WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2444/98 by Angela SIERRA GONZÁLEZ to the Commission. Information on the Chiquita multinational
C 207/8 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 21. 7. 1999 (1999/C 207/009) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2444/98 by Angela Sierra González (GUE/NGL) to the Commission Subject: Information on the Chiquita multinational (30 July 1998) It has recently been reported in various sections of the media that sole responsibility for the pressure brought to bear on the US Administration to challenge the EU’s COM for bananas before the World Trade Organisation can be attributed to the Chiquita multinational (in opposition to the views of other multinationals: Del Monte and Dole). According to these reports, a delegation comprising members of the US Congress, representatives of various organisations, etc. , recommended after visiting a large number of Caribbean states in Central America that the US should negotiate with those states on the banana regime without the threat of unilateral sanctions and that the US should not compel other parties to comply with the resolution adopted by the WTO panel against the COM for bananas in the European Union. The delegation also noted that the pressure exerted by the Chiquita multinational was clearly damaging to the island states of the Caribbean which benefited from the convention between ACP countries and the EU and that it would boost the interests of that multinational in Latin American countries, where very poor working conditions were a defining feature. Is the Commission aware of this information? Does the Commission believe that the resolution adopted by the WTO panel on the COM for bananas responds more to the interests of the Chiquita multinational than to those of banana-growing countries in America? Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (29 September 1998) The Commission is aware of media coverage as outlined by the Honourable Member. The Commission firmly believes that any international trade dispute should be settled according to the appropriate procedures under the terms of internationally agreed multilateral trade agreements and that individual countries should not adopt unilateral actions outwith these procedures. The Commission is not in a position to comment on the effects of World trade organisation (WTO) rulings on individual companies since WTO procedures concern countries and not individual companies. (1999/C 207/010) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2492/98 by Richard Corbett (PSE) and Bernie Malone (PSE) to the Commission Subject: M62 Liverpool 6 Hull corridor (30 July 1998) Does the Commission agree that the M62 corridor is a trans-European link of importance not only to Northern England but also to Ireland, with the bulk of Irish trade with continental Europe using this route? Is the Commission aware of the 7 km gap between the end of the M62 and Liverpool docks which is the only non-motorway section and where lorries must make their way through the urban streets of Liverpool or Sefton in order to access this dock? Has the Commission been informed of the proposal to convert the disused railway tunnel from Edge Hill to Waterloo Dock into a road tunnel at relatively low cost, which would be a wonderfully simple solution to this problem? Would such a budget be eligible for assistance from the EU under the TEN’s budget or under the ERDF?