WRITTEN QUESTION E-2312/99 by Esko Seppänen (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Environmental disaster in the Kymijoki river.
1. 8. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 219 E/145 Is it true that not a single competition-distorting tax arrangement was identified in Germany, France, Italy or Britain (i. e. in the large Member States)? Is this not curious, and on what grounds was this conclusion reached? What is the Commissionís opinion of the officialsí report, and when will the Commission issue its own political assessment? Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission (20 December 1999) The code of conduct group (business taxation) was established by the Ecofin Council on 9 March 1998. By common accord, Mrs Dawn Primarolo, British Treasury minister, was appointed to chair the group for a two-year period. The groupís main task has been to assess the tax measures that may fall within the code of conduct for business taxation that was adopted by the Council and representatives of the governments of Member States on 1 December 1997. This code concerns those tax measures which affect, or may affect, in a significant way the location of business activity within the Community, and all Member States have been free to discuss and comment on tax measures of other Member States that may fall within the scope of the code. All Member States and the Commission are represented at a high level in this group which presented its final report to the Ecofin Council on 29 November 1999. The Council agreed that the work of the group should be confidential and it would not be appropriate for the Commission to comment on the detail of the report or on particular aspects of the work of this Council group. (2000/C 219 E/182) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2312/99 by Esko Seppänen (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (13 December 1999) Subject: Environmental disaster in the Kymijoki river Investigations by the Finnish Environment Centre have shown that there are between 16 and 21 kg of dioxines and furanes at the bottom of Finlandís fourth largest river, the Kymijoki. The levels of PCDF compounds are at least ten times greater than the accepted limit values. Dioxines and furanes are carcinogens and represent a particular risk if they enter the food chain. Dioxines and furanes have an effect, inter alia, on the cell nucleus in which they cause changes to the genome. Preparations are under way in Finland for the canalisation of the Kymijoki. The dredging which the canalisation requires, and the propellor turbulence caused by possible future shipping traffic, will stir up the bottom sediments so that dioxines and furanes will be carried into the Gulf of Finland, possibly threatening the ecology of the whole Baltic Sea. Is the Commission aware of this problem, and if so what can it do under the founding Treaties of the EU to prevent an environmental disaster? Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission (13 January 2000) The Commission is aware that sediments in the Baltic sea contain comparatively high amounts of dioxins. Therefore it is unsurprising that sediments in the rivers feeding the Baltic sea contain higher than average amounts of dioxins as well. The particular situation of the Kymijoki River and the level of dioxins in the sediments of that river is not known to the Commission. C 219 E/146 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 1. 8. 2000 In order to be able to compare the detected levels in the Kymijoki with the situation in other rivers, the Commission would need more information on the way results have been calculated. It would be particularly helpful to have information on the concentrations of the different congeners, the depth at which measurements were performed, and whether results have been calculated according to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization/Centre for Coastal and Maríne Sciences (NATO/CCMS) approach. At this stage, without the benefit of more detailed information, it is difficult to judge the situation. The Commission would therefore be grateful if the Honourable Member could provide the Commission with more details. In principle, legislation. Therefore the possibilities to react at a Community level are limited. this event, as described in the question, is not covered by environmental Community (2000/C 219 E/183) WRITTEN QUESTION P-2316/99 by Niall Andrews (UEN) to the Commission (29 November 1999) Subject: Failure of Malian company to pay outstanding funds, as contracted, to an Irish firm, Cormer Machinery International An Irish company, Cormer Machinery International Ltd. Entered into contract with Itema, a government- backed Malian company, to supply and install second-hand textile machinery. The contract price was USD 2,5 million, and an initial deposit of USD 850 000 was approved by the Malian Minister for Finance and received by the Irish company in 1996. An amount of USD 1,65 million has not been forwarded by Itema to Cormer Machinery International and is, therefore, still outstanding. Many discussions have taken place regarding this issue between the Irish company involved and the Development Directorate of the European Commission, as well as informally under the auspices of the ACP/EU Joint Assembly. Will the European Commissioner for Development, Mr Nielson, request an urgent meeting with the Malian representative to the European Union for an explanation as to why this Malian company has still not paid to Cormer Machinery International Ltd. The monies which it agreed to pay to this Irish firm, and will the Commissioner, as a matter of course, keep me informed about all developments regarding this issue until such time as the serious problems detailed above have been satisfactorily and fully resolved? Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission (21 December 1999) The Directorate general for development in Brussels and the delegation of the Commission in Bamako are aware of the dispute between Cormer Machinery International Ltd and Itema. the head of delegation in Bamako has informally raised the matter with the Malian authorities including, in particular, the Minister for finance. However, it is clear that the Commission has no competence in this matter which is a commercial dispute between two companies for which international arbitrage arrangements are the appropriate settlement channel. Indeed, (2000/C 219 E/184) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2325/99 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission Subject: Preservation of the shipbuilding heritage (caïques) (13 December 1999) In reply to my Written Question (E-3436/95) (1) concerning the preservation of the industrial heritage, including fishing vessels from the eastern Mediterranean, the Commission referred to the then pending Raphael programme and gave its assurance that áshould any initiatives linked with the specific fields of interest meet the eligibility criteria then the Commission will gladly take them into considerationí. In