WRITTEN QUESTION E-2214/99 by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) and Sergio Berlato (UEN) to the Commission. Oilseed sector and the Millennium Round.
8. 8. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 225 E/73 (2000/C 225 E/072) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2205/99 by Astrid Lulling (PPE-DE) to the Commission (29 November 1999) Subject: Searches carried out at the homes of Belgian frontier workers employed in Luxembourgís banking sector Investigators from the financial section of the Brussels CID conducted searches on Saturday, 30 October 1999 at the Belgian residences of employees of the Kredietbank in Luxembourg. A large number of frontier workers had already received from the special tax inspectorate in Belgium a questionnaire requiring them to list their accounts with the KBL, the amount of income generated by savings and the nature of the transactions carried out via these accounts. Does the Commission share the opinion of the Luxembourg union of bank staff which denounces as to frontier workers to violate scandalous and defamatory these actions which are an incitement Luxembourgís rules on banking secrecy with which they are required to comply by Luxembourg law? Does it believe that making criminals of frontier workers in this way is compatible with the right of workers to freedom of movement and the conditions of employment deriving from the labour law in the country of employment? What measures would it contemplate, where necessary, to guarantee that the right of workers to freedom of movement is not obstructed by actions on the part of the authorities of the country of residence of frontier workers which merit the description of intolerable psychological pressure? Answer given by Mr Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission (28 January 2000) There are no rules on bank secrecy in Community law. From the point of view of the legal instruments adopted by the European Union in the field of judicial cooperation on criminal matters, there is nothing that would prohibit the Belgian financial police from searching the houses of people working in Luxembourg banks. Again, there are no legal provisions in the acquis on cooperation in criminal matters that would prohibit the Belgian authorities from sending out questionnaires to frontier workers. As these measures do not discriminate on the basis of the nationality of the people concerned, the Commission does not see them as obstacles to freedom of movement for workers. (2000/C 225 E/073) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2214/99 by Cristiana Muscardini (NI) and Sergio Berlato (UEN) to the Commission Subject: Oilseed sector and the Millennium Round (29 November 1999) It is common knowledge that the outcome of the compromise reached over Agenda 2000 at the European Council meeting in Berlin was unsatisfactory for the oilseed sector. This sector deserved greater attention, to protect it from international ü and particularly American ü competition. It is a sector which in Italy alone accounts for some 90 000 firms. The agreement reached at the last meeting of the Council of Ministers for Agriculture over the EU document to be presented at the forthcoming WTO negotiations in Seattle places special emphasis on the multifunctional character of the current European agricultural model. C 225 E/74 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 8. 8. 2000 1. Can the Commission explain why Europe has completely sacrificed its oilseed sector? 2. Can it confirm the news that the US is about to launch an emergency plan with a view to granting extraordinary aid to US farmers (to the tune of 9-10 billion dollars, according to the press) to compensate for the drop in world prices of agricultural primary products? Can it say whether, under the Fair Actí introduced as part of US agricultural policy, oilseed support 3. has exceeded 1992 levels? 4. What, if any, action does it intend take to prevent this strategic sector from being overwhelmed by crises such as those which have stricken the rice-growing sector? Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (11 January 2000) The provisions adopted in the oilseeds sector in connection with the Agenda 2000 package are to some extent already covered in the Answer given by the Commission to the Honourable Memberís Written Question No E-3652/98 on the proposals concerned (1), in particular where it deals with the alignment of area aid for cereals, oilseeds and set-aside on a single amount, namely € 63 per tonne of cereals, such tonnage being based on historical regional yields. The Council has endorsed this approach, leaving the road clear for the lifting of the Blair Houseí constraints on oilseed production, but has decided that it should be implemented in stages, a decision which in essence does not affect the answer given earlier by the Commission. With regard more specifically to points 1 and 4, the Commission would draw the attention of the Honourable Member to the provisions relating to the transitional period for aid for oilseeds, provisions which are set out in Article 10 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1251/1999 of 17 May 1999 establishing a support system for producers of certain arable crops (2). The Commission will present a report on developments on the oilseed market and may put forward proposals at that stage if there is a serious reduction in the production potential. On points 2 and 3, the Commission feels that, partly as a result of US farm policy on soya, downward pressure has been brought to bear on world prices which is likely to disrupt markets in agricultural raw materials. When examining whether, as a result of that policy, the support granted by the United States for that crop in 1992 has been exceeded, account should be taken of Article 13 of the Agreement on Agriculture, otherwise known as the Peace Clauseí, which limits the scope for action against farm subsidies. Generally speaking, scrutiny of the conformity of that policy falls entirely within the scope of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). (1) OJ C 325, 12. 11. 1999. (2) OJ L 160, 26. 6. 1999. (2000/C 225 E/074) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2217/99 by Massimo Carraro (PSE) and Paolo Costa (ELDR) to the Commission Subject: Measures to assist Venice (29 November 1999) On 16 April 1999 the European Parliament adopted the joint motion for a resolution (B4-0358, 0359, 0361, 0362 and 0363) on the crisis in Venice, which advocated the inclusion by the Commission, the Italian Government and the Veneto region, of the historic centre of Venice and its lagoon in the new Structural Fund Objective 2 in order to enable state aid to be granted by way of derogation from the rules on competition pursuant to Article 92(3)(c) of the EC Treaty. The Commission was also asked not to consider as ástate aidí the tax concessions already granted by the Italian Government to businesses operating in Venice and the lagoon area, since these businesses could not compete on an equal footing with those on the mainland and in other European cities