WRITTEN QUESTION E-0400/00 by William Newton Dunn (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Melton Mowbray pork pies.
C 374 E/66 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 28. 12. 2000 Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (6 April 2000) In accordance with Article 2 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 of 23 July 1992 on protection 1. of the Communityís forests against fire, on 2 February 1993 Greece sent to the Commission a list of areas classified by degree of forest-fire risk. The list, which accorded the whole country a duly substantiated classification as an áarea of high riskí, was approved by Commission decision C(93)1619 of 24 June 1993. Following that approval, and in accordance with Article 3 of the same Regulation, on 24 June 1993 Greece sent to the Commission a national forest-fire protection plan; on 7 March 1994 the Commission delivered an opinion stating that the plan complied with Article 3. Lastly, on 8 October 1999 Greece sent to the Commission an update of the initial plan covering a 10-year period (1994-2003). On 10 January 2000 the Commission delivered a new opinion concluding that Greeceís updated plan continues to meet the objectives and guidelines referred to in Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92. Each year since its entry into force in 1994, Greece has also been providing the Commission with the data required by Commission Regulation (EC) No 804/94 of 11 April 1994 laying down certain detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 as regards forest-fire information systems (1). 2. Under Council Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 of 17 November 1986 on the protection of the Communityís forests against atmospheric pollution and Council Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 (already referred to above), the Community granted € 71,48 million in aid for measures relating to all the Mediterranean Member States (Greece, Spain, France, Italy and Portugal) during the period 1995-1999. Of that amount, € 13,64 million (19 % of the total) was allocated in aid to Greek measures over the same period. Greece also received other forms of Community part-financing in the sphere with which the 3. Honourable Member the period 1994-1999, € 55,6 million was granted in Cohesion Fund assistance. The other Mediterranean Member State to have had recourse to the Fund is Spain (€ 565 million). Portugal did not allocate Cohesion Fund appropriations to forestry. is concerned. For As regards the EAGGF (Guidance Section), under the second Community Support Framework for Greece (1994-1999) and the Community initiatives, € 224 million from the available appropriations was allocated to forestry. In Portugal, € 79,7 million was allocated to forestry under the CSF for 1994-1999, while in Spain € 510 million was allocated to forestry and to environmental protection under the CSF for the same period. (1) OJ L 93, 12. 4. 1994. (2000/C 374 E/077) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0400/00 by William Newton Dunn (PPE-DE) to the Commission (15 February 2000) Subject: Melton Mowbray pork pies Will the Commission grant to Melton Mowbray, in Leicestershire, the same protection of its name and regional status as it has granted to the producers of Champagne and Stilton cheese with regard to the making of the traditional, world-famous pork pies? 28. 12. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 374 E/67 Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (24 March 2000) Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 (1) introduced a Community registration and protection scheme for the geographical designations of agricultural products and certain foodstuffs. Wine sector products are not covered. Meat-based products such as pork pies are among the types of foodstuff to which the scheme applies. Application for inclusion in the scheme is a voluntary matter. It would be up to a group of the relevant producers to launch the procedure for registration of the name Melton Mowbray Pork Pies under Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92. Article 4 of the Regulation requires submission of a specification exactly defining the product and geographical area concerned and showing how the two are linked. Compliance with the criteria set for registering the name as a ágeographical indicationí or those for registering it as a ádesignation of originí must be demonstrated. A decision on conformity of the application with the Regulationís requirements would not be possible unless all the necessary information had been transmitted to the Commission through the agency of the United Kingdom authorities. A Community procedure for objection to the protection of any particular name is designed to protect the interests of other producers. This involves a notice in the Official Journal. (1) OJ L 208, 24. 7. 1992. (2000/C 374 E/078) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0402/00 by Camilo Nogueira RomÆn (Verts/ALE) to the Commission Subject: Arrest of the skipper of a fishing vessel on RØunion (15 February 2000) The Galician citizen JosØ Ramón Hombre Sobrido, skipper of the fishing vessel Camouco, was arrested more than two months ago on RØunion, where he is still being detained. The Commissionís Director-General for Fisheries did not give a specific reply to my question on the subject in Parliamentís Committee on Fisheries. Is the Commission aware of the situation, and does it know on what grounds this European citizen is being detained by the authorities of France, an EU Member State? Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (3 April 2000) In September 1999 Mr Hombre Sobrido, the master of the fishing vessel Camouco, which flies a Panama flag and is owned by Merce Pesca sa, was arrested by a French frigate for alleged unlawful fishing of toothfish in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Crozet Islands (Reunion). Mr Hombre Sobrido was later released from arrest, but is still confined to the island as the authorities took away his passport. On 14 January 2000 Panama requested the release of the vessel and its master in the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg. This is a tribunal which has been established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. It delivered its judgement on 7th February 2000 ordering the prompt release on the deposit of a financial security of FRF 8 million. So far the French authorities did not follow the judgement and claim to be not satisfied with the conditions of the deposit. A trial date was scheduled at the Court of Appeals in RØunion for 24 March 2000 for the court to look into the matter of the return of Mr Sobridos passport. A trial on the merits has been convened for 4 April 2000