91999E0625

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0625/99

by Raimo Ilaskivi (PPE) to the Commission

(12 March 1999)

Subject: The Commission's replies to written questions

According to Rule 42 of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament, the Commission is required to reply to written questions from Members of the European Parliament within six weeks. In practice, however, it often takes nearly 3 months for the Commission to reply.

Why is the Commission often unable to abide by the six-week deadline laid down in Parliament's Rules of Procedure?

Answer given by Mr Oreja on behalf of the Commission

(15 April 1999)

The Commission does its best to carry out its duty under Article 140 EC Treaty to reply to parliamentary questions. It devotes considerable resources to giving replies which are as complete and rapid as possible. These replies sometimes require extensive investigation or even enquiries of Member States.

The Commission replies to a large number of the questions inside the six week period set down in Parliament's internal rules, but is not able to do so in all cases. The average reply time of six weeks and four days in 1998 is capable of improvement. The Commission is attempting to reply within the period identified by the Parliament.

The Honourable Member will appreciate that recourse to the formal method of interrogating the Commission provided by Article 140 EC Treaty implies certain consequences (use of 11 languages, coordination between services, adoption in a way ensuring collegiate responsibility, publication in the official journal) which inevitably take a certain time.