WRITTEN QUESTION E-0687/00 by Michel Hansenne (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Origin of goods ‐ tariff preferences.
C 374 E/134 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 28. 12. 2000 (2000/C 374 E/158) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0687/00 by Michel Hansenne (PPE-DE) to the Commission (9 March 2000) Subject: Origin of goods ü tariff preferences When the Community, upon presentation of a certificate of origin (Form A) endorsed by the customs authorities of the producer country, grants tariff preferences for the importation of products from certain the origin has not been developing countries and it subsequently (after importation) emerges that determined in accordance with Community rules, what penalties (without going into too much detail on national laws) does the Community importer generally incur? Likewise, what penalty is imposed on the customs officer who completes the customs formalities for such importations into the Community? Furthermore, has the Commission organised over the past two years any training courses on Community rules of origin in the following countries: Rwanda, Congo Brazzaville, Congo Kinshasa, Liberia, Algeria and Indonesia? Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission (18 April 2000) The sanction generally incurred by the importer in cases such as that referred to by the Honourable Member is that he has to pay non-preferential customs duties even if he is unable to pass on the cost of the duties to the persons to whom he has meanwhile sold the goods. The importer only escapes these consequences when, under certain restricted conditions, his legitimate expectations are protected by Court of Justice case law. This is not the case when a certificate of origin A has been issued on the basis of incorrect declarations by the exporter. According to Court of Justice jurisprudence, a customs agent, by the very nature of his functions, undertakes liability for the correctness of the documents that he presents to the customs authorities. Over the last two years, the Commission has organised a number of training seminars on rules of preferential origin under the LomØ Convention. The seminars are organised by region among the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP). In July 1998 two seminars were organised for West Africa, in Côte díIvoire (Participants: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte díIvoire, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Togo) and in Ghana (Participants: Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone). In March 1999 a seminar was organised for Central Africa in Cameroon (Participants: Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Congo- Brazaville, Congo-Kinshasa, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, Central African Republic and Sªo TomØ). (2000/C 374 E/159) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0688/00 by Robert Goebbels (PSE) to the Council (13 March 2000) Subject: Possible amendment of Article 105(6) of the EC Treaty Article 105(6) of the EC Treaty stipulates that the Council may confer upon the ECB specific tasks concerning policies relating to the prudential supervision of credit institutions and other financial institutions áwith the exception of insurance undertakingsí. However, the large European market in financial services being established calls for global prudential supervision, particularly following the countless mergers or acquisitions, not to mention the acquisition of cross holdings, among banks, insurance undertakings, investment funds and other professionals in the financial sector. Several EU Member States have already introduced single national prudential supervision for the financial sector as a whole, including insurance undertakings, or are in the process of doing so. Would it not be wise to take the opportunity offered by the intergovernmental conference to propose that Article 105(6) be amended so as to provide the legal basis necessary to enable the Council to confer upon the ECB certain specific tasks, including those relating to prudential supervision of insurance undertakings?