WRITTEN QUESTION No. 905/99 by Phillip WHITEHEAD EU fire safety
29. 11. 1999 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 341/149 The Commission also confirms that it has not been informed of particular difficulties in relation to the recognition of diplomas for sports instructors in Italy. No complaint has been lodged in this area. Any complaints could refer to Italy’s failure to transpose the measure or to poor application of the national transposition measures, i. e. the legislative decree of 2 May 1994. Lastly # and this has been pointed out before # the Commission cannot impose on Italy specific measures for regulating the profession. In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, the Member States are sovereign as regards regulations on professions. This means that the Commission has no powers to act with regard to how Italy regulates the profession of sports instructors in its own country. Italy can also choose not to regulate a profession. Naturally, the Italian authorities are required to provide mechanisms for the recognition of diplomas and to abolish any measure that might be considered discriminatory. As has already been pointed out, however, there do not seem to be any particular problems in this respect. (1999/C 341/211) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0905/99 by Phillip Whitehead (PSE) to the Commission (8 April 1999) Subject: EU fire safety Will the Commission list the number of responses received from each EU Member State to the questionnaire sent out by the French company CETEN-APAVE relating to the implementation of the 1986 EU recommenda- tions on fire safety? What action was taken against the countries that failed to respond to the study? Answer given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission (29 April 1999) In the light of the interest that the Honourable Member has shown on several occasions in the 1996 study on fire safety in hotels, and given the amount of detail that he has requested on both the data and the methodology used, the Commission is sending him a copy of this study directly. The firm that carried out the study sent the approximately 20 000 questionnaires to hotel managers throughout Europe on a voluntary basis in order to supplement the analysis of the regulations applicable in each Member State. Consequently, the Commission had no grounds for taking action against Member States if the information sent did not meet expectations. (1999/C 341/212) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0994/99 by Patricia McKenna (V) to the Commission (20 April 1999) Subject: Responsibility for Fire Safety in the European Commission Will the Commission please give full and precise details of which department(s) is/are responsible for fire safety in the European Union. If this is more than one, would it please explain why such an important area of safety is not only poorly legislated for at a European level, but also managed by the Commission in such an apparently unconcerned and illogical manner, as if the lives of Europe’s citizens are of scant importance?