ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
WRITTEN QUESTION P-1199/01 by Gorka Knörr Borràs (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Kurdistan.



Official Journal 235 E , 21/08/2001 P. 0251 - 0251



WRITTEN QUESTION P-1199/01 by Gorka Knörr Borràs (Verts/ALE) to the Commission (4 April 2001) Subject: Kurdistan In its reply to my Written Question E-0250/01(1), the Commission did not reply to the second of my questions. Given that several of the current applicant countries made peaceful and democratic use of the right to self-determination in the last decade of the 20th century, what is the Commission's position on the peaceful and democratic exercise of the right to self-determination? (1) OJ C 187 E, 3.7.2001, p. 207. Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission (16 May 2001) The Commission would refer the Honourable Member to its answer to his Written Question E-0250/01(1). (1) OJ C 187 E, 3.7.2001, p. 207.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0229/01

by Roberto Bigliardo (TDI) to the Commission

(5 February 2001)

Subject: Turkey's application for EU membership

Can the Commission say whether it intends to adopt any binding provisions, and if so what they are, following the unanimous vote in the French Parliament on 18 January 2001 recognising the Armenian genocide as an undeniable fact?

Turkey has prepared a series of trade and political reprisals against France.

How can the Commission accept and justify upholding Turkey's application for EU membership?

Account should also be taken of Turkey's continuing blatant hostility towards Armenians. We should remember that France's national team recently had to refrain from selecting the player Djorkieff, who is of Armenian origin, for the match against Turkey.

It is inconceivable that such persistent persecutory behaviour should be one of the basic characteristics of a country which for so many reasons aspires to join the European Union.

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(23 March 2001)

The Commission, as guardian of the Community-Turkey Association Agreement and the Community-Turkey Customs Union, is monitoring closely the Turkish reaction to the law recognising the Armenian genocide by the Turkish army between 1915 and 1917 adopted by the French Parliament. The Commission will consider whether any measures are called for in the light of this reaction.

Turkey's preparations for Union membership are assessed regularly by the Commission according to the same criteria as those applied to all candidates. Any decision to begin accession negotiations with Turkey will depend on its fulfilment of the political conditions for membership set out by the Copenhagen European Council in 1993.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0301/01

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(13 February 2001)

Subject: Demolition of a building in Viana do Castelo

In Viana do Castelo (Portugal), the local council has announced its plans, as part of the POLIS programme, involving Community funding, to demolish a building known as Edificio Jardim or Prédio Coutinho in the city centre. It was built around 27 years ago, but is still in good condition and houses some 90 families, mostly elderly people.

The residents have taken various forms of action against this position, but have been ignored. They questioned the priority given to demolishing a building in a good state of preservation, at a time when there are many other problems to be dealt with.

The Commission:

1. Was it sent any proposal for action to be taken under the POLIS programme in Viana do Castelo, including the demolition of the above building?

2. If so, what was or will be the Commission's position on the matter?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(19 March 2001)

The Commission is collecting the information it needs to answer the question. It will communicate its findings as soon as possible.
WRITTEN QUESTION P-0195/01

by Christian Rovsing (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(29 January 2001)

Subject: Danish Government sale of bus company Combus A/S

Is it the Commission's view that the Danish Government's sale of the bus company, Combus A/S, (officially announced on 15 January 2001) to the British-owned company Arriva was carried out in accordance with EU competition rules? Is it also the Commission's view that the Danish Government's undertaking, given as part of the related agreement, to provide a special grant of DKK 140 million for the purchaser in addition to the DKK 300 million granted Combus A/S as aid in 1999 without EU notification is consistent with the provisions of the Treaty on state aid?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(6 March 2001)

The Commission has been informed by the Danish Government that it has decided to sell Combus A/S to Arriva Danmark A/S and that a sales agreement, which includes injection of capital from the Danish State into Combus A/S, was signed on 15 January 2001. The Commission is currently examining both the capital injection in 1999 and the intended capital injection with respect to the compatibility with the EC Treaty. This investigation includes the terms of the sales agreement. The Commission cannot prejudge the outcome of this investigation, but it will make every effort to finalise the case as quickly as possible.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0281/01

by Reimer Böge (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(9 February 2001)

Subject: Implementation of Directive 96/23/EC

Under Directive 96/23/EC(1) all agricultural holdings are required to keep a stable book in which the owner of the animal and the veterinary surgeon have to note down which medicaments have been given to which animal in what quantity.

Can the Commission state in which Member States this directive has been implemented and in which it has not?

In cases where the directive has not been implemented, has the Commission taken any measures against the Member States in question?

(1) OJ L 125, 23.5.1996, p. 10.

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(3 April 2001)

Under Article 37 (1) (first paragraph) of Council Directive 96/23/EC on measures to monitor certain substances and residues thereof in live animals and animal products and repealing Directives 85/358/EEC and 86/469/EEC and Decisions 89/187/EEC (Council Decision of 6 March 1989 determining the powers and conditions of operation of the Community reference laboratories provided for by Directive 86/469/EEC concerning the examination of animals and fresh meat for the presence of residues(1)) and 91/664/EEC (Council Decision of 11 December 1991 designating the Community reference laboratories for testing certain substances for residues(2)), Member States must bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive before 1 July 1997.

On 9 September 1997 the Commission instituted infringement proceedings under Article 226 (ex Article 169) of the EC Treaty against all Member States which had not communicated implementing measures by the prescribed date.

The only infringement proceedings still ongoing are those against France; they have reached the reasoned opinion stage.

(1) OJ L 66, 10.3.1989.

(2) OJ L 368, 31.12.1991.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-1001/01

by Paulo Casaca (PSE) to the Commission

(30 March 2001)

Subject: 1999 discharge agriculture

The information provided by the Commission in connection with question 2.7 of the second questionnaire on the granting of the discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the 1999 financial year does not reply to the questions raised in various aspects.

Can the Commission therefore clarify the following points:

- With regard to question 2.7(a):

- Point 36. Can the Commission provide the relevant OLAF report?

- Point 42. The reply does not correspond to the question. The question concerned the actions of the Dutch authorities mentioned in point 42 and not those of the Belgian authorities mentioned in the same point. Consequently, the Commission is asked once again to reply to question 2.7(a).

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(3 May 2001)

The Commission is collecting the information it needs to answer the question. It will communicate its findings as soon as possible.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0085/01

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Council

(1 February 2001)

Subject: Frequent deaths off the shores of southern Spain arising from the conditions in which young African men and women are obliged to emigrate

Young Africans wishing to enter the EU, and, specifically, the Spanish state, in search of employment and a better life, as denied to them in their own countries (in many cases run by corrupt leaders protected by European countries), are continuing to be arrested at a rate of several hundred a week. Many are dying owing to the appalling conditions in which they are obliged to cross the Strait of Gibraltar and to the hostile attitude of the Spanish authorities to immigration, as expressed, notably, in the recently adopted Law on Foreigners, with attitudes at times openly verging on xenophobia. A few years ago many of us angrily criticised the attitude of the US authorities, holding them responsible for the deaths of the Latin American wetbacks trying to cross the Rio Grande; today, however, we are horrified to find ourselves faced with a similar or even worse phenomenon happening off the Spanish coastline between Europe and Africa, while the European authorities take no effective steps to prevent it. Even on 5 January 2000, two small boats, known to be carrying 48 and 16 persons respectively on board, were known to be adrift somewhere between

Morocco and Andalusia in highly dangerous circumstances. What political measures does the Council intend to take with the Spanish government to attempt to put an end to these scandalous deaths which are occurring every day in southern Spain, casting a shadow over the large numbers of young Africans who wish to work in Europe?

Reply

(24 April 2001)

The Council reminds the Honourable Member that it has replied and taken a position on this question a number of times. The Council refers the Honourable Member to its replies to Written Questions P-1391/00, by Mr Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou, E-2878/00, by Mr Camilo Nogueira Román E-1013/00, by Mr André Brie and P-3308/00 by Carlos Bautista Ojeda.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0160/01

by Salvador Garriga Polledo (PPE-DE) to the Council

(1 February 2001)

Subject: Vacant posts in the professional armies of the Member States

The creation of professional armies is a contemporary aspect of the restructuring of armies in EU Member States which marks a new departure, with conscription becoming a thing of the past.

However, in some units of the armed forces in the Member States, the number of posts on offer outstrips the demand from professional soldiers who have opted to pursue a career in the armed forces.

Does the Council see the need to promote access for Community citizens under the CFSP to certain posts in the armed forces in any EU Member State, regardless of their nationality, by encouraging mobility in the Member States' armed forces?

Reply

(14 May 2001)

Recruitment policy in the armed forces of the Member States remains subject to national sovereign measures, as indeed do decisions on the participation of national troops in any EU-led crisis management operation.

The Council has no vocation to debate measures to promote mobility regardless of nationality between the national armed forces of the different Member States. These remain a national responsibility. Article 39(4) TEC provides that provisions on the free movement for workers shall not apply to employment in the public service; this includes the armed forces.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0125/01

by Lord Inglewood (PPE-DE) to the Council

(1 February 2001)

Subject: Droit de suite

Is the proposal for a directive on Droit de Suite compatible with Article 295 of the EC Treaty as amended?

Joint answer to Written Questions E-0125/01 and E-0255/01

(14 May 2001)

1. The Council considers that Article 295 ECT which provides that the Treaty shall in no way prejudice the rules in Member States governing the system of property ownership, is an exception provision in the form of a genuine reservation of sovereignty. Like all exceptions in Community law, Article 295 is strictly interpreted. Thus the Court of Justice has held that Article 295 permits the Community to adopt rules about the disposal or use of property rights including the exercise of national intellectual property rights. In particular the Court of Justice has held that the Community rules on competition, which do not allow the improper use of rights under national trade-mark law in order to frustrate the Community law on cartels, are compatible with Article 295(1).

Likewise the Council considers that the proposed Directive on the resale right for the benefit of the author of an original work of art is compatible with Article 295 of the EC Treaty inasmuch as its purpose is to approximate national provisions in order to eliminate inter alia distortions of competition within the internal market and in order to allow the artist's resale right to be exercised without discrimination on the grounds of nationality.

2. With regard to the question of the establishment of a centralised European register the Council would point out that the Commission has not included in its proposal for a Directive on the resale right for the benefit of the author of an original work of art any proposal concerning a register of the nature mentioned by the Honourable Member, nor has the European Parliament proposed any amendment to this effect at either first or second reading.

Finally the Council would remind the Honourable Member that it is not the role of a Community Directive to lay down the details of how its provisions are to be implemented.

(1) Judgment of 13 July 1966, Consten and Grundig v. Commission, Joined Cases 56 and 58/64, ECR p. 299.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0299/01

by Hanja Maij-Weggen (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(9 February 2001)

Subject: Child labour

The Commission did not give a precise reply to my Question E-3639/00(1). Can the Commission state precisely which EU Member States and which ACP countries have not yet ratified ILO Convention No 182 concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour?

(1) OJ C 151 E, 22.5.2001.

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(29 March 2001)

The Honourable Member is informed that, with regard to her question concerning the Member States which have not yet ratified International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention No 182 on the worst forms of child labour, a matter on which the Commission adopted a Recommendation to Member States on 15 September 2000(1), the following Member States had not ratified the Convention in question as of 8 February 2001: Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria and Sweden.

With regard to the Honourable Member's question regarding which African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries have not ratified ILO Convention 182, a list of ratifying countries (including ACP countries) as of 8 February 2001, as provided on the ILO's public Ilolex information system, is being sent directly to the Honourable Member and to Parliament's Secretariat.

(1) OJ L 243, 28.9.2000.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0364/01

by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission

(14 February 2001)

Subject: Xerox restructuring corporate tax

Xerox is currently in the process of restructuring its European Manufacturing Operations at Venrey, in Holland, Mitcheldean in the UK and Dundalk in Ireland.

However, this restructuring is in danger of being distorted by the very low level of corporation tax levied in Ireland which appears to act against the free movement of capital, goods, services and persons. Does the Commission plan to intervene?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(30 March 2001)

It would be inappropriate to comment on the situation of an individual company and therefore this response can only cover the situation in general. Generally speaking the effective rate of corporation tax is the result of the rate of tax applicable, be it the general standard rate or in the case of certain qualifying manufacturing activities in Ireland, a reduced rate, and the taxable base.

In July 1998 the Irish government announced that the general rate of corporation tax will progressively decrease from 28 % (1999) to 24 % (2000), 20 % (2001), 16 % (2002), and to 12,5 % (2003). In the absence of secondary legislation, the setting of the general statutory corporation tax rate is a matter for individual Member States. Although this is subject to the obligation to comply with Community law, and more particularly the EC Treaty provisions concerning the fundamental freedoms mentioned in the question, the Commission does not consider that the low general statutory corporation tax rate in Ireland infringes these.

However, the Commission did intervene against a sectorially different application of the Irish corporation tax, which was considered to infringe EC Treaty provisions. In 1998 the Commission, under the State aid control provisions, asked the Irish government to put an end to an unjustified sectorial differentiation of the corporate tax rate in favour of the manufacturing sector. The Irish government accepted the Commission's proposal as an appropriate measure and this tax measure is currently being phased out.

Moreover in December 1997 Council adopted a Resolution on a Code of Conduct for business taxation(1), which led to the establishment of the Code of Conduct (Business Taxation) Group. In the report to the Ecofin Council in November 1999 the 10 % manufacturing rate was identified as a tax measure with harmful features and the rollback of this measure has to take place in accordance with the Council Conclusions of the November 2000 Ecofin meeting.

(1) OJ C 2, 6.1.1998.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0201/01

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(2 February 2001)

Subject: Fuel stored at filling stations in Greece

According to the findings of spot checks carried out by the Ministry of Development, seven out of ten storage facilities at filling stations in Greece fail to comply with the safety regulations. Furthermore, in Greece and in the other Member States most filling stations operate in residential areas and often on the ground floors of blocks of flats, which poses grave health and safety risks for the inhabitants. Have safety standards been laid down for the above activities? What arrangements apply in the other Member States?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(17 April 2001)

The Commission has no jurisdiction to deal with the question asked, which is a matter solely for the national authorities concerned.
WRITTEN QUESTION P-0272/01

by Christian von Boetticher (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(2 February 2001)

Subject: Electronic postage stamps and compliance with EU data-protection directives

The German post office service, Deutsche Post AG, and the Netherlands and Italian Post Offices are planning to introduce electronic postage stamps, with stamps being downloaded directly from the Internet and printed on the envelopes. To that end, however, specific data concerning the user, such as sender, addressee, cost of postage, creation date, etc. would have to be stored. Further conclusions could then be drawn from such data (frequency of postal traffic with certain addresses and, subsequently, private information such as membership of a trade union, name and address of general practitioner, etc.).

Does the Commission take the view that these plans comply with the EU directives on the protection of natural persons when personal data is being processed especially the issues of the storage of data which is not exclusively required for the forwarding of items by post and of security against counterfeiting? Does it further take the view that it is possible to preclude the danger of trade in the addresses thus acquired? Finally, does it take the view that a system which does not require the storage of data of this nature is preferable to the systems developed by the postal services?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(2 March 2001)

The Commission has no detailed information about how the German, Dutch and Italian postal authorities intend to process personal data, as mentioned by the honourable Member. In general terms, Article 6 of Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data(1) states that personal data must be collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a way incompatible with those purposes. In addition, the application of the principle of proportionality means that if there are alternative

methods of attaining the same result, the method must be chosen that involves processing the least amount of data to achieve the stated purpose. Article 6 of Directive 95/46/CE explicitly states that data must be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purposes for which they are collected.

(1) OJ L 281, 23.11.1995.
WRITTEN QUESTION P-0353/01

by Sir Robert Atkins (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(6 February 2001)

Subject: Air passenger safety

What actions have been taken by the Commission to investigate the incidence of the so-called aircraft syndrome and its resultant health risks? What is the nature of the advice which has been sought from airlines operating within the EU and medical experts? Will the Commission make a statement as to progress?

Joint answer to Written Questions E-0151/01, E-0155/01, E-0191/01, E-0233/01, E-0349/01 and P-0353/01 given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(15 March 2001)

The Commission is well aware of recent reports and developments in the field of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and cabin conditions, and is taking passengers' concerns very seriously. It has examined various reports, in particular that of the Select Committee on Science and Technology of the House of Lords.

On the basis of a preliminary assessment, the Commission has not found real substance in the extreme claims about health risks from air travel. However, it takes the danger of health risks most seriously, in particular that of DVT, the more so as data is poor on the incidence of the complaint.

Consequently, as a first precaution, the Commission sent a letter to the presidents of the Association of European Airlines, the European Regions Airlines Association and the International Air Carrier Association, urging their members to take precautionary measures in relation to DVT. In this letter, airlines were urged to act rapidly to minimise the risks by informing passengers when they make reservations or order tickets, on the risks, on predisposing factors and on precautionary measures to take before long flights and advise them, once on board the aircraft, on what to do to lessen the chance of thrombosis.

A number of airlines have already introduced, on their own initiative, pre-boarding warnings and/or in-flight advice (leaflets, videos, in-flight magazines showing exercises, recommending what to do and what to avoid, etc).

The next thing is to obtain balance assessments of health risks. The Commission will, as soon as possible, set up expert groups, one on the effects of DVT and the other on air quality and cabin conditions. They will scrutinise existing research and then draw conclusions on risks to health, the need for further research and on measures that the different actors involved should take.