91997E2618

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2618/97 by Jan Sonneveld (PPE) to the Commission (18 July 1997)

Subject: Export of dried bird droppings to France

On 17 June 1997 the prefecture of the French département of Aube refused to grant authorization for the transport of dried bird droppings. It said that the application was incompatible with the industrial waste disposal plan for the region of Champagne-Ardenne which gives priority to locally produced fertilizers.

1. Is the Commission of the opinion that dried bird droppings are a high-grade animal fertilizer which customers would be willing to pay for, and which should not therefore be regarded as a waste product?

2. Is the Commission of the opinion that just as cereals are an essential input for livestock farming, so high-grade fertilizer is an essential input for the cultivation of certain agricultural products?

3. Is the Commission of the opinion that a ban on importing such high-grade fertilizers is an infringement of the rules of the internal market?

4. Is the Commission prepared to deal appropriately with the prefecture in question with a view to withdrawing this barrier to trade?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (12 September 1997)

From the veterinary point of view, intra-Community trade in chicken droppings falls within the scope of Council Directive 92/118/CE ((OJ L 62 of 15.3.1993. )) laying down animal health and public health requirements governing trade in and imports into the Community of products not subject to the said requirements laid down in specific Community rules.

From the point of view of environmental protection (protection of groundwater, muck-spreading plans), there are no specific Community rules regarding trade in chicken droppings. National rules therefore apply, subject to the general Community rules on the matter.

The Commission has just learned of the main points of this case, which it will not fail to examine, if necessary, under the procedure provided for in Article 169 of the EC treaty.