WRITTEN QUESTION P-0305/00 by Jens-Peter Bonde (EDD) to the Commission. Social benefits.
3. 10. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 280 E/207 In the light of the foregoing, does the Commission not believe that it should: 1. 2. intervene in order to ascertain that the sale of the Società Editrice Romana was lawful and has not damaged free competition; call on the Italian authorities to take steps to protect a leading daily and freedom of expression, which is possibly being endangered by Bonifaciís strategies; 3. express a general view on the matter? Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission (20 March 2000) The Commission thanks the Honourable Member for sharing her concerns regarding the current situation of the Il Tempo newspaper. However, the matters referred to in the question do not have any cross-border dimension liable to come under the principles of freedom of movement or the rules on competition within the internal market. This being the case, the Commission cannot comment on the matter. (2000/C 280 E/245) WRITTEN QUESTION P-0305/00 by Jens-Peter Bonde (EDD) to the Commission (4 February 2000) Subject: Social benefits Will the Commission say whether the Danish practice of allocating old-age pensions and government education grants on the basis of citizenship is consistent with EU law? Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission (28 February 2000) Each Member State is responsible for its own social security system and decides which benefits shall be provided, the conditions for eligibility and the value of these benefits. There are, however, Community provisions for the co-ordination of these systems in Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons and their families moving within the Community (1) and Council Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 of 21 March 1972 fixing the procedure for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 (2) in order to ensure that employed persons, self-employed persons and members of their families do not lose their social security protection when moving within the Community and also to ensure that the basic principles of equality of treatment and non-discrimination are respected (3). According to Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71, people resident in the territory of one Member State shall be subject to the same obligations and enjoy the same benefits under the legislation of any Member State as the nationals of that State. Should nationals of other Member States not be granted the peopleís pension under Danish legislation on an equal footing with Danish nationals this would constitute a breach of Community law. The Honourable Member refers also to education grants. In this respect, the principle of áequality of treatmentí means that the university or college where a citizen of the Union wishes to study must accept students under the same conditions as nationals. Therefore, if a grant is paid to nationals of the Member C 280 E/208 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 3. 10. 2000 State where a citizen of the Union wishes to study, to cover course fees (tuition fees), he or she must be able to receive it. However, the áequality of treatmentí principle does not apply to support or maintenance grants intended to help the students pay their daily living expenses, unless the student is a migrant worker or a family member of a migrant worker. In this last case, he is entitled under Community law, namely Articles 7 and 12 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 of 15 October 1968 on freedom of movement for workers within the Community (4), also to social advantages in the same conditions as the nationals. In conse- quence and as stated above, if the Danish legislation cited by the Honourable Member concerns these kind of grants, citizens from other Member States, which fulfil the requirements of Regulation (EEC) No 1612/ 68, should benefit from those education grants. (1) OJ L 149, 5. 7. 1971 as last modified by OJ C 6, 10. 1. 1998. (2) OJ L 74, 27. 3. 1972 as last modified by OJ L 323, 13. 12. 1996. (3) OJ L 28, 30. 1. 1997. (4) OJ L 257, 19. 10. 1968. (2000/C 280 E/246) WRITTEN QUESTION P-0333/00 by Barbara Weiler (PSE) to the Commission (4 February 2000) Subject: Rules governing the award of public contracts 1. What rules does the Commission intend to adopt to protect national labour markets from social dumping in connection with the award of public contracts? 2. What is the Commissionís assessment of the national laws on the posting of workers and what political action does it consider should be taken in the light of experience hitherto? Does the Commission intend to take measures to stem the proliferation of pseudo-independent 3. businesses? Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission (28 February 2000) 1. The Commission would like to remind the Honourable Member, with regard to the transnational context, that on 16 December 1996 the Council and Parliament adopted Directive 96/71/EC concerning In terms of Community the posting of workers in the framework of employment law, it is this Directive which, through the protection it provides for workers, makes the most significant contribution towards establishing fair competition among businesses. It lays down a nucleus of mandatory rules on minimum protection to be observed in the host country by employers who post workers to perform temporary work in the territory of a Member State where services are provided. The Directive applies without distinction to the public and private sectors. the provision of services (1). 2. The deadline for incorporation of Directive 96/71/EC into national law was 16 December 1999. In view of this date, and taking account of a number of delays in communicating national laws, it would appear to be too early for an assessment of experience hitherto. 3. For the moment the Commission does not intend to take measures in this connection. (1) OJ L 18, 21. 1. 1997, pp. 1-6