WRITTEN QUESTION E-2094/99 by Brigitte Langenhagen (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Slaughter premiums in 1998.
1. 8. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 219 E/89 If any irregularities are found the Commission will take the necessary steps under the rules in force, in particular the provisions of Article 24 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/93 of 20 July 1993 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 on the tasks of the Structural Funds and their effectiveness and on coordination of their activities between themselves and with the operations of the European Investment Bank and the other existing financial instrument (1) concerning the áreduction, suspension and cancellation of assistanceí. (1) OJ L 193, 31. 7. 1993. (2000/C 219 E/106) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2086/99 by Antonio Tajani (PPE-DE) to the Commission (19 November 1999) Subject: Irregularities in the European call for tenders by the Rome municipal authority for the supply of uniforms for the municipal police In February, the Chinese company YuYi won the European bidding for the supply of uniforms for the municipal police in Rome. Despite the presence of textile experts and production test samples and despite the impartial opinions of the Chamber of Commerce, the fabric of the sample uniform was found to be different from that described in the procurement order, which, it would appear, is impossible to create! Furthermore, other swindles have been uncovered, such as the 90 % price increase for the reams of paper and the 80 % increase for staples. The matter is all the more cause for concern in that the Chinese company is a front for the much better-known company Ballooní, in which the former brother-in-law of the Mayor of Rome, Mr Rutelli, is a partner. Can the Commission intervene in order to investigate the irregularities in the above procurement procedure and subsequently inform Parliament of its findings? Can the Commission adopt the necessary measures for monitoring European tenders to ensure that they are conducted in compliance with the rules and to ensure that the contracts are awarded to specialist firms rather than firms that are unable to carry out what is required of them? Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission (7 December 1999) As a result of the honourable Memberís information, the Commission plans to ask the Italian authorities for all relevant information in order to assess the compatibility of the supply contract for police uniforms for the City of Rome with Community law on public contracts. With this in mind, the Commission is preparing a letter to be sent to the Italian authorities requesting clarification of the exercise. in the light of this information, it turns out that the procedures applied are incompatible with If, Community law, the Commission could start the proceedings for failure to fulfil an obligation laid down in Article 226 (ex Article 169) of the EC Treaty. At any rate, the Commission will of course inform the honourable Member of the outcome and of the conclusions it might reach after considering the information provided by the Italian authorities. (2000/C 219 E/107) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2094/99 by Brigitte Langenhagen (PPE-DE) to the Commission (19 November 1999) Subject: Slaughter premiums in 1998 What was the cost in euros to the European Union in 1998 for subsidies in the form of slaughter premiums or similar subsidies? C 219 E/90 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 1. 8. 2000 Do slaughter premiums and similar subsidies affect the extent to which live animals are transported in the European Union and in third countries? Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (17 December 1999) In the 1998 financial year the Community spent approximately € 497 million on market measures connected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), of which € 96 million in premiums went on the slaughter of young male calves, € 116 million on the early slaughter of calves, € 243 million on the United Kingdomís bovine slaughter programme and € 42 million on compulsory selective slaughter in the United Kingdom, Portugal, France and Ireland. € 163,8 million was spent to support the German, Spanish and Dutch markets following an outbreak of swine fever. Slaughter expenditure in 1998 on veterinary measures in their strictest sense amounted to € 34 million on the programmes to eradicate animal diseases and € 38,5 million on the classical swine fever epidemic. The Commission is not in a position to assess the effects of the above on animal transport levels in the Community, although they must have been slight given the type of aid involved and its allocation. This expenditure can have had no effect in third countries, since the aid is only intended for Community livestock. (2000/C 219 E/108) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2098/99 by Carmen Fraga EstØvez (PPE-DE) to the Commission (19 November 1999) Subject: Failure of a Member State to comply with ICCAT recommendations on freezing the fishing effort It is apparent from Commission Working Document SEC(1998) 447 of 17 March 1998 that, in 1997, the fishing for albacore (Thunnus alalunga) comprised 11 vessels using drift nets. However, Irish fleet according to the list which the Commission possesses of vessels authorised to fish for tuna with drift nets and other fishing gear, this year the said fleet grew in size to 18 vessels using drift nets and 16 using other gear. Besides amounting to a blatant breach of Regulation (EC) No 1239/98 (1) aimed at abolishing drift nets, such an increase constitutes a gross violation of the ICCAT recommendation which the fleets should not exceed that Commission undertook to honour, under which the fishing effort of registered over the period 1993-1995. The fact transposed the aforementioned recommendation into Community law does not free the EU Member States from their obligation to comply with it, as Mr Cavaco, former Director-General of DG XIV, made very clear in a notice on the NEAFC recommendations. the Commission has not yet that In view of the aforementioned facts, what does the Commission intend to do to prevent any further increase in the Irish fleetís fishing effort as regards stocks of albacore? How does it intend to compel the said Member State to comply with Regulation (EC) No 1239/98 and the ICCAT recommendations, and what penalties does it envisage imposing on that Member State for repeatedly displaying such serious disregard for Community and international rules and placing albacore populations in peril, in breach of those recommendations? When does it intend to transpose the ICCAT recommendations into Community law in order to prevent their absence from being used as a pretext for increasing the fishing effort? (1) OJ L 171, 17. 6. 1998, p. 1