Tax and duty-free allowances for travellers: temporary derogation to Germany and Austria (amend. Directive 94/4/EC)

The European Parliament adopted the report by Mr Werner LANGEN (PPE, D) on extending the temporary derogation applicable to Germany and Austria. It approved the derogation in question, but called for it to expire on 01.01.2002 rather than 01.01.2003. As from 2002, Austria and Germany should apply the ECU 175 limit which applied throughout the rest of the Community. Parliament also called for the Commission to produce, by 30 June 1999, a study examining in detail the effects of the increase in the allowance on local suppliers (particularly small and medium-sized businesses in the frontier regions of Germany and Austria). It wished the study to contain concrete proposals with a view to: -preparing the undertakings concerned for the new limits by means of appropriate measures, particularly in the field of structural policy; -bringing countries other than Member States and EFTA members that border on German or Austrian territory into line with the European Community's competition system, in keeping with pre-accession strategy.�