WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3661/98 by José GARCÍA-MARGALLO Y MARFIL to the Commission. The millennium bug
21. 7. 1999 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 207/105 Will the Commission provide guidelines on how to devise and implement a programme to combat this problem? Answer given by Mr Bangemann on behalf of the Commission (15 January 1999) Due to the complex nature of the Year 2000 computing problem, the various interfaces between different products and systems, and the enormous number of products which could potentially be affected, it is not possible to define one standard methodology to address all aspects of this problem. Nevertheless, the Commission’s Year 2000 world wide web site (http/www. ispo. cec. be/y2keuro) contains links to web sites of Member States’ governments and relevant industry sectors which provide various guidelines on how to address the problem. (1999/C 207/141) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3661/98 by José García-Margallo y Marfil (PPE) to the Commission (7 December 1998) Subject: The millennium bug It has been established that the ‘millennium bug’, a problem also known as the ‘year 2000 effect’, may affect all types of programmable electronic systems (PESs), ranging from mainframe computers to microchips. These systems are employed for all nature of industrial purposes at the various stages of the production process, in the transport sector, in the public services and so forth. Furthermore, the said systems are date- dependent and their reaction on the first day of the new millennium will be critical. For those reasons, it would advisable to pinpoint the risks involved. Has the Commission carried out a general analysis of the nature of the problems which may arise and of the potential errors or breakdowns in date-dependent systems? Answer given by Mr Bangemann on behalf of the Commission (15 January 1999) The Commission would refer the Honourable Member to its communications (1) (2) on the Year 2000 computing problem and on how the Community is tacking the Year 2000 computing problem respectively. (1) COM(98) 102. (2) SEC(98) 2100. (1999/C 207/142) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3664/98 by José García-Margallo y Marfil (PPE) to the Commission (7 December 1998) Subject: Counterfeiting and piracy On 22 October 1998 the Commission announced the publication of a Green Paper on combating counter- feiting and piracy in the single market, with which it launched wide-ranging consultations on the matter with interested parties in the Member States. In the Commission’s view, what impact have these practices had on the EU economy?