# CE2004084EN.01070801.xml

| 3.4.2004 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | CE 84/708 |
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3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 84/708

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(2004/C 84 E/0795)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3867/02

by Margrietus van den Berg (PSE) to the Commission

(10 January 2003)

Subject:   Salvage of the ferry ‘Le Joola’

Subject:

| 1. | Has President Wade of Senegal already submitted a request to the Commission for financial, technical and logistical help with the salvage of the ferry ‘Le Joola’? |
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1.

Has President Wade of Senegal already submitted a request to the Commission for financial, technical and logistical help with the salvage of the ferry ‘Le Joola’?

| 2. | Does the Commission deem it morally acceptable that the ferry is still lying on a sandbank while the possibility and the means exist to recover at least 1 500 bodies and while all the victims' relatives are calling for such action? |
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2.

Does the Commission deem it morally acceptable that the ferry is still lying on a sandbank while the possibility and the means exist to recover at least 1 500 bodies and while all the victims' relatives are calling for such action?

| 3. | Can the Commission indicate whether Senegal has a Burial and Cremations Act, similar to that which exists in the Member States of the European Union, which would oblige President Wade to have the bodies recovered if the victims' relatives so requested? |
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3.

Can the Commission indicate whether Senegal has a Burial and Cremations Act, similar to that which exists in the Member States of the European Union, which would oblige President Wade to have the bodies recovered if the victims' relatives so requested?

| 4. | Is the Commission, acting in conjunction with those European countries from which some of the victims came (France, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands), prepared to approach President Wade about this issue? Has the Commission taken account of the fact that no country can deal with the consequences of such a catastrophe on its own? |
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4.

Is the Commission, acting in conjunction with those European countries from which some of the victims came (France, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands), prepared to approach President Wade about this issue? Has the Commission taken account of the fact that no country can deal with the consequences of such a catastrophe on its own?

| 5. | Is the Commission prepared to do its utmost to seek a political solution with President Wade and have the bodies of the victims recovered in order to attenuate as far as possible the problems caused for the victims' relatives? |
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5.

Is the Commission prepared to do its utmost to seek a political solution with President Wade and have the bodies of the victims recovered in order to attenuate as far as possible the problems caused for the victims' relatives?

| 6. | Is it possible to authorise the EU delegation to take direct action? Is the Commission prepared in this instance to turn a blind eye to formal requirements, since ‘life-threatening circumstances’ are not at issue here, and to address the problem above all from a humanitarian point of view? |
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6.

Is it possible to authorise the EU delegation to take direct action? Is the Commission prepared in this instance to turn a blind eye to formal requirements, since ‘life-threatening circumstances’ are not at issue here, and to address the problem above all from a humanitarian point of view?

| 7. | Is the Commission prepared to give its total support to the interests of the victims' relatives vis-à-vis the Senegalese Government which has been claiming for the last two and a half months that salvage of the wreck is a priority but has done nothing except make promises? |
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7.

Is the Commission prepared to give its total support to the interests of the victims' relatives vis-à-vis the Senegalese Government which has been claiming for the last two and a half months that salvage of the wreck is a priority but has done nothing except make promises?

| 8. | Can the Commission indicate what the EU discussed, at the request of the relatives of European victims, with the Senegalese authorities and the African Union with regard to the possible salvage of the ‘Le Joola’ at the EU-Africa Summit which was held from 27 to 30 November 2002? |
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8.

Can the Commission indicate what the EU discussed, at the request of the relatives of European victims, with the Senegalese authorities and the African Union with regard to the possible salvage of the ‘Le Joola’ at the EU-Africa Summit which was held from 27 to 30 November 2002?

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(27 February 2003)

(27 February 2003)

| 1. | The President of Senegal has not submitted a request to the Commission concerning the salvage of the ‘Le Joola’ ferry. |
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1.

The President of Senegal has not submitted a request to the Commission concerning the salvage of the ‘Le Joola’ ferry.

| 2. | The Commission has already expressed its condolences to the victims' families. The technical aspects of the salvage are difficult to assess. |
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2.

The Commission has already expressed its condolences to the victims' families. The technical aspects of the salvage are difficult to assess.

| 3. | The Commission can confirm that Senegal's family code contains provisions relating to burial and to death certificates for missing persons. The Commission cannot assess the legal obligations incumbent on the Senegal government in this case. |
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3.

The Commission can confirm that Senegal's family code contains provisions relating to burial and to death certificates for missing persons. The Commission cannot assess the legal obligations incumbent on the Senegal government in this case.

| 4. | The Commission is not in a position to take the kind of initiative proposed by the Honourable Member. It is up to the Member States concerned to take political initiatives with the Senegal government in the manner proposed by the Honourable Member. |
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4.

The Commission is not in a position to take the kind of initiative proposed by the Honourable Member. It is up to the Member States concerned to take political initiatives with the Senegal government in the manner proposed by the Honourable Member.

| 5. | The Commission is prepared within its legal means and obligations to support Member States in their contacts with the Senegal government. |
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5.

The Commission is prepared within its legal means and obligations to support Member States in their contacts with the Senegal government.

| 6. | The Commission delegation has not been inactive. Through its office in Banjul it provided immediate help, after the ferry sank, with the identification of bodies and, from Dakar, in investigating with the government and with Member States and other donors present in Senegal the alternatives for restoring the Dakar-Ziginchor maritime link in safer conditions. |
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6.

The Commission delegation has not been inactive. Through its office in Banjul it provided immediate help, after the ferry sank, with the identification of bodies and, from Dakar, in investigating with the government and with Member States and other donors present in Senegal the alternatives for restoring the Dakar-Ziginchor maritime link in safer conditions.

| 7. | The Commission considers that defending the interests of the families vis-à-vis the Senegal government is primarily a matter for civil society bodies in Senegal, which have already taken effective measures, and for the Member States concerned by the tragedy through their consulates. |
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7.

The Commission considers that defending the interests of the families vis-à-vis the Senegal government is primarily a matter for civil society bodies in Senegal, which have already taken effective measures, and for the Member States concerned by the tragedy through their consulates.

| 8. | The ministerial meeting of the EU-Africa Dialogue held in Ouagadougou on 28 November 2002 did not deal with that matter as it is a bilateral issue. |
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8.

The ministerial meeting of the EU-Africa Dialogue held in Ouagadougou on 28 November 2002 did not deal with that matter as it is a bilateral issue.

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