WRITTEN QUESTION E-0678/00 by Avril Doyle (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Discrepancies in the levels of heart disease among EU Member States and the need for further preventive action.
C 330 E/204 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 21. 11. 2000 (2000/C 330 E/235) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0678/00 by Avril Doyle (PPE-DE) to the Commission (9 March 2000) Subject: Discrepancies in the levels of heart disease among EU Member States and the need for further preventive action the Treaty Establishing the European Community and given the Bearing in mind Article 152 of discrepancies in the levels of heart disease throughout the EU (with Ireland having almost five times the rate of that in France) and the fact that Irish women now account for one in two deaths in Ireland from cardiac arrest and that many cases of heart disease are easily preventable, can the Commission comment on these discrepancies and outline what, if anything, it intends to do to tackle heart disease further across the EU (and in particular in countries such as Ireland) to ensure that such high death rates are brought down? Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission (14 April 2000) The Commission is aware of the problem raised by the Honourable Member. This issue is currently being discussed in the context of the European heart health initiative, which is a Community-wide project aiming at increasing awareness in all the Member States among policy makers, health professionals, and in the longer term the general public, of the importance of fighting cardio- vascular disease and of ways of making prevention possible. It is expected that the project will propose guidelines on how cardio-vascular disease should be tackled and on what actions and policies for a healthier Europe should be developed and implemented in this respect. The new public health strategy and action programme will offer a solid basis for continuing efforts to combat cardio-vascular disease in the Community. (2000/C 330 E/236) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0679/00 by Avril Doyle (PPE-DE) to the Commission (9 March 2000) Subject: Car prices in Ireland and the future legal framework of car distribution Bearing in mind the relatively high prices of cars in Ireland for general consumers compared to other members of the Euro zone, will the Commission state when it intends to take its decision regarding the future legal framework of car distribution, comment on what the rationale behind the prospective decision, and comment on what effect the decision could have on car prices in Ireland and on competition in the car sector in that country? Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission (31 March 2000) The current block exemption regulation concerning car distribution (1) provides, in Article 11, that the Commission regularly evaluates the application of the regulation, with particular regard to price differ- entials between the different Member States and on the quality of service to final users. To this end, the Commission has, since 1993, monitored car price differences in the Community in its bi-annual report on car prices. Article 11 of the regulation also requires the Commission to draw up a report on the evaluation of the regulation before 31 December 2000