WRITTEN QUESTION No. 10/99 by Werner LANGEN to the Commission. Meat hygiene legislation in Rhineland-Palatinate
C 297/134 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 15. 10. 1999 (1999/C 297/184) WRITTEN QUESTION P-0010/99 by Werner Langen (PPE) to the Commission (8 January 1999) Subject: Meat hygiene legislation in Rhineland-Palatinate Under the meat hygiene legislation in the German Land of Rhineland-Palatinate the inspection costs for animals for slaughter are extremely high. The current average costs, DM 11,60 per pig and DM 23,10 per head of cattle, are appreciably greater than the fixed EU rates of DM 2,50 and DM 8,60 respectively. The most recent act adopted by the Rhineland-Palatinate Landtag to implement the meat hygiene legislation is also contrary to EU law because it does not set the flat-rate charges required by the 1985 EC Directive on fees. The Directive stipulates that any deviations from the standard rates must be subject to compliance with efficiency criteria, which have to be laid down by law. The new Rhineland-Palatinate law likewise fails to cover that point. Slaughter volume is not considered an admissible criterion under EU law, but is recognised as such in Rhineland-Palatinate’s meat hygiene enforcement law. Consequently, as far as Europe-wide competition is concerned, meat-producing firms in Rhineland-Palatinate are being forced to suffer severe disadvantages on account of their location. Since the law applies retrospectively as from 1 January 1991, fees have to be paid back after the event, and the firms’ survival is thus being placed in jeopardy. Can the Commission answer the following: 1. Is it aware of this deliberate infringement of EU law? 2. How does the Rhineland-Palatinate Government explain and justify the infringement? 3. What steps will the Commission take to rectify the infringement? Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (10 February 1999) 1. Council Directive 85/73/EC, as last amended by Directive 96/43/EC, introduces flat-rate Community fees for inspections and health controls on fresh meat carried out during slaughter and in connection with cutting operations and the storage of fresh meat. However, on certain conditions (including in particular that the total fees charged do not exceed the actual cost of inspection), Directive 85/73/EC also authorises Member States to charge amounts exceeding the levels of the Community fees laid down by the Directive (see in particular Article 5(3) of Directive 85/73/EC and point 4 of Annex A). The Commission cannot deliver an opinion on the possible breach of Community law referred to by the Honourable Member since it was unaware, prior to this question, of the existence of a new law on veterinary fees in the German Land of Rhineland-Palatinate. 2. Nevertheless, on the basis of the details given by the Honourable Member, the Commission intends to ask the German Government to forward a copy of the new Rhineland-Palatinate law together with an explanation of why that Land is charging amounts that diverge so widely from the Community fees. (1999/C 297/185) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0018/99 by Eryl McNally (PSE) to the Commission (19 January 1999) Subject: Language costs Could the Commission please indicate the total cost of interpretation and translation within the Institutions of the European Union?