91997E3744

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3744/97 by Anita Pollack (PSE) to the Commission (21 November 1997)

Subject: Fire safety in hotels

Further to Question E-1423/97 ((OJ C 45, 10.2.1998, p. 29. )), can the Commission indicate what action is being taken on the recommendations set out in the CETEN/APAVE Study, particularly those relating to the Fire Safety Training of Hotel Staff, the Inspection and the Maintenance of Fire Safety Equipment, the Unification of National Hotel Fire Safety Regulations and the Creation of a Hotel Fire Safety Register? These matters were put forward in Section V.I (synthese des propositions) of the study (pages 716 and 717).

Answer given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission (9 January 1998)

As the Honourable Member will know from the Commission's reply to her written question E-1423/97 earlier this year, the study carried out by CETEN/APAVE has as its objective a verification of the degree to which Member States had implemented in their national legislation the recommendations included in the Council Recommendation 86/666/EEC of 22 December 1986 on fire safety in existing hotels ((OJ L 384, 31.12.1986. )).

The result of the study was that national legislations almost always have incorporated the elements of the Recommendation so that these may be considered as minimum standards always respected and in some cases even exceeded.

The recommendations made by the authors of the study were made on their own initiative. While definitely interesting and potentially inspiring for any new measures at national or Community level, they are not binding on the Commission. As the study demonstrated the success of the measures already agreed, the Commission does not, for the moment, envisage any particular follow-up of these recommendations.