WRITTEN QUESTION P-2058/99 by Toine Manders (ELDR) to the Commission. Draft directive on the protection of workers potentially at risk from explosive atmospheres.
1. 8. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 219 E/79 (2000/C 219 E/094) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2050/99 by Camilo Nogueira RomÆn (Verts/ALE) to the Commission (3 November 1999) Subject: Expenditure eligible for public aid in respect of construction of vessels with wooden hulls The shipwrightsí trade, involving the construction of fishing boats with wooden hulls, is a traditional industry in Galicia as in a number of other EU regions. This sector has modernised and remained dynamic, competing with yards which build vessels with steel and glass fibre hulls. In Galicia, which is an Objective 1 area of the Structural Funds and is covered by the FIFG, of which small inshore fishing is an extremely important element, there are currently 65 undertakings which construct vessels with wooden hulls and supply a significant proportion of the national fleet, help to extend the countryís market beyond its borders and to maintain a high level of skilled workmanship. The proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) laying down the detailed rules and arrangements regarding Community structural assistance in the fisheries sector, of 21 January 1999 (COM(1998) 728 final (1)), takes no account of the above considerations. Article 10(2), on public aid for fleet renewal and for vessel modernisation, maintains the discrimination against vessels with wooden hulls since it states that expenditure eligible for public aid in respect of construction of fishing vessels may not exceed the scales set out in Table 1 in Annex IV, increased by 92,5 % for vessels with a hull in either steel or glass fibre, but by only 37,5 % for vessels with wooden hulls. Will the Commission indicate whether it plans to apply the same percentages to the different categories and thus put an end to this unacceptable discrimination against the shipwrightsí trade? (1) OJ C 16, 21. 1. 1999, p. 12. Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (22 December 1999) At the meeting of the Council of Fisheries Ministers on 22 November 1999 the Regulation laying down the detailed rules and arrangements regarding Community structural assistance in the fisheries sector was the subject of a political agreement. It will be formally adopted as an Aí item at the Council meeting on 16 December 1999. The new Regulation, which will enter into force on 1 January 2000, contains many innovations compared to the Regulation in force until the end of 1999. In particular, the scale of costs eligible for public aid for boat building will no longer depend on the material used. Thus, all fishing vessels with the same tonnage, whether made of wood, metal or fibreglass, will be able to receive the same amount of public aid for their construction. The conditions laid down in the Regulation for the grant of public aid for building fishing vessels will of course have to be complied with. (2000/C 219 E/095) WRITTEN QUESTION P-2058/99 by Toine Manders (ELDR) to the Commission (5 November 1999) Subject: Draft directive on the protection of workers potentially at risk from explosive atmospheres I note with some surprise the nature of the warning sign that is proposed under the above proposal for a directive (COM(95) 0310) (1). C 219 E/80 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 1. 8. 2000 Although I recognise that no further amendments can be tabled at this stage, I should nevertheless like to draw attention to the following: ü I consider the existing proposal, which requires only a simple pictogram displaying the letters EXí to appear on the warning sign, as being likely to cause confusion. ü The letters EXí can convey many meanings, and will not in themselves necessarily be immediately associated with explosion risk by all those potentially concerned. ü I think it would be more effective and much clearer to specify a warning sign displaying both the letters EXí and a pictogram representing an explosion. I therefore ask the Commission to consult with interested parties on whether the use of a sign with the letters EXí and a pictogram of an explosion might not be a more effective means of ensuring protection. That option would also have the effect of harmonising the above warning sign with those used in international transport. I would, moreover, appreciate being informed of what parties were consulted, and whether or not it is intended that this change to the warning sign should be made. (1) OJ C 332, 9. 12. 1995, p. 10. Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission (30 November 1999) Annex III of the proposal for a Council Directive on minimum requirements for improving the safety and health protection of workers potentially at risk from explosive atmospheres (1) provided for a warning sign displaying the letters EXí. The Commission had proposed this marking, taking into account the essential requirements relating to the marking of equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres, as provided for in Annex II, point 1. 0. 5, of Directive 94/9/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 23 March 1994 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres (2). In the course of the legislative procedure this warning sign was modified by the Council and by Parliament. In particular, Parliament proposed bringing the warning sign into line with the ISO (Interna- tional Standards Organisation) model in order to avoid the cost of having to modify all existing signs throughout the Community. The Commission accepted this amendment by Parliament (see Commission opinion, in accordance with Article 251, paragraph 2, subparagraph c) of the EC Treaty, on Parliamentís amendments to the Councilís common position concerning the Proposal for a Council Directive on minimum requirements for improving the safety and health protection of workers potentially at risk from explosive atmospheres1), which was also accepted by the Council. The Commission would remind the Honourable Member that, at the current stage of the legislative procedure (the conciliation procedure was concluded on 21 October 1999 ü Parliament will adopt the joint text formally at one of its forthcoming part-sessions), the Commission cannot table any amendments to the proposal for a Directive. (1) COM(95) 310 final amended by COM(1999) 283 final. (2) OJ L 100, 19. 4. 1994