WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1401/99 by Michl EBNER Promoting and safeguarding lesser-used languages in the EU
C 27 E/48 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 29. 1. 2000 changes made by the parties concerned. Cultural benefits may rank as advantages to consumers for the purposes of these rules. To sum up, then, an exemption may be granted in the light of Article 151(4) of the EC Treaty only if the agreement or practice in question satisfies all the conditions laid down in Article 81(3) of the EC Treaty. This means that the cultural benefits claimed must be clearly demonstrated. (1) OJ 13, 21. 2. 1962; this Regulation was last amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden. (2) Cf Article 19 of the abovementioned Regulation No 17 and Commission Regulation No 1999/63/EEC of 25 July 1963 on the hearings provided for in Article 19(1) and (2) of Regulation No 17 (OJ 127, 20. 8. 1963); the latter has now been repealed and replaced by Commission Regulation (EC) 2842/98 of 22 December 1998 on the hearing of parties in certain proceedings under (the former) Articles 85 and 86 of the EC Treaty (OJ L 354, 30. 12. 1998). (3) Cf. Commission decision of 25 November 1981, VBBB and VBVB (OJ L 54, 25. 2. 1982, p. 12); Commission Decision of 12 December 1988, Publishers Association ü Net Book Agreements (OJ L 22, 26. 1. 1989); Court of Justice judgment of 17 January 1984 in Joined Cases 43/82 and 63/82, VBVB and VBBB v Commission (1984 Reports); Court of First Instance judgment of 9 July 1992 in Case T-66/89, Publishers Association v Commission (1992 Reports, II-1995); Court of Justice judgment of 17 January 1995 in Case C-360/92 P Publishers Association v Commission, (1995 Reports). (2000/C 27 E/055) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1401/99 by Michl Ebner (PPE-DE) to the Council (1 September 1999) Subject: Promoting and safeguarding lesser-used languages in the EU Will the Council outline its policy on the safeguarding and promotion of lesser-used languages in the European Union and will it back new initiatives aimed at promoting cultural and linguistic exchanges between, for example, young people in Ireland in the west of the Community, and young people in the east of Germany who are living in peripheral regions? Reply (22 October 1999) The Honourable Member is referred to the Councilís reply dated 21/1/99 to oral question H 0038/99 put by Mr Pat Gallagher on the same subject. The Council would also like to point out that it awaits with interest the Commissionís forthcoming proposal for an action programme on regional and minority languages. (2000/C 27 E/056) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1402/99 by Michl Ebner (PPE-DE) to the Commission (1 September 1999) Subject: EU approval number for vehicle registration The registration of motor vehicles is known to involve a considerable amount of bureaucracy. The introduction of the EU approval number was intended to reduce the number of administrative steps required. However, the vehicle registration offices in the Member States do not possess the necessary infrastructure, so that the EU approval number cannot be used in Italy, for example. Since Italian vehicle registration officials do not have access to the vehicleís technical data and other information on which the EU approval number is based, purchasers are still required to present a large number of papers, from the EC certificate of conformity to the certificate of noise levels