AnswergivenbyMrsdePalacioonbehalfoftheCommission
(11September2003)
As the Honourable Member notes, following a number of complaints the Commission launched an
investigation procedure on6August1999(1)inrespectofaidpaidtothecompaniesoftheTirrenia
Group(TirreniadiNavigazione,Adriatica,Siremar,Saremar,ToremarandCaremar)withintheframeworkofsixpublicserviceagreementsbetweenthosecompaniesandtheItalianState.
InitsfinalDecisionof21June2001(
2)concerningTirreniadiNavigazione,theCommissionauthorised
theaidpaidtothatcompanybetween1990andtheendof2000andmadeanyfutureaidwhichmightbepaid to Tirrenia di Navigazione, until the public service agreement expires, subject to the followingconditions:
/dash overtheperiod2001-2004,aidpaidtoTirrenia diNavigazione mustbelimitedtocovering the
additionalcostsarisingfromthelossincurredduringtheprovisionofthepublicservices;
/dash any change to the level of such services over the period 2001-2004 must be notified to the
Commissioninadvance.ThepublicserviceobligationsimposedonTirreniadiNavigazionefortheperiod2005-2008mustbenotifiedtotheCommissioninadvance;
/dash asof2001,the additionalcostsderiving fromthe lossincurred during the provisionofservices
imposedbyItalyonTirreniadiNavigazionemustbethesubjectofseparateaccountsforeachofthelinesconcerned.
TheaidpaidtotheothercompaniesintheTirreniaGroupisstillbeingexamined,thoughafinaldecision
isduetobereachedveryshortly.
InaccordancewithArticle5oftheDecisionof21June2001,theItalianauthoritiescommunicatedtothe
Commissiontheinterdepartmentaldecreeformalisingthecommitmentstheyenteredintointhecontextoftheexaminationprocedureforthe2001-2004period.
Sincethen,theCommissionhasreceivedseveralcomplaintsfromprivateoperatorsallegingthattheItalian
authoritieshavefailedtocomplywiththefinalDecisionof21June2001.ThosecomplaintsarebeinginvestigatedandtheItalianauthoritieshavebeencontactedregardingthematter.
(1) CaseC64/99,exNN68/99.
(2) OJL318,4.12.2001.
(2004/C58E/188) WRITTENQUESTIONE-2509/03
byRobertoBigliardo(UEN)totheCommission
(29July2003)
Subject:Observanceofmultilingualism/dashEPSOwebsite
NoonelanguagespokenintheMemberStateshaseverbeendesignatedtheofficiallanguageoftheUnion.
Furthermore,Parliament’sandtheCommission’sinformationpolicymustconformtocriteriaguaranteeingawidemeasureoftransparency.
1. Couldthe Commissionexplain why the material presented onthe EPSO (European Communities
PersonnelSelectionOffice)websitecanbereadinEnglish,French,andGermanonly?
2. GiventhateveryUnioncitizenhastherighttobeinformedinhisorherownlanguage,doesthe
Commissionnotthink that the situation described above is tantamounttodiscrimination against
millionsofcitizens?
3. WhatwilltheCommissiondotoputmattersright?6.3.2004EN C58E/175 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanUnion
AnswergivenbyMrKinnockonbehalfoftheCommission
(22September2003)
AstheHonourableMemberwillbeaware,theEuropeanPersonnelSelectionOffice(EPSO)wasformally
created,aspartoftheReformprocessandbytheagreementofallInstitutions,on26July2002.EPSOisan inter-institutional body whose remit is to select officials and other servants of the EuropeanCommunitiesonbehalfofallEuropeaninstitutions.AsthemattersraisedbytheHonourableMemberfallwithinEPSO’sareaofresponsibility,thefollowinginformationreflectstheadviceprovidedbyEPSO.
TheofficialEPSOwebsitewaslaunchedon20November2002andisausefulsourceofinformationfor
potentialcandidatesforUnioncompetitions.Whilethepre-cursortothecurrentwebsitewaspresentedintwolanguages,thecoveringpagesofthenewsitearepresentedinEnglish,FrenchandGerman.Itisa‘quickreference’facilitywhichmakesthelatestinformationavailabletothewidestpossibleaudiencewithminimumdelay.Itwouldbetechnicallyimpossibletopreservethisspeedandspontaneityinthecurrent11(or the future 20)official languages ofthe EU languages. However, moststandardinformationisprovidedthroughlinkstoofficialdocumentsandpublications,suchastheUnionStaffRegulationsandtheOfficial Journal, and to other websites, including the main websites ofthe European institutions andbodies.ThewebversionoftheEPSOrecruitmentbrochurewasavailableonthesitein11languages.Thisdocumenthasbeentemporarilywithdrawnforupdatingbutwillbere-instated,assoonaspossible,in
20languages.
ThereisnoevidencetosuggestthattheEPSOwebsiteisinaccessibletolargegroupsofUnioncitizens.
Onthecontrary,thesitereceived some2000000hitsinitsfirst10days.Notwithstandingtheveryconsiderablenumberofvisitorstothesiteeachday,duringthe10-monthperiodthatthesitehasbeenoperationalEPSOhasreceivedfew,ifany,complaintsregardingthelanguagecoverage.Furthermore,therehasbeennoobservedshiftinthebalancebetweenapplicationsfromdifferentMemberStates.
Itshouldbenotedthatthe website represents onlyonestrandofthe EPSOcommunicationstrategy.
CompetitionscontinuetobeadvertisedinthenationalpressofMemberStatesinthelanguageofthecountryconcerned,andnoticesofcompetitiontargetingallMemberStatesarepublishedintheOfficialJournalin11languagesbothinhardcopyandontheweb.Publicityisgearedtowardsidentifyingthemostablecandidates,capableofintegratingeffectivelyintoamulti-cultural,multi-lingualenvironmentwhereEnglish,FrenchandGermanarethelanguagesinmostfrequentuse.
TheCommissionhastakennoteoftheHonourableMember’sconcernandEPSOwillcontinuetomonitor
competitionstatisticsandfeedbackfromwebvisitors,toidentifyanyproblemsarisingoutofthecurrentpolicy.
(2004/C58E/189) WRITTENQUESTIONE-2513/03
byKoenraadDillen(NI)totheCommission
(29July2003)
Subject:VATratesinthehotel,restaurantandcateringsector
Accordingtoanumberofreportsinthemedia,theEuropeanCommission,followingapprovalbythe
financeministers,ispreparedtoauthoriseFrancetoapplyaVATrateof5,5%inthehotel,restaurantandcatering sector. Jacques Chirac made a pledge to introduce such a measure during his presidentialcampaign in 2002. However, when the Raffarin government moved to implement the proposal, theEuropeanCommissioncalledittoorder.
Isitthecasethat,onanexceptionalbasis,theCommissionintendstoauthoriseaVATrateof5,5%for
thehotel,restaurantandcateringsectorinFrance?
WhyhastheCommissionchangeditsmindonthismatter?WillotherMemberStateswhichmakesucharequestalsobeauthorisedtointroducespecialVATrates?C58E/176 EN6.3.2004 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanUnion