WRITTEN QUESTION E-0358/00 by Elisa Damião (PSE) to the Commission. European standardisation of machinery and equipment.
24. 10. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 303 E/183 (2000/C 303 E/207) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0357/00 by Elisa Damiªo (PSE) to the Commission (14 February 2000) Subject: Health and safety at work The drastic fall in the fertility rate of men and women and the problems of pregnant women (miscarriages, premature births, transmission of diseases and increase in disorders which the scientific community attribute to modern-day living and working conditions) are underestimated and are not included in the statistics relating to occupational diseases. Neither are adequate preventive measures taken. This is undermining maternity and paternity rights, with serious implications for the population balance of European societies. Will the Commission provide all the information available on the matter at both European and national levels? Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission (23 March 2000) The Commission is closely monitoring research and information on the problems which certain agents found in workplaces can have on both female and male fertility. As far as science is concerned, there is neither unanimity nor firm evidence of any possible global decline in human fertility caused by exposure to agents found in the working environment. In 1998 the Commission asked a recognised scientific institute to carry out a second specific study of infertility and occupational factors. This study includes an analysis of the effects of the agents most commonly encountered in the working environment on fertility and provides a very useful synopsis of the research projects carried out in this field. A copy of the final report is being sent directly to the Honourable Member and the Parliament Secretariat. Furthermore, in recent years, scientific circles have devoted special attention to the possible effects on human health ü especially the reproduction aspects ü of áendocrine disruptersí, which are chemicals capable of changing or disrupting the endocrine system. In 1999 an Opinion on human and wildlife health effects of endocrine disrupting chemicalsí was adopted and published by the Scientific Committee on Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment. One of the Committeeís findings is that áalthough there are associations between endocrine disrupting chemicals, so far investigated, and human health disturbances, a causative role of these chemicals in diseases and abnormalities possibly related to an endocrine disturbance has not been verifiedí. Furthermore, the opinion reports that á a meta-analysis of 61 studies has reported a general decrease in sperm concentration and semen volume from 1938 to 1990. However, several reanalyses of the same data have indicated possible bias and confounding in the meta-analysis, and have reached different conclusions with respect to sperm quality, depending on the methodology usedí. A copy of this opinion is being sent directly to the Honourable Member and the Parliament Secretariat. In any event, the Commission is continuing to monitor these matters systematically with a view to adopting any appropriate Community initiatives on the prevention of fertility problems resulting from occupational exposure to certain agents. (2000/C 303 E/208) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0358/00 by Elisa Damiªo (PSE) to the Commission (14 February 2000) Subject: European standardisation of machinery and equipment On the basis of research by the Cancer Institute, the Commission has identified a new risk related to wood dust which causes genetic alterations and cancer. What measures has CEN-Cenelec been asked to take to remove the health hazard caused by existing equipment and machinery? C 303 E/184 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 24. 10. 2000 Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission (28 March 2000) Acting on a proposal from the Commission, the Council adopted Directive 1999/38/EC (1) on 28 April 1999, amending for the second time Directive 90/394/EEC (2) on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens at work and extending it to mutagenic agents. This Directive adds áwork involving exposure to hardwood dusts to the processes referred to under Annex I. í Consequently, all the protection and preventive measures provided for by Directive 90/394/EEC must be applied to workers exposed to such dusts. Moreover, Council Directive 89/655/EEC, as amended by Directive 95/63/EC of 5 December 1995, concerning the minimum safety and health requirements for the use of work equipment by workers at work (second individual directive within the meaning of Article 16 (1) of Directive 89/391 EEC) (3) lays down in the second paragraph of point 2. 5 of Annex I that áwork equipment presenting hazards due to emissions of gas, vapour, liquid or dust must be fitted with appropriate containment and/or extraction devices near the sources of the hazard. í It is for the Member States to define the arrangements for practical application. As the task of the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) and of the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation (Cenelec) is to focus on standardising new equipment, no request in this context has been made to these organisations. (1) OJ L 138, 1. 6. 1999. (2) OJ L 196, 26. 7. 1990. (3) OJ L 335, 30. 12. 1995. (2000/C 303 E/209) WRITTEN QUESTION P-0361/00 by Florence Kuntz (UEN) to the Commission (4 February 2000) Subject: Recovery of VAT on cars A Luxembourg company is proposing that a French company should hire cars in the knowledge that invoices will be drawn up every three months, free of tax but with Luxembourg VAT. The Luxembourg company claims that the French company will be able to recover the VAT from Luxembourg. The proposed contract does not suggest a value for the repurchase or retrieval of the vehicles by the French company; when the contract expires the cars are given back to the Luxembourg company, which intends to resell them to a second-hand car dealership in Gibraltar, which will then be able to sell them on wherever it likes, possibly in France. Can the Commission answer the following: 1. Can the French company recover the VAT from Luxembourg? 2. Can French drivers use cars registered in Luxembourg? 3. Can the Luxembourg company recover the VAT on private cars? 4. If the Gibraltar company sells a car which is over six months old, does it have to pay the VAT in France or Gibraltar? If so, is VAT payable on the total amount or the margin? Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission (14 March 2000) Under Article 9(1) of the Sixth VAT Directive (1), car hire services are subject to VAT in the Member 1. State where the supplier has established his business. In the case described, the VAT is therefore payable in Luxembourg. As the company established in France uses the cars for business purposes, it can recover the VAT paid in Luxembourg pursuant to the Eighth VAT Directive