WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2887/98 by Carlos ROBLES PIQUER to the Commission. Community plan for hotel standards
C 118/160 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 29. 4. 1999 Answer given by Mr Van Miert on behalf of the Commission (22 October 1998) In July 1998, the Commission announced the preliminary results of its inquiry into the prices for interconnection between fixed and mobile operators. The enquiry, opened in January 1998, focused on three areas, namely termination in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) for mobile-to-fixed calls, termination in the mobile networks for fixed-to-mobile calls, and PSTN operatorís retention on fixed-to-mobile calls. The objective of the first phase of the investigation was to gather comprehensive data on the issue, and to assess this data, with a view to identifying any possible indications of excessive or discriminatory prices. This analysis indicated that further in-depth investigations are warranted in at least fourteen cases. Some of these cases might be dealt with by national telecommunications authorities, applying sector-specific regulation. It should be noted that these preliminary conclusions are only indicative and that specific in-depth investigations into the costs of each operator are necessary before any definitive conclusion can be reached. At this stage, it is not yet possible to forecast the time necessary to conclude these cases. (1999/C 118/199) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2887/98 by Carlos Robles Piquer (PPE) to the Commission (28 September 1998) Subject: Community plan for hotel standards Certain EU Member States have set up national programmes designed to harmonise criteria with a view to guaranteeing the standard of facilities offered by undertakings operating in the hotel trade and the services they offer. These criteria vary from country to country, leaving clients somewhat at a loss as to the kind of facilities they can expect to receive on the basis of the symbols attesting to the standard of the participating hotel whose accommodation and allied services they wish to use. Can the Commission say whether Community criteria exist to guarantee the standard of the hotel services provided throughout the EU? Does it believe it appropriate to promote an initiative to harmonise standards of excellence, whereby the quality of hotel establishments throughout the EU participating in the EU scheme would be guaranteed by an appropriate Community sign to be displayed at the hotel entrance? Answer given by Mr Papoutsis on behalf of the Commission (26 October 1998) At present, there is no common Community system that permits, according to pre-determined criteria, the evaluation of the quality of services provided by hotel facilities. The Commission considers that the development of voluntary self-regulation schemes aimed at certifying, on a Community scale, the quality of services provided by hotel facilities should serve to encourage competitiveness in the Community tourist industry and to provide consumers with the maximum level of information when choosing a hotel. The Commission considers that it is for the industry to take the lead on this issue and, in the context of a new tourism programme, it would be open to initiatives taken in that direction. However, a proposal for the harmonisation of different quality standards at Community level is not envisaged