WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2331/98 by John McCARTIN to the Commission. WTO Agreements on EU beef exports
C 118/58 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 29. 4. 1999 Directive 91/689/EEC on hazardous waste (3) refers to Article 7 of Directive 75/442/EEC and requires the authorities to ádraw up, either separately or in the framework of their general waste management plans, plans for the management of hazardous waste and [to] make these plans publicí. Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste (4) requires the Member States to include a specific chapter on the management of packaging and packaging waste in the waste management plans. Not having received the waste management programmes in accordance with the abovementioned Directives, the Commission sent the Greek authorities a letter of formal notice, in reply to which the said authorities sent a draft law transposing Directive 94/62/EC. As programmes have not been set up in accordance with Directives 75/442/EEC, 91/689/EEC and 94/62/EC, the Commission will press ahead with infringement proceedings against Greece. It is the Court of Justice which decides that a Member State has failed to fulfil an obligation. The Member State must then (EC Treaty Article 171) take the necessary measures to comply with the Courtís judgment, failing which the Commission may bring the case before the Court and propose a penalty to be paid by the in its judgment (5). In its Member State. The Court alone has the authority to fix the amount, communication of 28 February 1997 the Commission laid down the method for calculating the penalty payment provided for in Article 171 of the Treaty (6). (1) OJ L 194, 25. 7. 1975. (2) OJ L 78, 26. 3. 1991. (3) OJ L 377, 31. 12. 1991. (4) OJ L 365, 31. 12. 1994. (5) OJ C 242, 21. 8. 1996. (6) OJ C 63, 28. 2. 1997. (1999/C 118/070) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2331/98 by John McCartin (PPE) to the Commission (27 July 1998) Subject: WTO Agreements on EU beef exports Can the Commission state whether the EU has exported to third countries the full amount of beef permitted under the 1992 WTO agreements over the last three years and, if not, what is being done to promote sales of beef to third countries in order to reduce amounts held in intervention? Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (8 September 1998) In the first general agreement on tariffs and trade (GATT) year 1995/1996 (1 July-30 June) the Community could export 1 137 000 tonnes of beef with refunds. The final export figure was, however, only 1 019 090 tonnes, due to the commercial effect of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) crisis. In the second GATT year 1996/1997 the export ceiling was reached by the end of June. In the third GATT year 1997/1998, the export ceiling was 1 010 900 tonnes. A preliminary figure indicates that the Community exported 957 253 tonnes of beef, 950 007 tonnes with export refunds and 7 246 tonnes of intervention beef. The quantity left over may be used for exports of intervention beef during the fourth GATT year. To that effect several selling regulations are currently in application, which include both bone-in and boneless beef