WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1499/99 by Hans KRONBERGER Authorisation to market Austrian products in Italy
C 27 E/98 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 29. 1. 2000 (2000/C 27 E/121) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1497/99 by Hans Kronberger (NI) to the Council (1 September 1999) Subject: Groups hiring out mercenaries There have recently been increasingly frequent reports of groups hiring out mercenaries, usually from Europe and mainly to Africa, but also to other theatres of war. 1. 2. 3. Is the Council aware of these activities? Does the Council see action to combat such groups as a task to be performed at Union level? Has the Council already taken steps to prevent such machinations? If so, what steps? If not, why not? Reply (22 October 1999) The Council has taken note of the numerous reports of foreign mercenaries of different nationalities in countries such as Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Angola and in the Western Balkans. The Council expressed its position on foreign mercenaries in particular in its Conclusions on Prevention and Resolution of Conflicts in Africa of 2 June 1997, in which Member States have committed themselves to study the possibility of taking further measures to restrain their citizens from acting as mercenaries in violent conflicts. (2000/C 27 E/122) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1499/99 by Hans Kronberger (NI) to the Commission (1 September 1999) Subject: Authorisation to market Austrian products in Italy Time and again Austrian manufacturers of technical products encounter problems when exporting their goods to Italy. These problems are due to the delay in obtaining authorisation to market these products in Italy. (This may in fact constitute an insurmountable barrier to market access for manufacturers who, being of a typically Austrian size, do not have the financial resources to see such lengthy and expensive procedures through. ) It takes Austrian manufacturers of trailers for transporting semi-liquid manure, for example, excessive time and effort to obtain certificates of roadworthiness for their products in Italy. As this measure has the same impact as quantitative restrictions, it has an adverse effect on the free movement of goods within the Union. Please indicate: 1. Is the Commission aware of this situation? 2. Has it already taken action to prevent it, and if so, what action? 3. Or does it intend to do so?