WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1055/98 by Giacomo SANTINI , Claudio AZZOLINI , Umberto SCAPAGNINI to the Commission. Encouraging the non-food use of agricultural products
C 31/12 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 5. 2. 1999 the Commission directly promotes the network using information technology (Europa web site, and the 100 or so web sites devoted to EICs), the Euro-Infoí newsletter, and events and specialised fairs for small and medium- sized enterprises in which the Commission participates. The Commission finally recalls that self-promotion at a local level is one of the tasks of Euro info centres. An activity report produced by EICs is contained in the report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee, and the Committee of the Regions (25 November 1997) (1). (1) COM(97) 610 final. (1999/C 31/014) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1034/98 by David Bowe (PSE) to the Commission (6 April 1998) Subject: Shipment of waste to certain non-OECD countries With regard to the proposal for a Council regulation establishing common rules and procedures to apply to shipments to certain non-OECD countries of certain types of waste (COM(94) 0678), there has been much concern expressed by exporters of second-hand clothes. Worn clothing and textilesí appear under Annex II (the Green List) of the Waste Shipments Regulation 259/ 93 (1), although this covers these materials only when they are considered as waste. Can the Commission define when áworn clothing and textilesí constitute waste? (1) OJ L 30, 6. 2. 1993, p. 1. Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (8 June 1998) The qualification of items as waste has to be made in the light of the definition of waste as laid down in Article 1 a) of Council Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 on waste (1). On the basis of this provision waste is any substance or object in the categories set out in Annex I which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard. As Annex I contains a catch all entry (Q16 Any materials, substances or products which are not contained in the above categoriesí) the qualification of a material as waste depends on whether it is discarded or intended or required to be discarded by the holder. Clothes have to be considered as discarded when the holder puts them into a collection scheme for worn clothes. Re-usable clothes which are separated from the overall mass of discarded clothes no longer qualify as waste after having been sorted, washed and if necessary repaired. The product quality of the item can only be determined after the completion of these operations which ensure their re-usability. It should be noted that these criteria for the distinction between waste and product are specific to the case of worn textiles. Accordingly, these criteria of distinction between worn clothes and second hand clothes do not necessarily apply to other wastes. (1) OJ L 194, 25. 7. 1975. (1999/C 31/015) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1055/98 by Giacomo Santini (PPE), Claudio Azzolini (PPE) and Umberto Scapagnini (PPE) to the Commission (6 April 1998) Subject: Encouraging the non-food use of agricultural products As part of the reform of the CAP the Commission communication to the Council and European Parliament entitled Development and future of the CAPí (COM(91) 258, 22 July 1991) states that the use of agricultural products for non-food purposes should be encouraged