Brussels, 15/11/2002 (Agence Europe) - France demonstrated its good will during the presentation at the Competitiveness Council of the last Commission scoreboard on the internal market. France, however, has the worst results for transposing European directives and the largest number of infringement proceedings in progress (see EUROPE of 13 November, p.13). French Minister for European Affairs Noëlle Lenoir told the press that she had presented, on 6 November, a communication to her government announcing an action plan for allowing France's delay to be made up. The president considers the aim is to accelerate work on 56 directives that have not yet been transposed, half of which are over two years late, she stressed. To do this, the government will fix a timetable for all the ministers and make an effort in its relations with the Parliament. "It undertakes to call for the priority inscription of the directives on the Parliament's agenda", the minister said. For the future, she plans to take inspiration from the method used by Scandinavian countries and the United Kingdom, which carry out an impact analysis of Community texts on national legislation from the negotiations stage at the Council. "This will also strengthen our negotiating position", she notes. Noëlle Lenoir agreed that discussions on the transposition of the legislation on the patenting of living things (directive on biotechnology) are still difficult. Reflection is underway on the article concerning the patenting of genes, which poses both technical and ethical questions, notes the minister, who in the past chaired the European Ethics Group. Commissioner Bolkestein encouraged France in its effort.