WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2138/98 by John IVERSEN to the Commission. Animal welfare and the Belgian Blue breed of cattle
C 297/4 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 15. 10. 1999 (1999/C 297/005) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2127/98 by José Pomés Ruiz (PPE) to the Commission (10 July 1998) Subject: Aid for new company installations The State aid granted to new industrial installations is subject to a ceiling which, published information suggests, may have been exceeded when the Alfacel company set up a new installation in Dueñas (Palencia), thereby distorting competition and damaging the sector as a whole. Can the Commission say: + what measures DG XVI is adopting to establish the total amount of State aid in question, including aid local, provincial, regional, national or from State funds and that provided by any kind of public, Community body? + how should DG IV proceed if it does indeed emerge that State aid has exceeded 65 % and reached 90 %? + does the Commission possess information or a file on the aid granted to the said company? Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (25 September 1998) The Commission has several mechanisms to prevent the ceilings on aid being exceeded. As a preventive measure, the Directorate-General for Competition is consulted on all programmes to be part-financed by the Structural Funds and the decision granting aid is not signed until it indicates its agreement. During the implementation of programmes, the Commission participates in the monitoring committees and in the on- going assessment. It also receives implementation reports. It contacts the authorities of the Member States regarding any specific problems. After implementation of the programmes, the Commission takes part in the ex-post evaluation. Despite these various mechanisms, the increasing number of programmes with aid schemes part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) can make checks difficult to carry out when aid could come from a variety of sources. This is leading, in the case of Spain, to demands for more sophisticated inspection mechanisms. As a pilot experiment, an aid register is being set up in the region of Castile-Leon. The Commission plans to extend the register to all areas eligible under the Structural Funds during the next programming period. With regard to Alfacel, the Commission has requested further information from the Spanish authorities in order to check that the national, regional and Community aid paid to the company for its investment project did not exceed the cumulative ceiling. (1999/C 297/006) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2138/98 by John Iversen (PSE) to the Commission (10 July 1998) Subject: Animal welfare and the Belgian Blue breed of cattle Because of their size Belgian Blue calves can be born only by Caesarean section. The breed can however be raised in the European Union so that in Denmark 7 000 Belgian Blue calves are born by Caesarean section. A case is currently pending between a Swedish farmer and the EU Court of Justice about whether Sweden can maintain its ban on imports of semen and animals of this breed. Can the Commission confirm or deny that it is dangerous for cows repeatedly to have calves by 1. Caesarean section? In view of the animal welfare protocol adopted in the common agricultural policy, will the Commission 2. take the initiative to draw up specific animal welfare criteria?