WRITTEN QUESTION E-1463/99 by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Canadian Fisheries Act C-27.
20. 6. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 170 E/19 Council Directive 91/0671/EEC of 16 December 1991 on the approximation of the laws of the 8. Member States relating to compulsory use of safety belts in vehicles of less than 3,5 tonnes (11) makes the wearing of seat belts compulsory on front and back seats of vehicles. There is no standard speed limit on European roads. (1) OJ L 370, 31. 12. 1985. (2) OJ L 237, 24. 8. 1991. (3) OJ L 46, 17. 2. 1997. (4) OJ L 57, 2. 3. 1992. (5) OJ L 373, 31. 12. 1991. (6) OJ L 319, 12. 12. 1994. (7) OJ L 299, 10. 11. 1998. (8) OJ L 76, 6. 4. 1970. (9) OJ L 286, 23. 10. 1998. (10) OJ L 46, 17. 2. 1997. (11) OJ L 373, 31. 12. 1991. (2000/C 170 E/019) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1463/99 by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE-DE) to the Commission (1 September 1999) Subject: Canadian Fisheries Act C-27 The Commission has acknowledged that the Canadian Fisheries Act C-27 is inconsistent with international law. It has not been amended during its passage through Parliament, as called for by the EU on many occasions, and the recent EU-Canada Summit in June 1999 failed to make any progress on this serious issue, with the result that the extraterritorial aspects of Canadian fisheries legislation, which were described by the Commission in its answer to my previous question, prior to the Summit (E-0942/99) (1) as being áa matter of grave concern for the Communityí, remain. Can the Commission say what fresh action it will take in response to Canadaís lack of will to resolve this serious dispute which will hinder the smooth progress of EU-Canada relations until it is settled? (1) OJ C 348, 3. 12. 1999, p. 145. Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (26 October 1999) Community concerns about the Canadian legislation enabling Canada to implement the 1995 United Nations (UN) agreement on straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks (Bill C-27) have made this one of the most important topics between the Community and Canada. This led to increased contacts with the Canadian side at both expert and political levels in the wake of the Community-Canada summit in June 1999. In the course of this process, substantial progress has been made. Canada submitted written statements which clarify the respective scopes of the extra-territorial legislation of 1994 and the newly enacted legislation and which confirm that the terms of the new legislation are intended to be fully consistent with the terms of the UN agreement and will be applied accordingly. As these statements meet Community concerns in a satisfactory manner, the most sensitive political issues can be brought to a close. The Commission, therefore, issued Canada with a note verbale on 30 September 1999 setting out the Communityís understanding of these political issues and reserving the Communityís position on certain other extra-territorial aspects of Canadian fisheries legislation. In the latter context, it may be necessary to address some outstanding legal matters of a more technical nature once the Commissionís analysis of the subordinate Canadian implementing regulations has been completed. To this end, Commission and Canadian experts will meet soon