended by Directive 97/11/EC, on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, and Directive 80/68/EEC of 17 December 1979 on the protection of groundwater against pollution caused by certain dangerous substances (2). The Commission has still not received a reply from the Spanish authorities. The Commission will inform the Honourable Member of the results of its investigations. On the specific question of what measures the Commission intends to take to ensure that this waste tip conforms to Article 14 of Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste, it should be underlined that Directive 1999/31/EC entered into force on 16 July 1999. Member States are obliged to take the measures necessary to comply with it by 16 July 2001 at the latest. Under Article 14 of the Directive, Member States must take measures to ensure that landfills which have been granted a permit or which are already in operation at the time of transposition of the Directive may not continue to operate unless the steps in question are accomplished. These measures must be implemented as soon as possible