WRITTEN QUESTION E-0173/02

by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(6 February 2002)

Subject: Use of languages for receiving visitors to the European institutions

In a written reply to former Member of Parliament André Monteyne, the Protocol and Security Service of the Directorate-General for Personnel and Administration acknowledged that Brussels had bilingual status. Its reply also indicated that most reception desks at the Commission had been closed for budgetary and practical reasons, as most visitors had made appointments. The Commission has, however, invested in security services.

1. What are the practical reasons for reducing the number of reception desks, and what are the budgetary reasons?

2. Does the Commission acknowledge that it cannot now ensure that visitors to institutions in Brussels can be addressed in Dutch or in French?

3. Does it intend at least to make knowledge of Dutch and French compulsory for staff whose job it is to welcome visitors, whether or not such staff are located at reception desks? If not, what arguments are there for not ensuring such bilingualism?

4. Will the Commission also urge security firms to ensure that their staff working as security guards at EU institutions in Brussels have a command of Dutch and French? If not, why not? If so, how will it ensure such bilingualism?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(8 April 2002)

The Honourable Member will be aware that the Commission is a European Institution working with 15 Member States and 11 official languages. The Honourable Member will also be aware that the Commission is hosted, as an Institution, by Belgium (and in other locations by other Member States), and that Belgium has three official languages: French, Dutch and German.

Over the last two years only four reception desks were closed or merged. The practical reason for reducing the number of reception desks was that the vast majority of visitors are received in buildings that house Members of the European Commission and, working under clear budgetary constraints and pressures of costs, the Commission had to find effective ways of ensuring sustained security and appropriate reception of visitors. In addition, as the Honourable Member will know, the Commission has reviewed all its activities with a view to outsourcing those tasks that do not necessarily need to be performed by officials.

Starting in the second half of this year, the Commission will strive to ensure that all buildings housing Commissioners will have at least one receptionist in addition to security personnel.

For many years, security control for access to all Commission buildings has operated on a contractual basis. Personnel provided by the contractor are required to be able to address visitors in at least two of the languages of the Institution, one of which should be a working language.

The Commission now occupies more than 60 buildings in Brussels. The principal buildings of the Commission have receptionists on duty. These are officials who are specifically trained to welcome visitors. They speak various Community languages including, at least, French and English. In Commission buildings generally, however, there is a security desk to register visitors but no reception desk as such. Visitors to those buildings mainly tend to come to the Commission by appointment, and they originate from all 15 Members States as well as increasingly from the candidate states for accession to the Union, and also from other countries in all parts of the world.

The Commission has a representation office in Brussels, located at rue Archimede 73, and an Info Point Europe, at rue de la Loi 242, where visitors can find documentation in all official languages. In addition, assistance can be provided in several languages, including the national languages of Belgium.