WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1646/98 by Panayotis LAMBRIAS to the Commission. Need to bring Greek law into line with Community legislation on food to protect consumers
C 50/64 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 22. 2. 1999 Could the Commission introduce a scheme along the lines of the Cultural capitalí to designate an annual Port of Europeí, bestowing this honour first on Piraeus, the oldest port in Europe which has been in operation continuously from ancient times to the present day and whose contribution to the development of the shipping industry in Europe is universally accepted and acknowledged? Answer given by Mr Oreja on behalf of the Commission (16 July 1998) The European City of Cultureí scheme, which was launched on an intergovernmental basis in 1985 and over the years has proved increasingly popular with the people of Europe, has recently been the subject of a Commission proposal for a Parliament and Council Decision to establish a Community action (1). The proposal is currently under examination by the Community institutions. Neither the current arrangements nor those proposed by the Commission to safeguard the future of the scheme after 2001 contain any provision which prevents ports from applying to become the European City of Culture or from being selected under the designation system; nor are there any plans for such a provision. Ports have been selected in the past and several ports are among the current applicants for designation as European City of Culture. The Greek authorities are therefore perfectly entitled to put forward the city of Piraeus as a candidate, should they so wish. For these reasons there would seem to be no need to set up a second scheme specifically for European ports. (1) COM(97) 549, amended by COM(98) 350 final. (1999/C 50/091) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1646/98 by Panayotis Lambrias (PPE) to the Commission (29 May 1998) Subject: Need to bring Greek law into line with Community legislation on food to protect consumers According to a recently published report by the Greek authorities, Greece is far behind schedule in incorporating Community legislation on food into national law, while the relevant Greek legislation is marked by a lack of cohesion compounded by the fragmentation of the procedures and mechanisms for quality control. Does the Commission propose to take steps to further the implementation in Greece of Directive 93/43/EEC (1) which lays down rules for good hygiene practice in the countries of production, transportation and distribution of food, and to set up the necessary bodies and structures to protect the health of Greek consumers? (1) OJ L 175, 19. 7. 1993, p. 1. Answer given by Mr Bangemann on behalf of the Commission (20 July 1998) Monitoring the application of Community law, the Commission sent Greece a letter of formal notice, in February 1996, and a reasoned opinion, in December 1996, for failure to communicate any measures transposing Directive 93/43/EEC on the hygiene of foodstuffs within the given time limit. Since then the Commission has received no indication that the Directive has been transposed, and it recently decided to bring the matter before the Court of Justice