WRITTEN QUESTION P-1368/00 by Elisabeth Schroedter (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Proper recognition of the European goal of equal opportunities for men and women in German Objective 1 programming.
C 89 E/32 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 20. 3. 2001 At present Dutch rules impose tight restrictions on the cross-border incineration of waste (in this case the incineration of industrial waste from Limburg in Eschweiler-Weisweiler in Germany). Exporting waste with a view to re-use is permitted, provided the degree to which it is re-used is equivalent to, or greater than, the degree in the Netherlands. Is the Commission aware of the study of the legal aspects of cross-border waste processing which has been carried out by the University of Maastricht on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce of the Southern Netherlands? If so, what is the Commissionís response to the conclusions of this study? Can the Commission indicate how Dutch policy on restrictions on imports and exports of waste intended for removal or for processing relates to the European regulation on the supervision and control of shipments of waste within, into and out of the European Community (Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 (1)), in the light of decisions of the European Court of Justice (for examples cases C-2/90 and C-203/96)? (1) OJ L 30, 6. 2. 1993, p. 1. Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission (9 June 2000) Council Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 of 1 February 1993 on the supervision and control of shipments of waste within, into and out of the Community makes a distinction between shipments of wastes for recovery and shipments of wastes for disposal. The Commission considers incineration with energy recovery a recovery operation (R1) pursuant to Annex II B of Council Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 on waste (1), as amended. Incineration without energy recovery is considered a disposal operation (D10) pursuant to Annex II A of the same Directive. As regards shipments of wastes for disposal, Article 4(3)(a)(i) of Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 allows Member States to prohibit generally or partially or to object systematically to shipments of waste in order to implement the principles of proximity, priority for recovery and self-sufficiency. In the absence of such general rules, Member States may object to shipments of waste for disposal in individual cases on the basis of the objections outlined in Article 4(3)(b). Insofar as waste shipments for recovery within the Community are concerned, Member States may object to such shipment on a case-by-case basis only, and only on the limited grounds for objections enumerated in Article 7 (4) of Regulation (EEC) No 259/93. The Commission has received several complaints concerning the implementation of Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 by the Dutch authorities. These are the subject of infringement proceedings against the Netherlands and the Commission is currently assessing the Dutch reply to its letter of formal notice. The Commission is aware of the study mentioned by the Honourable Member. It is under examination in the context of the infringement proceedings. (1) OJ L 194, 25. 7. 1975. (2001/C 89 E/030) WRITTEN QUESTION P-1368/00 by Elisabeth Schroedter (Verts/ALE) to the Commission (19 April 2000) Subject: Proper recognition of the European goal of equal opportunities for men and women in German Objective 1 programming 1. Is it true to say that the regional plan for the German Objective 1 area (the five new Länder and East Berlin) fails to ácontribute to the elimination of inequalities, and the promotion of equality between men and womení (Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999), as the Structural Funds are intended to do, or at any rate fails to take that goal properly into account? 20. 3. 2001 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 89 E/33 2. If the above assertion is correct, what specific criticism does the Commission have to make, and (a) what steps has it taken to ensure compliance with the aim set out in Article 1 of the Structural Fund Regulation? Has the Commission called for the imperfections to be rectified, and has Germany produced the means required to do so? (b) What practical improvements will be made to eliminate inequalities between men and women and promote equal treatment? Will all of the Funds be used to finance them, and have clear-cut indicators been devised to measure the degree of success? (c) Has Germany observed the requirements of the guidelines applying to the Structural Fund Regulation, which, as far as measures to aid women are concerned, stipulate that the EU-funded support to be granted to women should be in proportion to the female unemployment rate? 3. Will the Commission approve the German regional plan even if it is not certain to achieve the goal of eliminating inequalities and promoting equality between men and women, as laid down in Article 1? Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission (9 June 2000) 1. The regional development plan (RDP) submitted by the German government on 5 November 1999 concerning the support of the structural funds for the objective 1 area envisages a sizeable contribution to promote equality between men and women. It is therefore not the case that the plan misses the objective of Removing the unequal treatment of men and women and the support of their equal treatmentí. The Deutsche Frauenratí is included as a partner in the monitoring committee. However, in view of the difficult position of women especially on the labour market in the former 2. East Germany the Commission felt that the proposals made in the RDP were not fully adequate and insisted therefore during the negotiations with the German authorities on improvements in the field of European social fund (ESF) assistance. The German authorities agreed in particular to raise assistance for the ESF policy area E áspecific measures to improve womenís access to and participation in the labour marketí from 8 % of the ESF allocation in the RDP to 10 % in the draft Community support framework (CSF). Furthermore it was agreed that in the other ESF policy fields support for women should be higher than their share in unemployment. Indicators to monitor progress are foreseen. Thus the result of the negotiations was to exceed the target set in the Commission communication on the structural funds guidelines for the 2000-2006 programming period (1), i. e. to ensure that active labour market policies are made available for women in proportion to their share in unemployment. The target set in the draft CSF for the ESF policy area E is now fully in line with the German national employment action plan (NAP) 2000 which states that ü in the whole of Germany ü 10 % of the financial resources of the ESF should be earmarked for such specific measures in the 2000-2006 period. 3. The draft CSF states that actions and measures co-financed by the structural funds and the Financial instrument for fisheries guidance shall be in accordance with Community policies and legal regulations on equal opportunities for men and women, and contribute to achieving these. The ESF is the most important instrument to be used, but in the case of the European regional development fund and European agricultural guidance and guarantee fund support for women is also a priority in relevant measures. In view of what has been said above the Commission is convinced that the implementation of the aims laid down in Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the structural funds (2) is ensured. (1) COM(1999) 344 final. (2) OJ L 161, 26. 6. 1999