WRITTEN QUESTION E-0779/00 by Nicholas Clegg (ELDR) to the Commission. Common commercial policy and the IGC.
26. 1. 2001 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 26 E/111 Reply (8 June 2000) The Treaty contains no specific provisions concerning a Member Stateís withdrawal, whether it be from the EU in general or the third phase of EMU. (2001/C 26 E/137) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0779/00 by Nicholas Clegg (ELDR) to the Commission (16 March 2000) Subject: Common commercial policy and the IGC In the Commissionís opinion on the Intergovernmental Conference it proposed that the provisions of the common commercial policy, including qualified-majority voting in the Council, should be extended to agreements on services and intellectual property. Can the Commission confirm that the extension of the CCP will cover all services without exception, including those in the cultural field and audiovisual services in particular? Answer given by Mr Lamy on behalf of the Commission (7 April 2000) The Commissionís opinion on the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) does not make any distinction between types of services for the purposes of extending the provisions on commercial policy in Article 133 (ex Article 113) EC Treaty. (2001/C 26 E/138) WRITTEN QUESTION P-0789/00 by Lord Inglewood (PPE-DE) to the Commission (9 March 2000) Subject: The Common Agricultural Policy In response to a Written Question from Lord Inglewood in the House of Lords (PQ 788 written 28 February 2000) Lady Hayman, the Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food said that áthe Common Agricultural Policy as currently structured does not serve farmers, consumers and taxpayers wellí. Does the Commission agree? Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (29 March 2000) The common agricultural policy (CAP) is an evolving policy. It has developed ever since its introduction to improve its contribution to the objectives laid down in Article 33 (ex Article 39) of the EC Treaty. With the 1992 reforms and the recent Agenda 2000 reforms, fundamental re-orientations of the CAP have been introduced in order to increase internal and external competitiveness, and the quality orientation of agricultural production, to ensure a fair standard of living for the farming community, to better integrate environmental goals into the CAP and to enhance rural development and the creation of complementary or alternative income and employment opportunities