WRITTEN QUESTION P-2539/99 by Caroline Lucas (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Report on animal welfare required under Council Directive 98/58.
C 219 E/178 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 1. 8. 2000 Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission (24 January 2000) The Commission is conducting a detailed investigation of the problem raised by the Honourable Member and will inform him of the outcome as soon as possible. (2000/C 219 E/227) WRITTEN QUESTION P-2539/99 by Caroline Lucas (Verts/ALE) to the Commission (16 December 1999) Subject: Report on animal welfare required under Council Directive 98/58 Article 8 of Council Directive 98/58 (1) concerning the protection of animals kept for farming purposes requires the Commission, before 30 June 1999, to submit to the Council a report: (a) comparing animal welfare provisions in the Community and in non-member countries which supply the Community, (b) on the scope for obtaining wider international acceptance of the welfare principles laid down in Council Directive 98/58, and (c) on the extent to which Community animal welfare objectives may be liable to be undermined as a result of competition from non-member countries which do not apply equivalent standards. Bearing in mind that the above report is closely connected to the impact on animal welfare of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules and that the new WTO Round is to commence shortly, when does the Commission intend to submit the report required by Directive 98/58? (1) OJ L 221, 8. 8. 1998, p. 23. Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission (27 January 2000) The Commission is aware of the relevance of the report in respect of the priority given to animal welfare policies inside the Community and the importance of obtaining a wide international acceptance of these policies. To draw up this report, the Commission has sent letters to those third countries supplying red meat, poultry meat, fish products and live animals to the Community, requesting information on their legislation or guidelines in the field of animal protection on the farm, during transport and at the time of slaughter. The Commission has written to 104 countries and has received information from 73 of them. The analysis of the information is continuing and it is anticipated that the report will be presented to the Council shortly. (2000/C 219 E/228) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2546/99 by Guido Podestà (PPE-DE) to the Council (22 December 1999) Subject: Former frontier cities Protracted piecemeal research involving many officials from different Directorates-General of the Com- mission has revealed a total absence of any study by the European Union institutions concerning all those