Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-03-08-Speech-2-378"
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"en.20050308.29.2-378"2
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".
I found the debate very interesting, but perhaps did not make myself clear in my opening speech, and would like to clarify my position.
I can assure you that I take this matter extremely seriously and am very concerned at the whole situation. I do not recall saying anything that could possibly be interpreted otherwise. The Commission is indeed worried about the situation, but one has to take into consideration the possibilities, competences and rights that it has under the Treaty.
Those of you who followed my hearing know that I am not very happy with the competences we have under the Treaty in relation to health. However, that is the law and the reality and we must comply with it. Under the Treaty we can deal only with the issues of safety and quality. That is why the directive stops short of dealing with the issue of payment, and simply expresses the spirit and philosophy of non-payment that should be implemented and followed by the Member States. However, it is not a binding rule. The Commission has limits on how much it can do in this respect. For example, it cannot initiate infringement proceedings against a Member State, because the principle of subsidiarity applies and this is a matter for the Member States.
I repeat that this does not mean that because we do not have legal competence we cannot adopt political positions or take political initiatives. We intend to do this primarily through the report we will produce on the implementation of this directive, which will cover the measures taken by Member States to promote unpaid and voluntary donations. In this respect we will do whatever we can to promote this aspect of the philosophy of the directive, relating to unpaid and voluntary donations, and at the same time report and point out where it is not being followed and payments are taking place.
While I understand the points of view expressed by some Members, I must make it clear that we have to comply with the directive and its philosophy of unpaid and voluntary donations, which is what guides the law that the Commission has to follow.
As far as the specific case is concerned, I once again remind you that we do not have legal competence and that it is not a question of direct investigation by the Commission. We received a report from the UK authority and its independent agency and have no reason to doubt the results of that investigation. In fact the trade was stopped some time ago and there was no proof of payments having taken place. We will nevertheless follow up on this matter and pursue it with the Romanian authorities to see what evidence they may have, although the UK investigation took place in Romania as well and, here too, no proof was found as to payments.
Even though the directive states that ‘Member States shall endeavour to ensure voluntary and unpaid donations’, that does not mean that Member States cannot go beyond that and legislate, as I suggested in my speech, on such unpaid voluntary donations in a national context and even ban payments, provided that this can be justified on ethical, public morality grounds. Given the realities of the Treaty, greater responsibility lies with the Member States than the European Community in this respect.
I do not feel that the problem has been solved, because it is true that since there is demand, there will always be a potential for trade and payments. Perhaps this case did involve payments, although nothing has been proved, and there will always be a potential for this. That is why we must find ways to promote voluntary, unpaid donations so that demand is covered and there is no room for illicit trade or payments, with all the risks that this entails.
I can assure you that, within the scope of our competences, we will follow this matter very closely. If we find there has been any violation of either the letter or the spirit of the directive we will report it and make it public."@en1
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