Vol. 500 No. 6
9 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if her attention has been drawn to the report to be presented to EU Commissioners in relation to the ending of duty free facilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4558/99]
I am aware that the European Commission, at its meeting in Brussels yesterday, adopted a report on the ending of intra-EU duty free.
The report resulted from a request by the European Council at the Vienna Summit in December last to examine, by March 1999, the problems which could arise with regard to employment and to address, on the basis of proposals from the Commission, possible means of tackling the problems, including the possibility of a limited extension of the transition arrangements.
I am disappointed with the Commission's report. It is not, in my view, an adequate response to the clear request of the Vienna Council for a short-term extension of the transition arrangements for ending duty free. The Commission has made no proposal in this regard.
The next step is for the Commission's report to be considered at the ECOFIN Council on March 15. If the Finance Ministers of all member states do not agree on a renewed request to the Commission at that meeting then it becomes a matter for the Heads of Government at the European Council in Berlin on 24/25 March.
The Government has set out its view that a deferral of the abolition of duty free for five years is necessary to allow the industry adjust to the change. That position has already been supported by many member states, including France, Germany and the United Kingdom. We will continue to lobby all the member states in the coming weeks to obtain their support for a specific request to the Commission to propose a limited extension of the duty free regime.
