WRITTEN QUESTION E-0546/00 by William Newton Dunn (ELDR) to the Commission. Welfare of laying hens.
13. 2. 2001 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 46 E/11 An interdepartmental working party consisting of representatives of financial units from the Directorates- General is currently looking into the root causes of under-performance and will propose improvements. In Part Two of the White Paper Reforming the Commission: Action planí (1) the Commission confirms that one of the objectives of the reform is to achieve 95 % of payments within 60 days by 2002 (Action 10: Departments will be asked to set their own targets for meeting the Commission-wide target of payment in 60 days for 95 % of invoices by 2002 and to report on measures taken and results in their Annual Activity Report). The appraisal by the Commission of the outputs delivered by services will take into account this indicator. In addition, the Commission will set up a central invoices register to allow better follow up (Action 11 of the White Paper). (1) COM(2000) 200 final. (2001/C 46 E/013) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0527/00 by Michl Ebner (PPE-DE) to the Commission (28 February 2000) Subject: Abolition of duty-free and tax privileges for diplomats With reference to Question E-1996/99 (1) and the Commissionís answer, which states that the tax privileges for which the 1961 Vienna Convention provides are no longer justified in the European internal market and should really be abolished, the Commission is asked to say whether, in accordance with the principle of fairness and political decency, it intends to extend the argument consistently advanced on the subject of the abolition of duty-free sales to all citizens of the EU and bring to an end the similar special privileges enjoyed by the EUís diplomatic staff? (1) OJ C 219 E, 1. 8. 2000, p. 63. Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission (14 April 2000) On the issue of privileges granted to diplomats under the Vienna Convention, the Commission has nothing further to add to its reply to the previous Written Question E-1996/99 by the Honourable Member. (2001/C 46 E/014) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0546/00 by William Newton Dunn (ELDR) to the Commission (28 February 2000) Subject: Welfare of laying hens If the EU fails to secure a welfare clause in the forthcoming WTO negotiations, what will the Commission do to ensure that producers are protected from a flood of cheap, third-country imports? C 46 E/12 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 13. 2. 2001 Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission (12 May 2000) As the Honourable Member will know, there was considerable resistance at the Seattle World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ministerial Conference to the Community call to include animal welfare in the agenda for the next round of trade talks. It is clear that much of this resistance was based on a misunderstanding of our objectives. The Commission will continue to work actively both to launch a comprehensive round of trade talks and to create a better understanding of our concerns on animal welfare in order to achieve a satisfactory outcome. (2001/C 46 E/015) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0553/00 by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission (29 February 2000) Subject: Consumption of the meat of endangered primates According to a recent report by the World Conservation Union, one of the leading environmental lemurs and other primates risk associations in the United States, around 25 species of monkeys, disappearing from our planet in the next 10 to 20 years. This threat of extinction is caused not only by the destruction of tropical forests, but also by an increasingly alarming phenomenon ü the exponential growth in the consumption of monkey meat. The blame is being laid first and foremost on the logging companies, trading in tropical timber, which allegedly fail to provide their workers with sufficient food. Furthermore, the problem of poaching has become more serious as a result of the wars which are devastating central Africa and have put an end to tourism, which was previously the cornerstone of the local economies. Now that gorillas are no longer useful as a tourist attraction, their meat has acquired enormous value as a delicacy. Can the Commission say what measures it intends to take to guarantee the protection of the primate species under threat of extinction? Can it issue a directive banning all forms of trade in monkey meat within the EU, especially considering the serious viral risk presented by the consumption of such meat? Can the Commission also put the required pressure on the WHO to ban such practices in the countries in question? Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission (4 April 2000) The information available to the Commission indicates that trade of illegal primate meat towards the Community is not a significant factor in the context of the extinction of endangered primates. Interna- tional commercial trade in parts or derivatives of great ape species is already prohibited under the provisions of the Convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora (CITES) as it is for all other species threatened with extinction included in its Appendix I and Annex A of Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 (1), which implements CITES in the Community. A great number of developing countries are party to CITES as well as 14 Member States