European Parliament
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
24 . 4 . 95 EN Official Journal of the European Communities No C 103/ 1 I (Information) EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT WRITTEN QUESTIONS WITH ANSWER WRITTEN QUESTION E-2101/94 WRITTEN QUESTION E-2157/94 by Jesús Cabezón Alonso ( PSE ) by Stephen Hughes ( PSE ) to the Council to the Commission (7 October 1994) (18 October 1994) ( 95/C 103/01 ( 95/C 103/02 ) Subject: IV programme to fight poverty Subject: Risks to public health from mobile hand-held telephones On what criteria did the Council refuse to approve the IV programme to combat social exclusion and encourage Can the Commission provide information on health risks solidarity which had been approved by both Commission posed by the use of hand-held mobile telephone and Parliament ? equipment ? Does the Council not think that even taking account of the Can the Commission provide the information in relation to principle of subsidiarity, the 'added value ' of a Community telephone equipment marketed in the past .and now in use, programme such as this is extremely positive in fighting equipment now being marketed and the next generation of social exclusion and its causes ? equipment and express the risk in relation to the wattage of the equipment in question ? Answer (16 March 199S) Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission (21 February 1995) As the President of the Council said in his address in the debate on combating social exclusion and poverty that took place at the plenary sitting on 27 October 1994 , the Council Exposure to electro-magnetic fields at the frequency range is aware of the dire circumstances of the poorest and most involved in cellular radio telecommunications ( 890 to 1 900 vulnerable groups in our society. However, to date the MHz ) is known to induce heating in tissues and organs, the Council has been unable to reach agreement on the IV magnitude of which depends on the radiated power received programme to combat poverty proposed by the from the source of the field in question . Temperature rises of Commission. about 1 °C from such heating, can, depending on the person concerned and the specific environmental conditions, The Honourable Member will find further details in the produce a variety of health effects such as reduced metabolic replies given in the abovementioned debate . heat production and vasodilation, increased plasma corticosteroid levels , growth retardation and post-natal changes in behaviour . More severe effects may occur at higher temperatures . No C 103/2 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 24 . 4 . 95 On the basis of the scientific evidence available , the The recognition procedure may at times involve waiting international non-ionizing radiation commission has set an periods of several months . It is not only difficult to obtain upper limit for the specific energy absorption rate for the such recognition in certain categories and/or sub-categories whole body of 0,4 watts per kilo ( W/kg ) for workers and or different classifications but also to retain them . This 0,08 W/kg for the general public ( 1 ). The former value was sometimes induces undertakings to tender for work at used in the proposal by the Commission for a Directive on economically irresponsible prices in order to meet the the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the requirements . exposure of workers to the risks from physical agents ( 2 ). The system has been perfected to such a degree that it Exposure from cellular radio handsets , and the attendant constitutes a serious obstacle for construction companies health risk, is very difficult to quantify . Power classes for from other Member States tendering for contracts in such transmitters vary; the harmonized European standard Belgium and thus represents a restriction of competition . known as GSM ( Groupe Spécial Mobile ), operating in frequencies spread around 900 MHz, has three classes In view of the abovementioned obstacles , does the at 0,8 , 2,5 and 5 W, whereas the newer personal Commission consider that this Belgian system is in breach of communication networks ( PCN), such as the DCS1800 the provisions on the internal market, and, if so, what with frequencies spread around 1 800 MHz has two classes measures does it intend to take in this regard ? at 1 and 0,25 W. Calculations reported in a survey carried out on behalf of the Commission show that the maximum radiated power from a GSM handset ( class 3 ) would be 1,11 W which would correspond to a maximum specific energy absorption rate of 3,4 W/kg, with the corresponding Answer given by Mr Vanni d'Archirafi value for a DCS1800 handset being 1 W/kg . on behalf of the Commission (5 January 1995) Such values must, however, be interpreted with caution, as the exact exposure circumstances may well be different from those used in the above 'worst-case' calculations . 1 . The Directive now applicable to public works contracts ( Council Directive 93/37/EEC (*)) stipulates that (») 'Health Physics' 24 ( 1988 ), 1 , pp . 115—123 . contracts are to be awarded after the suitability of ( 2 ) OJ No C 230, 19 . 8 . 1994 , p . 3 . contractors has been checked, possibly by way of a recognition procedure . Checking the suitability of contractors is carried out by the contracting authorities in accordance with the criteria of economic and financial standing and technical knowledge or ability referred to in the Directive . In Bellini ( 2 ), the Court ofJustice ruled that these criteria are WRITTEN QUESTION E-2164/94 not exhaustive and recalled that the contracting authorities are required to specify in the contract notice or in the by Karla Peijs ( PPE ) invitation to tender which references they have chosen from to the Commission among those mentioned and what references other than (18 October 1994) those mentioned in the relevant article of Directive are to be ( 95/C 103/03 ) produced . 2 . The problem referred to by the Honourable Member is currently being examined by the Commission following Subject: Obstacles to freedom of movement in relation to Belgium's adoption of new legislation governing the public invitations to tender recognition of entrepreneurs . Is the European Commission aware that, in Belgium , free As part of its task of monitoring the transposai of Directive competition for public works contracts is restricted by a 71/305/EEC ( 3 ), as amended by Directive 89/440/EEC ( 4 ) regulation stipulating technical and financial criteria for the and now replaced by Directive 93/37/EEC, the Commission recognition of public contractors ? has already made known its observations on the legislation in question to the Belgian authorities in a preliminary letter dated 7 February 1992 . Construction companies from the Member States must first qualify to be accepted into particular categories and/or sub-categories and different classifications before being It noted a number of incompatibilities between the new allowed to tender for public contracts and then only for legislation ( 5 ) and Community legislation on public those public contracts for which their 'recognition' is procurement that resulted in discriminatory treatment for valid . non-recognized firms from other Member States . 24 . 4 . 95 EN Official Journal of the European Communities No C 103/3 The Commission took the view that the recognition scheme of generalized tariff preferences for the period 1995 requirements laid down in the Belgian legislation were at to 1998 to certain industrial products originating in variance with Article 59 of the EC Treaty and with the developing countries ( 1 ). specific provisions of the Directive . The Regulation makes provision in Articles 7 and 8 for 3 . Infringement proceedings have been initiated against special incentive arrangements in the social field and in that Belgium . of the environment . (M OJ No L 199 , 9 . 8 . 1993 . ( 2 ) Joined Cases 27 to 29/86 CEI v. Association intercommunale As regards the special incentive scheme in the social field, the pour les autoroutes des Ardennes ( 1987 ) ECR 3347 . Council has decided that as of 1 January 1998 , special ( 3 ) OJ No L 185 , 16 . 8 . 1971 . incentive arrangements in the form of additional preferences ( 4 ) OJ No L 210, 21 . 7 . 1989 . may be granted to beneficiairy countries covered by the ( 5 ) Law of 20 March 1991 on the recognition of entrepreneurs of works ; Royal Decree of 26 September 1991 laying down certain scheme which request such arrangements in writing and measures implementing the Law of 20 March 1991 ; Ministerial provide proof that they have adopted and actually apply Decree of 27 September 1991 classifying works according to domestic legal provisions incorporating the substance of the their nature into categories and sub-categories for the standards laid down in ILO Conventions Nos 87 and 98 recognition of entrepreneurs; Ministerial Decree of concerning freedom of association and protection of the 27 September 1 991 on the documents to be produced in support right to organize and Convention No 138 concerning of applications for recognition . minimum age for admission to employment . To that end, the Council will in 1997 carry out a review based on a Commission report on the results of the studies carried out in international fora such as the ILO, the WTO WRITTEN QUESTION E-2235/94 and the OECD on the relationship between trade and labour by Wolfgang Kreissl-Dörfler ( V ) rights . to the Council (27 October 1994) In the light of that review and on the basis of internationally accepted , objective and operational criteria, the ( 95/C 103/04 ) Commission will submit a proposal for a Council Decision on the intensity of the special incentive arrangements Subject: Incorporation of social clauses in the EU's referred to above and the detailed procedures for generalized system of preferences implementing them . In its document COM(94 ) 212 , on the role of the GSP in the Similar provisions have been adopted in the field of the decade from 1995 to 2004 , the Commission proposes to environment .