WRITTEN QUESTION P-2299/99 by Hanja Maij-Weggen (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Tax arrangements which distort competition within the EU.
C 219 E/144 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 1. 8. 2000 ü promotion of a label to guarantee consumer protection and certify that products have been manufactured in compliance with labour laws, thereby ensuring that the WTO membersí economies develop on a fair and sustainable basis and safeguarding intellectual property rights, which implies taking action to combat fraud in this as in other areas. Answer given by Mr Lamy on behalf of the Commission (20 December 1999) The Commission is fully aware of the difficulties experienced by the Communityís textile and clothing sector. With the entry into force of the World trade organisation (WTO) agreement on textiles and clothing (ATC), a process of staged liberalisation has begun that will lead to the complete removal of quantitative import restrictions with WTO members by 1 January 2005. The Commission is convinced that in preparation for this date the creation of a álevel playing fieldí, allowing the Communityís industry equal access in third country markets, will be indispensable for the sector. Therefore, it will be necessary to attack the numerous tariff and non-tariff trade barriers which Community exports face in many trading partnersí markets. In its communication (1) to the Council on the new round of trade talks, the Commission presented a comprehensive tariff approach, aiming notably at harmonising tariff structures and removing tariff peaks. It further underlined the necessity to attack non- tariff trade barriers. The Commission believes that voluntary schemes which promote labelling of textile products, in order to identify products produced respecting social and labour rights, can be helpful to raise awareness in the general public and facilitate consumersí choice. The Commission takes a hard line on cases of textile fraud and circumvention. The textiles anti-fraud initiative (TAFI) was created to deal with this serious issue and cases where malpractice is suspected are rigorously investigated by the European Anti-fraud Office (OLAF). As far as the protection of intellectual property rights in the sector is concerned, the Commission has commissioned a handbook to help Community producers achieve adequate protection against counterfeit. Furthermore, the Commission presented on 22 June 1999 an amended proposal for a Council regulation on the European Community design (2). This would encourage innovation and help to prevent counter- feiting and piracy by providing for protection of industrial designs, including textile designs, throughout the Community single market. The Commission considers the policies and measures described above to be necessary in order to provide for the European textiles and clothing industry a fair and equitable trading environment in which it can fully unfold its comparative advantages and bring to bear its competitive potential. (1) COM(1999) 331 final. (2) COM(1999) 310 final. (2000/C 219 E/181) WRITTEN QUESTION P-2299/99 by Hanja Maij-Weggen (PPE-DE) to the Commission (29 November 1999) Subject: Tax arrangements which distort competition within the EU Can the Commission confirm that a working party of Commission officials has identified 60 tax arrangements in a number of Member States which may be regarded as distorting competition? Is it true that according to the working partyís report the Netherlands heads the list of countries with tax arrangements that distort competition, nine of its arrangements coming in for criticism for this reason? Which are the nine offending tax arrangements? 1. 8. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 219 E/145 Is it true that not a single competition-distorting tax arrangement was identified in Germany, France, Italy or Britain (i. e. in the large Member States)? Is this not curious, and on what grounds was this conclusion reached? What is the Commissionís opinion of the officialsí report, and when will the Commission issue its own political assessment? Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission (20 December 1999) The code of conduct group (business taxation) was established by the Ecofin Council on 9 March 1998. By common accord, Mrs Dawn Primarolo, British Treasury minister, was appointed to chair the group for a two-year period. The groupís main task has been to assess the tax measures that may fall within the code of conduct for business taxation that was adopted by the Council and representatives of the governments of Member States on 1 December 1997. This code concerns those tax measures which affect, or may affect, in a significant way the location of business activity within the Community, and all Member States have been free to discuss and comment on tax measures of other Member States that may fall within the scope of the code. All Member States and the Commission are represented at a high level in this group which presented its final report to the Ecofin Council on 29 November 1999. The Council agreed that the work of the group should be confidential and it would not be appropriate for the Commission to comment on the detail of the report or on particular aspects of the work of this Council group. (2000/C 219 E/182) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2312/99 by Esko Seppänen (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (13 December 1999) Subject: Environmental disaster in the Kymijoki river Investigations by the Finnish Environment Centre have shown that there are between 16 and 21 kg of dioxines and furanes at the bottom of Finlandís fourth largest river, the Kymijoki. The levels of PCDF compounds are at least ten times greater than the accepted limit values. Dioxines and furanes are carcinogens and represent a particular risk if they enter the food chain. Dioxines and furanes have an effect, inter alia, on the cell nucleus in which they cause changes to the genome. Preparations are under way in Finland for the canalisation of the Kymijoki. The dredging which the canalisation requires, and the propellor turbulence caused by possible future shipping traffic, will stir up the bottom sediments so that dioxines and furanes will be carried into the Gulf of Finland, possibly threatening the ecology of the whole Baltic Sea. Is the Commission aware of this problem, and if so what can it do under the founding Treaties of the EU to prevent an environmental disaster? Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission (13 January 2000) The Commission is aware that sediments in the Baltic sea contain comparatively high amounts of dioxins. Therefore it is unsurprising that sediments in the rivers feeding the Baltic sea contain higher than average amounts of dioxins as well. The particular situation of the Kymijoki River and the level of dioxins in the sediments of that river is not known to the Commission