WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3805/98 by Marie-Arlette CARLOTTI to the Commission. Eligibility criteria for decentralised cooperation programmes
C 297/104 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 15. 10. 1999 (1999/C 297/141) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3789/98 by Anita Pollack (PSE) to the Commission (11 December 1998) Subject: Export of live animals On 18 December 1997, the Commission agreed to amend Regulation (EEC) 805/68 (1) on the common organisation of the market in beef and veal. Amendments to the conditions under which live animals may be exported to third countries include the introduction of controls involving veterinary inspections at third- country entry points. Having decided deliberately to exclude animal welfare groups from being authorised to carry out such checks, even though they have been the only organisations prepared to expose cruelty in the treatment of exported animals, will the Commission indicate what procedures have been introduced to enforce the requirements of the amended Regulation and how many veterinary inspectors are to be employed for this task? (1) OJ L 148, 28. 6. 1968, p. 24. Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (4 February 1999) Commission Regulation (EC) 615/98 of 18 March 1998 laying down specific detailed rules of application for the export refund arrangements as regards the welfare of live bovine animals during transport (1) provides that the payment of export refunds for live cattle is conditional upon compliance with Community legislation on the protection of animals during transport. All consignments of cattle are subject to systematic checks on exit from the Community carried out by an official veterinarian of the Member State of exit. Furthermore, checks are carried out at arrival in the third country when there are grounds for suspecting breaches of the rules and on consignments selected by the exporting Member State on the basis of risk analysis. The checks in third countries are carried out by a veterinarian of an international control and supervisory agency approved for this purpose by a Member State or by a veterinarian of an official agency of a Member State. The Member State which approved an international control and supervisory agency shall verify on regular basis or when there are serious grounds for suspicion that the conditions for approval are not met. The Commission verifies the manner in which checks on animal welfare are performed by the national authorities. In the framework of the restructuring of the Commission’s food and veterinary office, a group of three veterinarians has been created. One of them has been working in this field for a considerable time, and the other two will be recruted in the near future from the list of candidates. (1) OJ L 82, 19. 3. 1998. (1999/C 297/142) WRITTEN QUESTION P-3805/98 by Marie-Arlette Carlotti (PSE) to the Commission (4 December 1998) Subject: Eligibility criteria for decentralised cooperation programmes New draconian eligibility criteria, especially concerning the bank guarantee, are a feature of the relaunch of the decentralised cooperation programmes announced by the European Commission. Does the Commission intend to maintain a criterion of this nature which, on the one hand, penalises all small- scale structures (such as associations and NGOs), which are unable to take on a guarantee like that, and, on the other, contravenes French law relating to local authorities? French local authorities are automatically solvent under French law. The bank guarantee criterion imposed by the Commission would require the local authorities to pay bank charges and would de facto violate public accounting rules