WRITTEN QUESTION E-1272/00 by Dirk Sterckx (ELDR) to the Commission. Criteria for visual acuity in Directive 91/439 on driving licences.
C 53 E/118 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 20. 2. 2001 criteria stipulated for rural areas by Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds (1) certainly cover the difficulties facing a number of mountain areas: a population density of less than 100 people per km2, a percentage share of agricultural employment in total employment which is higher than the Community average, a decline in population since 1985, ageing or decline of the agricultural working population. Other aspects of the resolution will be progressively taken into account during the 2000-2006 implemen- tation period of the Structural Funds. Since Community Initiatives may operate in areas not eligible under Objectives 1 and 2, new Community support options are available to mountain areas ü including under the Leader+ Initiative. The guidelines for the Communityís Interreg III Initiative, which the Commission adopted on 28 April 2000 (2), also make specific reference to mountain areas. The new common agricultural policy (CAP) will likewise enable better account to be taken of mountain areasí needs, in terms both of the market (extensification premium under the market organisation for beef and veal) and of support for rural development, the new guidelines for which offer such areas attractive opportunities (agro-environmental measures, compensatory allowances for less-favoured areas, support for adapting and developing rural areas). In order to describe all the Community measures relating to mountain areas, the Commission drew up a special booklet which it presented at the Second European Mountain Convention in Trento in March 2000. A copy of that booklet has been sent directly to the Honourable Member and to Parliamentís Secretariat. This represents a step towards the comprehensive approach which the action plan aims to promote. The process will progressively involve the various Commission departments, other Community institutions and a number of bodies specialised in promoting mountain interests with regard to the international year of the mountain in 2002. In principle, this will apply to each new Member State joining the Union. The Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession (ISPA), the action plan for coordinated aid to Poland and Hungary (PHARE), and particularly the special accession programme for agriculture and rural development (Sapard) already provide scope for trying out measures which are specifically targeted at mountain areas or which benefit them indirectly. (1) OJ L 161, 26. 6. 1999. (2) COM(1999) 479 final. (2001/C 53 E/150) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1272/00 by Dirk Sterckx (ELDR) to the Commission (19 April 2000) Subject: Criteria for visual acuity in Directive 91/439 on driving licences By way of implementation of Directive 91/439 (1) on driving licences, Belgian legislation on lorry drivers lays down a criterion for visual acuity of at least 8/10 for the better eye and 5/10 for the weaker eye, if necessary using corrective lenses (e. g. spectacles or contact lenses). The result of this new standard on visual acuity is that people with a álazy eyeí can no longer become lorry drivers. Furthermore, a number of lorry drivers who have been regarded as medically capable for years may suddenly fail to obtain a new driving aptitude certificate. Is the Commission aware of this situation? Is it not possible to revise the Directive to take account of the specific case of lorry drivers with a álazy eyeí? Is it not at least possible to make an exception for lorry drivers who obtained their licences at a time when less stringent standards applied? (1) OJ L 237, 24. 8. 1991, p. 1. 20. 2. 2001 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 53 E/119 Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission (6 June 2000) Annex III of Council Directive 91/439/EEC of 29 July 1991 on driving licences (1) lays down minimum health criteria for driving power-driven vehicles, including eyesight criteria. Current scientific evidence suggests that the criteria laid down for health in general, and for eyesight in particular, are not stringent enough in view of the requirements of road safety, in their present form. However, the Commission is also aware that Annex III does not allow less stringent health criteria to be maintained on a national level for those drivers who obtained their licence before the coming into force of the Directive. The Commission proposal for the Directive contained a clause allowing this, but it was not adopted by the Council. The committee on the driving licence discussed the practical and social implications, notably for professional bus and lorry drivers, on several occasions in 1998 and 1999. The Commission is currently considering amending Directive 91/439/EEC and, within the limits of road safety requirements, any proposal could once again allow for less stringent health criteria to be maintained on a national level for professional drivers who obtained their licences before it comes into force. (1) OJ L 237, 24. 8. 1991. (2001/C 53 E/151) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1275/00 by Camilo Nogueira RomÆn (Verts/ALE) to the Commission (19 April 2000) Subject: Spanish Government holding back 12 % of the additional milk quota for Galicia The Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Jesus Posada, recently announced in Santiago de Compostela that the central administration was going to hold back 12 % of the 207 000 tonnes of the additional milk quota for Galicia, which should be being allocated in full in April, explaining that this step was necessary in order to deal with possible claims or unexpected developments. Does the Spanish Government actually have the power to take such a decision? Will the Commission ensure that the Spanish Government respects the granting of the additional milk quota to the farmers of Galicia, who actually require a substantial increase in their permitted production levels? Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (25 May 2000) The allocation of the individual reference quantities, and in particular the additional quantities available thanks to the specific increase decided by the Council under Agenda 2000, is, in accordance with Council Regulation (EEC) No 3950/92 of 28 December 1992 establishing an additional levy in the milk and milk products sector (1), a matter for the Member States using objective criteria. The Member States are, however, required to notify the Commission of the measures adopted for this allocation. In its memorandum to the Commission of 21 March 2000, Spain stated that it had reached agreement on quota distribution with the authorities of the Autonomous Communities. The Commission has no more detailed information at the moment but would certainly not take a negative view of any retention in a national reserve of a certain percentage of the additional milk quota, as reported by the Honourable Member, in order to cope with specific needs. (1) OJ L 405, 31. 12. 1992