WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3054/98 by John CUSHNAHAN to the Commission. Manchester United
14. 5. 1999 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 135/161 In this perspective, the guidance values of the Recommendation should be seen as indicative upper limits and the Member States, in assessing the safety of specific products, should apply the precautionary approach. The Commission takes the view that childcare articles and toys intended to be placed in the mouth by 4. babies under 3 years, in soft PVC containing phthalates, should indeed be prohibited from marketing and withdrawn from the market where there are indications that they can harm child health, in particular taking into account the data included in the SCTEE opinion. In the absence of specific Community legislation in this area it is up to the Member States to assess the risks posed by specific products and decide the measures to be taken, in the light of the obligation established by Council Directive 92/59/EEC of 29 June 1992 on general product safety (2) under which only safe products may be placed on the market. The Member States must ensure that any such measures are justified and proportional. The Commission considers that young children in the Community should not be allowed to be 5. dangerously exposed to phthalates, taking into account the available scientific knowledge. The Com- mission intends to propose Community legislation in this area as soon as possible. Pending the entry into force of such legislation the Commission invites the Member States to check the market for these products and take the appropriate action at national level. The issue of tests on babies is a separate issue and involves considerations going beyond the specific products and risks in question. 6. The measures taken or planned by the Commission have been mentioned above. It should be noted in addition that the Commission is consulting the SCTEE again in order to obtain an updated opinion in the light of new studies on the subject which have been published recently. When it has the updated opinion of the SCTEE, the Commission will consider whether any modifications of its present policy in this area are necessary. (1) OJ L 217, 5. 8. 1998. (2) OJ L 228, 11. 8. 1992. (1999/C 135/199) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3054/98 by John Cushnahan (PPE) to the Commission (8 October 1998) Subject: Manchester United What action will the Commission take to ensure that the proposed acquisition of Manchester United by BSkyB does not conflict with EU competition policy? Answer given by Mr Van Miert on behalf of the Commission (4 November 1998) BSkyB’s proposed acquisition of Manchester United Football Club falls outside the scope of Community merger control legislation (Council Regulation (EEC) 4064/89 of 21 December 1989 on the control of concentrations between undertakings (1) as amended by Council Regulation (EC) 1310/97 of 30 June 1997 (2)) as it does not constitute a concentration with a Community dimension. In particular, the proposed acquisition does not meet the turnover threshold tests set out in Article 1 of the Regulation. In principle, therefore, national competition law and procedures apply to this proposed acquisition, which will be examined by the British authorities. (1) OJ L 257, 21. 9. 1990. (2) OJ L 180, 9. 7. 1997