WRITTEN QUESTION E-0182/00 by Paul Rübig (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Exclusion from the right to deduct VAT on cars in Austria.
3. 10. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 280 E/195 (2000/C 280 E/227) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0177/00 by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (31 January 2000) Subject: Making low-cost health insurance subject to free competition 1. Can the Commission confirm the accuracy of the announcement by the Council for Public Health and Care (RVZ) in the Netherlands to the effect that the Medical Insurance (Access) Act (WTZ) may no longer provide for a low-cost ístandard package policyí for people over the age of 65, which every private insurer is obliged to offer? Can the Commission also confirm that the MOOZ,í the solidarity levy paid by all privately insured 2. persons to compensate health insurance funds with a large number of elderly insured persons for their low premiums and high costs, is no longer authorised by the European Union? Does the Commission realise that, if the answers to questions 1 and 2 are yes, hundreds of thousands 3. of individual insured persons on low incomes will find themselves in difficulty? 4. Can the Commission also confirm that it is considering other measures which would, if implemented, lead to a sharp increase in public-sector expenditure on health care, for instance the obligation to conclude contracts with a larger number of health care providers and agreements on health care costs and cover? 5. What action does the Commission intend to take to prevent health care in the Netherlands from free becoming subordinate to considerations of competition is to increase individual and public-sector expenditure on the existing health care package unnecessarily? in particular when the result of free competition, Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission (14 March 2000) It is for each Member State to organise its social security system (including health systems) as it wishes, and to determine the conditions for entitlement to benefits under those systems, providing of course that they do so in accordance with Community law. There are Community provisions on the co-ordination of social security systems removing obstacles to the free movement of people within the Community and provisions on discrimination between men and women in social security. However, the Commission is not aware of the specific announcement described by the Honourable Member, nor of any Community measures with the characteristics described. The Commission will therefore seek further information from the Dutch authorities. (2000/C 280 E/228) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0182/00 by Paul Rübig (PPE-DE) to the Commission (31 January 2000) Subject: Exclusion from the right to deduct VAT on cars in Austria In Austria it is not possible to deduct VAT on passenger cars and estate cars; this results in blatant distortion of competition for Austrian undertakings compared with other Member States. The section of the Commissionís proposal for a directive COM(98) 377 final (1) covering the harmonisation of provisions on expenditure not eligible for deduction of the full VAT, as amended by the European Parliament, should therefore be implemented immediately. C 280 E/196 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 3. 10. 2000 Furthermore, the abolition of the VAT refund procedure under this proposal for a directive is to be welcomed because the procedure is extremely costly in virtually all Member States and, in view of the length of time it takes ü up to 5 years ü and the costs involved, it is having a damaging effect on the economy of the Union. What measures does the Commission intend to take to ensure that the changes to Directive 77/388/EEC (2) proposed in COM(98) 377 final or the proposal for a regulation can be implemented rapidly? Is the Commission thinking of bringing forward the second part of proposal COM(98) 377 final concerning exclusions from the right of deduction, since what is involved is merely the modernisation and uniform application of the existing VAT system, but in a way that will reduce distortions of competition in the internal market? (1) OJ C 219, 15. 7. 1998, p. 16. (2) OJ L 145, 13. 6. 1977, p. 1. Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission (14 March 2000) The proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 77/388/EEC as regards the rules governing the right to deduct value added tax, to which the Honourable Member refers, was sent to the Council by the Commission for adoption on 17 June 1998. It could provide a genuine response to the problems raised. Under Article 93 (ex-Article 99) of the EC Treaty, adoption of this proposal requires the Councilís unanimous agreement. The proposal is currently still on the table of a Council technical working party and no agreement has yet been reached on its adoption. The attempts to reach a compromise in the Council have the Commissionís full support. Nevertheless, it wishes to ensure that any compromise reached is in line with the aims of its proposal. As the Honourable Member rightly points out, the proposal is in two parts: first, the approximation of national rules relating to expenditure not eligible for a full deduction; and second, the introduction of a cross-border right of deduction to replace the refund procedure laid down in the eighth Council Directive 79/1072/EEC of 6 December 1979 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes ü arrangements for the refund of value added tax to taxable persons not established in the territory of the country (1). The Commission considers both parts of the proposal of equal importance. The need for them to be separated has not yet arisen in the course of the discussions in the Council. (1) OJ L 331, 27. 12. 1979. (2000/C 280 E/229) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0184/00 by Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE-DE) to the Commission Subject: Failure of Greece to comply with Community legislation (31 January 2000) According to the 1998 annual report on the harmonisation of the national legislation of the Member States with Community legislation, Greece appears to have failed to comply with Community legislation in 241 cases. Will the Commission say, in respect of the situation in 1999, in how many instances Greece failed to comply with Community legislation, what these cases were and what progress Greece has made as regards the 241 cases of non-compliance in 1998?