WRITTEN QUESTION E-0561/00 by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission. EU respect for powers and responsibilities.
C 280 E/218 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 3. 10. 2000 (2000/C 280 E/260) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0561/00 by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission (29 February 2000) Subject: EU respect for powers and responsibilities Please indicate in the occasions on which the European Court of Justice has found the Union to be acting ultra vires (i. e. exceeding its powers). Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission (7 April 2000) The Commission is collecting the information it needs to answer the question. It will communicate its findings as soon as possible. (2000/C 280 E/261) WRITTEN QUESTION P-0667/00 by Christoph Konrad (PPE-DE) to the Commission (29 February 2000) Subject: Set-aside premiums for RWE and Rheinbraun (Germany) Is it true that the German undertakings RWE and Rheinbraun have received EU set-aside premiums 1. for land on which brown coal is being mined? 2. 3. If so, on what legal basis, for what period and in what amount have the premiums been paid? If so, were the payments made once only, or are they continuing? Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (27 March 2000) As regards payments mentioned by the Honourable Member there is actually no knowledge that such 1. payments have been made or are being made in relation to the companies RWE or Rheinbraun. Set-aside payments for surfaces, which are currently subject to open-cast-mining would contravene the relevant Community legislation. Council Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92 establishing a support system for producers of certain arable crops (1) and Commission Regulation (EC) No 762/94 laying down the detailed rules thereof (2) provide for the requirements in connection with the set-aside of land. Paragraph 2 of Article 3 of the latter Regulation, among others, states clearly that such area must be cared for so as to maintain good cropping conditions. Moreover, such area must not be put to any lucrative use incompa- tible with the growing of an arable crop. Using an area for the open-cast-mining of brown coal would, in fact, lead to the disappearance of the land in question and would, therefore, obviously be incompatible with these conditions. Given this legal framework the German authorities would therefore be barred from paying aid for set-aside for such land. It falls within the competence of the Member Statesí authorities to check whether an aid application for set-aside payments meets the conditions under the relevant Community legislation. Like the other Member States, Germany (in this case Northrhine-Westphalia) is bound under the regulations establishing an integrated administration and control system (Council Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 (3) and Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3887/92 (4)) to submit all area aid applications to an administrative control. Moreover, at least 5 % of the applications have to be controlled on the spot. Applications