WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1726/99 by Werner LANGEN Meat hygiene legislation in Rhineland-Palatinate
29. 1. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 27 E/167 (2000/C 27 E/205) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1724/99 by Camilo Nogueira RomÆn (Verts/ALE) to the Commission (29 September 1999) Subject: Regularisation of the universal postal service in the Galician countryside Directive 97/67/EC (1) on universal postal services in the European Community ü and, consequently, Law No 24/1998 of the Spanish state ü stipulate the obligation at Member State level to operate a universal postal service and to provide that public service áevery working day and not less than five days a weekí. This obligation is not being fulfilled in the countryside of Galicia, in which almost 50 % of all the inhabited localities of the Spanish state are situated, but where the Posts and Telegraphs administration systematically delivers mail on alternate days only. This arbitrary practice translates into a large number of lost jobs. It also results in a fictitious reduction in costs which could, in the future, prevent the authorities concerned from obtaining complementary funding under Commission rules. What action does the Commission intend to take to ensure that the Posts and Telegraphs administration of the Spanish state operates a full postal service in the Galician countryside? (1) OJ L 15, 21. 1. 1998, p. 14. Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission (3 November 1999) The postal Directive 97/67/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 1997 on the internal market of Community postal services and the common rules for the development of improvement of quality of service does indeed oblige the Member States to take measures to ensure that the universal service provider guarantees one collection and one delivery every working day and not less than five days a week, save in circumstances or geographical conditions deemed exceptional by the national regulatory authorities, which must then communicate these to the Commission. To date, however, the Commission has received no notification of any exceptional cases of this kind. Spanish Law No 24/1998 transposes this obligation, which must therefore be met by the postal operator responsible for the universal service in Spain. It is up to the Spanish authorities to ensure the effective application of this measure. Having been notified of the situation in Galicia by the Honourable Member, the Commission will seek information from the Spanish authorities and remind them of their obligations regarding the universal look into the proper postal service. On the basis of the information it receives, the Commission will implementation of this Directive in the case in question and determine what action needs to be taken. (2000/C 27 E/206) WRITTEN QUESTION P-1726/99 by Werner Langen (PPE-DE) to the Commission (27 September 1999) Subject: Meat hygiene legislation in Rhineland-Palatinate As already described in Written Question P-0010/1999 (1), the meat hygiene legislation in the German Land of Rhineland-Palatinate provides for extremely high inspection costs for animals for slaughter. The Rhineland-Palatinate meat hygiene implementing law infringes EU law as it does not provide for flat-rate charges as set out in the 1985 EC Directive on fees. The Directive stipulates that any deviations from the standard rates must be subject to compliance with efficiency criteria, which have to be laid down by law. Slaughter volume is not considered an admissible criterion under EU law, but is recognised as such in