WRITTEN QUESTION E-0857/00 by Roger Helmer (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Construction products directive.
C 374 E/172 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 28. 12. 2000 constitutional changes in order to fully respect all minorities. In addition, there was also a reference to their commitment to starting work on adopting a law on education and the use of minority languages in accordance with the standards of the Council of Europe. Given the commitments accepted by the Croat Government and its first action plan, the Commission expects initial results in April. With regard to Slovenia, accession negotiations were opened in the light of the Commissionís opinion of July 1997, which stated that Slovenia fulfilled the political criteria laid down at Copenhagen. Slovenia presents the characteristics of a democracy, with stable institutions guaranteeing the rule of law, human rights, and respect for and protection of minorities. The Commission found in particular that Italian citizens in Slovenia had obtained recognition as a minority and the associated constitutional rights. The Commission is aware that the process of returning property is very slow in Slovenia. It is following the process carefully in the context of bilateral relations and discussed the matter at a recent Association Committee meeting on 23 March 2000. However, the Commission has no power to intervene directly on this matter. Article 295 (formerly Article 222) of the EC Treaty expressly states that it shall in no way prejudice the rules in Member States governing the system of property ownership. (2000/C 374 E/202) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0856/00 by Lord Inglewood (PPE-DE) to the Commission (21 March 2000) Subject: Eurostar socio-economic data What is the measure of statistical error in the socio-economic data produced by the Statistical Office of the European Community for GDP/PPS 1994-1996 and for the unemployment rate in 1995-1997? Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission (19 April 2000) As regards GDP/PPS, the Commission does not have the necessary information to calculate the error rate requested by the Honourable Member. However, as part of its ongoing project to improve the quality of its statistics (Qualistat), the Commission has implemented various measures with the general aim of improv- ing the accuracy of these indicators. As regards unemployment rates, calculated using the Community Labour Force Survey, Article 3 of Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98 of 9 March 1998 (1) on the organisation of a labour force sample survey in the Community requires Member States to ensure that, for a group of unemployed people representing 5 % of the working age population, the relative standard error for the estimation of annual averages at NUTS II level shall not exceed 8 % of the sub-population in question. (1) OJ L 77, 14. 3. 1998. (2000/C 374 E/203) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0857/00 by Roger Helmer (PPE-DE) to the Commission (22 March 2000) Subject: Construction products directive The construction products directive was designed to remove barriers to trade within the European Union. It is designed to ensure that all products sold within the construction industry within the EU are fit for 28. 12. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 374 E/173 their intended use. Each product will bear a CE mark to indicate compliance with a harmonised European specification or a European technical approval. There will be a transitional period within which national and harmonised standards can be used. One of the areas affected by the harmonised standards is ásafety in the case of fireí. Has the Commission estimated the cost of the implementation of harmonised standards to the fire safety industry? What assurances can Commission give that the harmonised standards will be implemented simultaneously across all Member States? How will the Commission ensure that individual Member States do not add their own test methods or criteria, thereby perpetuating barriers to trade? Will the Commission reassure the industry that the test laboratory capacity is adequate to cope with the re-testing of every product? Given the demand on the notified laboratories, will the Commission permit a CE mark to be issued from tests undertaken in accordance with the final draft of the prEN (Draft European Standard)? Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission (26 April 2000) Whilst no specific evaluation of the costs to the fire safety industry has been carried out, the Commission considers that the benefits of the internal market for producers, in terms of increased access to European markets without the need for multiple testing to different national standards, will far outweigh the initial costs of implementing the harmonised standards. The obligation to implement the harmonised standards arises simultaneously in each Member State. Having fixed the transitional arrangements in consultation with the Member Statesí representatives in the standing committee on construction, the Commission will closely monitor the implementation measures taken in each Member State. This practice is already well established in other areas in the form of an internal market scoreboard. The Commission has all of the legal instruments necessary to ensure that the Member States regulate in accordance with the EC Treaty. If necessary, the Commission will not hesitate to commence infringement proceedings in cases where these obligations are not net. In fixing the duration of the period of co-existence of national and European standards, the Commission will take account of the capacity of the notified bodies to undertake the necessary work in relation to attestation of conformity. Directive 89/106/EEC on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to construction products (1) stipulates that the CE marking must be affixed on the basis of the finalised European standard. However, testing carried out by an approved laboratory in accordance with the definitive final draft of a standard may subsequently be taken into account during the formal attestation of conformity procedures. (1) OJ L 40, 11. 2. 1989