WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1357/98 by Allan MACARTNEY to the Commission. Fish meal
C 50/28 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 22. 2. 1999 (1999/C 50/036) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1342/98 by JosØ García-Margallo y Marfil (PPE) to the Commission (29 April 1998) Subject: The euro and 1999 On page 110 of the Commissionís report of 25 March 1998 (state of convergence and recommendations for the transition to the third stage of EMU), it is stated: The so-called ôstock-flow adjustmentö regroups factors, other than the government deficit, which contribute to the variation in the stock of government gross debt: included are changes in the net holdings of financial assets, changes in the value of debt denominated in foreign currency and other statistical adjustmentsí. Can the Commission explain what type of statistical adjustments it is referring to? Answer given by Mr de Silguy on behalf of the Commission (3 June 1998) The government deficit is the main element explaining the variation in the stock of government debt. However, due to the specific definitions of deficit (general government net borrowing) and of debt (general government consolidated gross debt at nominal value) and to technical specificities, other elements influence the variation of the debt level. These elements include changes in the holdings of financial assets, changes in the value of government debt denominated in foreign currencies and other statistical adjustments. The other statistical adjustments regroup adjustments to the value of index-linked bonds and to the valuation of bills and bonds in case of differences between the issue price and the nominal value. Adjustments are also needed to take into account the fact that accounts receivable and payable and trade credits are not included in the debt, whereas these operations influence the deficit. These adjustments can either make a positive or negative contribution to the change in the debt level. However, they are small and usually amount to less than 1 % of the gross domestic product (GDP). (1999/C 50/037) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1357/98 by Allan Macartney (ARE) to the Commission (7 May 1998) Subject: Fish meal Can the Commission confirm that fish meal is classified as an animal protein source and what the ramifications of this classification are? Given that fish meal was cleared of any risk by the UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, can the Commission explain why there is a ban on the use of fish meal in ruminant diets? Does the Commission foresee any further extension of this ban? Has the Commission considered the effects of the ban, and any extension of it, on the fish meal industry? What studies has the Commission undertaken, firstly to prove any risk, and secondly, to ascertain the impact on the fish meal and related industries? Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (19 June 1998) According to Article 2 of Directive 92/118/EEC (1), fishmeal is defined as a processed animal protein intended for animal consumption. Chapter 6 of this Directive lays down the rules for trade and imports of this product