WRITTEN QUESTION E-0562/00 by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission. Legislation and the manufacturing industry.
13. 2. 2001 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 46 E/13 The Commission is aware of serious problems caused by unsustainable bushmeat consumption and bushmeat trade among developing countries, in particularly in parts of Africa. The Commission has therefore under the environment budget line supported a study in order to identify the magnitude of bushmeat trade in Africa, to determine the underlying causes and to define possible policy measures. The results of the study will be published soon. The threat to wildlife is in the first place from habitat degradation and destruction. The Commission supports projects and programmes, which focus on the sustainable management of ecosystems as well as the preservation of protected areas. Tropical forests are among the most important habitats for wildlife, and for primates in particular. Therefore, activities supported under the tropical forest budget line have many links with wildlife. Attention to conservation and sustainable use of wildlife by the local population is also given through several rural development programmes funded under the European development fund or the export earnings stabilization system for least-developed countries in Asia and Latin America. In both cases this is mainly done in the context of a álivelihoodí approach, where local development opportunities are linked with the conservation of biodiversity. Local use of wildlife is not necessarily illegal or unsustainable. Significant pressure on endangered wildlife is also exerted by illegal activities (e. g. hunting and trade) not at least in unstable situations of warfare or social unrest. In this context, Community support for ágood governanceí and ácapacity buildingí projects and programmes is therefore also important to tackle the problem. (1) OJ L 61, 3. 3. 1997. (2001/C 46 E/016) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0562/00 by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission (29 February 2000) Subject: Legislation and the manufacturing industry How many regulations has the EU produced which affect the manufacturing industry in each of the last five years? How many equivalent regulations have been produced by each Member State? Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission (11 May 2000) The wide spectrum of the Communityís fields of activities makes it difficult to identify all pieces of Community legislation which may have an indirect impact on manufacturing industry. However, for legislation directly applicable to industry, the Honourable Member will find below the required statistics on legal acts adopted during the course of the last five years. These cover, on the one hand, the number of legal acts adopted by the Community (387 in total) and, on the other hand, the corresponding technical regulations notified to the Commission within the framework of Directives 83/ 189/EEC and 98/34/EC (3 057 in total). the number of Although one would expect to see a certain disparity between the two sets of figures, because of the nature of the legal instruments used by the Community (regulations or directives), and the timing of their transposition into national law, the Honourable Member will notice the relatively large divergence between these statistics. This issue was examined by the Commission, with concern, in its 1995 report on National Regulations applicable to Internal Market productsí (1). In substance, the report confirmed the widespread perception that Member States frequently add (gold-plate) to Community rules in their transposition measures, by failing to opt for the simplest of a range of options or by requiring complicated procedures to achieve requirements set out in directives. This not only increases the limited number of Community rules but also imposes unnecessary burdens on business while contributing, unfairly, to the perception of the Commun- ity as a source of red tape. C 46 E/14 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 13. 2. 2001 The Commission is currently updating the above report and is, of course, ready to be of further assistance to the Honourable Member, should he be interested to obtain more precise information on the subject. Statistics relating to legal acts adopted by the Community (CELEX Data Base) ü 1995-1999 1995 38 1996 79 1997 122 1998 70 1999 78 Total 1995-1999 387 Statistics relating to technical regulations notified within the framework of Directive 83/189/EEC/Directive 98/34/EC ü 1995-1999 Notifications Member States Belgium Denmark Germany Greece Spain France Ireland Italy Luxembourg The Netherlands Austria Portugal Finland Sweden United Kingdom 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Total 1995-1999 26 36 92 12 25 61 1 31 1 43 25 5 17 5 59 17 28 88 16 19 41 4 27 0 62 61 19 34 34 73 59 40 99 12 35 51 3 31 0 341 106 7 22 23 71 900 50 55 76 11 24 47 1 32 2 122 69 11 23 30 51 604 20 43 85 17 31 54 4 25 1 128 69 6 24 35 49 591 172 202 440 68 134 254 13 146 4 696 330 48 120 127 303 3 057 Total (15) 439 523 (1) 28 February 1995-III/2185-EN/final-Experience acquired in the framework of Directive 83/189/EEC. (2001/C 46 E/017) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0566/00 by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission (29 February 2000) Subject: Implications of asymmetrical legal position of ownership In what sectors of the EU economy is it still the case that an asymmetrical legal position concerning ownership still exists, in other words, where it is possible for a state-owned company in one Member State to buy a private company in another, but where it is impossible for a private company to enter the market of the state-owned company? Is this still the case of the French electricity market? What measures is the Commission taking to open up those markets it indicates? Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission (19 May 2000) The Commission does not have at its disposal the necessary data to give the Honorable Member an exhaustive answer on all the asymmetrical legal positions of ownership in all sectors of the economy