ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
WRITTEN QUESTION E-3460/98

by Daniela Raschhofer (NI) to the Commission

(24 November 1998)

Subject: Allocation of EU funds to Kärnten (Austria)

With regard to the allocation of EU funds to the State of Kärnten, can the Commission provide information as to:

1. the total amount of EU structural fund appropriations provided, with a breakdown by fund and by individual Community programme and/or initiative and the amount of EU funds disbursed for pilot projects and other measures or as direct payments to research institutes, universities, undertakings and other bodies in the State of Kärnten, charged to other budgetary headings since 1995;

2. the number of jobs created or saved with the help of these funds?
WRITTEN QUESTION E-3045/98

by José Apolinário (PSE) to the Commission

(8 October 1998)

Subject: Framework directive on noise

With regard to the preparation of a framework directive on noise, can the Commission tell me what its guidelines are with regard to this (urgently required) possible initiative, and the timetable envisaged for its taking concrete form?

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission

(17 December 1998)

The Commission was able to announce at the conference on the Community future noise policy held in Copenhagen on 7 September 1998 that it would prepare a draft directive on environmental noise as soon as possible. The Commission is already working with groups of experts on environmental noise to provide position papers that could form the basis of the technical content of the framework directive in question. Results are expected in 1999.
WRITTEN QUESTION P-3249/98

by Luigi Moretti (NI) to the Commission

(20 October 1998)

Subject: Taxation of securities in Italy

Article 8(5) of Decree Law No 461, issued in the Italian Republic on 21 November 1997 and amending Article 10(b) of Law No 77 of 23 March 1983, establishes, in the new paragraphs 4 and 5, a regime for the taxation and redemption of securities deposited in other EU Member States which is different from and harsher than the regime governing securities deposited in Italy.

Can these rules be said to comply with EU legislation, particularly from the point of view of the fundamental freedom of movement of capital and the principle of free competition?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(14 December 1998)

Under the legislation referred to by the Honourable Member, the special tax of 12.5 % would appear to apply to income from securities of investment funds in other Member States which are held by Italian residents, irrespective of whether they are deposited inside or outside Italy.

The legislation does not seem to allow an Italian resident to receive a tax credit corresponding to the foreign tax paid by a fund based in another Member State in cases where the special tax regime applies. However, where securities are deposited abroad, it would appear to allow the granting of such a tax credit in so far as the taxable person decides not to apply the special tax regime and subjects the income paid by the fund to the general progressive income tax schedule.

The Commission is collecting further information on the legislation referred to by the Honourable Member and will examine it in detail, particularly with a view to determining whether it is compatible with Community law as regards the above-mentioned matter.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-2178/98

by Angela Sierra González (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(10 July 1998)

Subject: Sects in the EU

The Spanish police recently discovered the presence in the Canary Islands of a group of members of the sect known as the "Order of the Solar Temple".

This group of persons, most of them German, intended to commit suicide on the island before the supposed "end of the world" arrived.

This event has highlighted the existence of a proliferation of "self-destructive" sectarian groups on the eve of the new millennium, in addition to those sects which proselytize for their leaders' personal gain.

Among the Spanish regions, the Canary Islands have one of the largest concentrations of such groups, which are estimated to number some 300 in the Canaries and approximately 3000 in the whole of Spain. The total number of members of such groups in Spain is over 250 000.

The growing scale of the problem makes it necessary to adopt methods impacting on the origins of such behaviour and of organizations which take advantage of the right of free association to proselytize and "brainwash" their members.

However, such an approach has to be combined with an absolute guarantee of the right of every individual to freedom of association and freedom of belief.

Is the Commission aware of the events referred to and the relationship of the group concerned to the "Order of the Solar Temple" sect?

What measures does the Commission intend to take to prevent the proliferation of such "self-destructive" groups in the EU?

Does the Commission consider it necessary to adopt legislation at international level to prevent the multiplication of such groups in the EU?

Answer given by Mrs Gradin on behalf of the Commission

(17 September 1998)

The Commission has not officially been informed of the events mentioned by the Honourable Member.

Appropriate measures could possibly be taken under Title VI of the Treaty on the European Union to improve judicial cooperation and police co-operation in this issue. However, according to the provisions of Title VI as they currently stand, such measures at the level of the Union would have to be initiated by the Member States. The Commission has no right of initiative in this field.

Moreover, the activities of these groups are subject to relevant applicable national law, for example in the areas of taxes, family law and labour law.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-3192/98

by Arthur Newens (PSE) to the Commission

(27 October 1998)

Subject: Trade with the countries of the former USSR

Would the Commission provide information to show how the pattern of trade between each of the states which were formerly members of the USSR and the various EU Member States has developed on an annual basis since the dissolution of the USSR?

Joint answer

to Written Questions E-3191/98 and E-3192/98 given by Mr van den Broek on behalf of the Commission

(16 December 1998)

Since 1991, the Community through the Tacis programme has been providing primarily technical assistance to the countries of the former Soviet Union. Mongolia also became eligible for Tacis support in 1996. The programme has been implemented on the basis of national programmes agreed with each of the partner countries as well as an inter-state programme which has addressed trans-national issues such as the environment. Projects have been drawn up in a number of key sectors. In 1996, the Council Regulation governing the implementation of the Tacis programme was amended (Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) 1279/96 of 25 June 1996 concerning the provision of assistance to economic reform and recovery in the New Independent States and Mongolia(1)) to permit inter alia, a small component of investment financing. This is currently restricted to investment in small-scale infrastructure in the context of border-crossings and equity investment in small and medium-sized enterprises.

In addition, the Community has responded to emergency needs in the New Independent States (NIS) and Mongolia through the provision of humanitarian aid. Between 1993 and 1997, this aid totalled ECU 313 million. This assistance has focused primarily on three major humanitarian crises: the South Caucasus, involving Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia: Chechnya in Russia; and Central Asia, involving Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Reliable data on trade with the NIS is limited. In the early years following the break up of the Soviet Union data for a number of countries was lacking. The most reliable and comprehensive data relate to trade with Russia which represents by far the Community's most significant trading partner in the region. For example, in 1996, Russia accounted for 81 % of total NIS exports. Most NIS countries did a large part of their foreign trade with other NIS countries.

The Commission is sending direct to the Honourable Member and to the Secretariat of the Parliament a breakdown of the total amount of Tacis technical assistance supplied to each of the former Soviet republics in the period 1991-1997, a breakdown of the total Tacis assistance supplied by sector, a breakdown of humanitarian aid allocations per country 1991-1997, a breakdown of humanitarian aid allocations per sector 1991-1997, data on trade flows between the Community and the NIS, and data on Russia and the Community's trade balance.

(1) OJ L 165, 4.7.1996.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-3027/98

by Miguel Arias Cañete (PPE) to the Commission

(8 October 1998)

Subject: Admission of holders of Spanish postgraduate diplomas to A/LA posts

In his answer of 10 February 1998 to Written Question E-4186/97(1) by Mrs Bárbara Dührkop, Commissioner Liikanen stated that the Commission admits holders of Spanish postgraduate diplomas which enable them to study for a doctorate to category A/LA posts in the European civil service. Why, then, has the Commission not included this requirement in any of the notices of open competitions for category A/LA posts in the European civil service?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(5 November 1998)

The Commission requires Spanish candidates to A/LA competitions to have a university degree giving access to doctoral studies, as stated in answer to written question E-4186/97(2) by Mrs Dührkop Dührkop.

Hitherto notices for A/LA competitions required candidates to have completed a course of university education and obtained a degree or diploma. It was also stated that the "selection board will allow for differences between education systems". Competition notices also contain a guide for candidates, which, in the section on education and diplomas, states that the level of education of the candidate will be checked and assessed by the selection board and, if necessary, by specialists of the education system concerned.

In view of the range of education, diplomas and qualifications in the fifteen Member States, the Commission uses a single formula applicable throughout the Community.

In any case, to avoid any confusion in future, in the latest notices of open competition COM/A/8/98 to COM/A/12/98 the Commission included the sentence: only candidates with a university degree that could give access to doctoral studies will be considered.

(1) OJ C 304, 2.10.1998, p. 15.

(2) OJ C 304, 2.10.1998.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-3345/98

by Ulla Sandbæk (I-EDN) to the Commission

(16 November 1998)

Subject: ICPD + 5

In the light of the forthcoming ICPD + 5 International Forum (The Hague, 8-12 February 1999), which will review and appraise the implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action five years on, could the Commission provide information on the following issues:

1. How is the Commission preparing for the International Forum on ICPD + 5? Are any documents being drawn up? If so, when will they be made available to Members of Parliament?

2. Will the Commission use the occasion of the Hague Forum to provide an update on the progress made on the forthcoming Communication to the European Parliament and the Council on reproductive health?

3. How does the Commission plan to coordinate information and share it with Parliament and the Council in the run up to ICPD + 5?

Answer given by Mr Marín on behalf of the Commission

(9 December 1998)

1. The Commission considers the Cairo +5 process to be very useful and plans to participate in the international forum in The Hague. The Commission is also in the process of providing financial support to the non governmental organisation (NGO) forum that will take place in The Hague immediately prior to the international forum in February 1999.

A comprehensive report on Community support (1994-1998) in line with the objectives agreed at the International conference on population and development (ICPD) is in preparation and is due for release in January 1999. This report will outline the Commission's policies and strategies and provide an overview of the portfolio of projects and programmes ranging from research to service delivery.

2. The new Commission communication on population and reproductive health in developing countries is currently in preparation. Upon adoption by the Commission, which is expected in the first half of 1999, the communication will be transmitted to the Council and Parliament for discussion.

The Commission is also assisting the future German Presidency of the Council to organise an NGO round table on population, reproductive health and development to be held in Brussels on 21 and 22 January 1999. This will provide another opportunity for an exchange of views on progress with reproductive health issues and the role of NGOs in taking this forward.

3. As well as the report above a detailed report to the Parliament and the Council on actions in the field of population policies and programmes in developing countries will be provided before the end of the year. Further information sharing between the Parliament, Council and Commission is ensured through existing channels, such as the development group meetings and plenary, committee and working group sessions.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-2662/98

by Jan Andersson (PSE) to the Commission

(1 September 1998)

Subject: Structural aid to cities

Aid to particularly deprived areas of major cities is a completely new feature of European structural policy. The application of the rules on aid to urban areas contained in the Commission's proposal for a programme for cities in the European Union is, therefore, a somewhat inappropriate instrument in countries with a small, sparsely distributed population since the rules are geared to regions and not parts of cities. The Commission should, therefore, exempt certain areas with low population density from the nominal criterion of 100 000 inhabitants.

What action does the Council intend to take on this matter to avoid the somewhat inconsistent treatment ensuing from the present proposal?

Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission

(8 October 1998)

During the present programming period, the Community has intervened in the major cities, notably as part of the programmes in Objective 1 (least developed) regions and Objective 2 (industrial) regions. In addition, special programmes have been run in deprived city areas under the Community initiative URBAN. For the future, the Commission proposes to build on this experience by extending mainstream assistance to deprived urban areas under the new objective 2.

The urban areas eligible under the new Objective 2 would be selected on the basis of a proposal from the Member States in accordance with criteria in the proposed new general regulation(1). The proposed regulation imposes no minimum size of area, such as the threshold of 100 000 inhabitants mentioned by the Honourable Member. Rather, it is important that the eligible areas are of sufficient scale to allow regional development programmes to be put in place, which is why the Commission's proposal refers to areas that are "sufficiently substantial."

(1) COM(98) 131 final.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-3164/98

by Mathieu Grosch (PPE) to the Commission

(19 October 1998)

Subject: Care insurance

In the "Molenaar" judgment of 5 March 1998 (A3 - C160/96) the Court of Justice ruled that Regulation (EEC) 1408/71(1) which covers statutory sickness was applicable to German care insurance. The Court denied that care benefits were benefits in kind and said they were sickness benefits which had to be granted in other Member States. A judgment by the Court creates law which is immediately applicable. It has an immediate effect on existing legal arrangements, with the result that if parties insured under German care visit or reside in countries of the EU or the EEA they can receive care benefits for a period of six weeks. Transposition does not require an implementing act by the national parliaments.

1. Is it true that persons in receipt of two different pensions from two different EU Member States are excluded from claiming care payments in other countries?

2. If so, what is the legal basis for this?

Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission

(15 December 1998)

In the Molenaar case (C-160/96), the Court of Justice regarded the care benefits in question as sickness benefits in kind.

This interpretation means that all persons who receive only a German pension and reside in another Member State may benefit from the right to export care benefits (Article 28 of Council Regulation (EEC) 1408/71 of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons, to self-employed persons and to members of their families moving within the Community(2)). In the case of a person in receipt of two or more pensions, the first issue is to decide which Member State is responsible for sickness benefits in kind. If a person resides in a Member State which pays him or her a pension, it is that Member State which is responsible (Article 27).

If a person resides in a Member State without being entitled to a pension there, the Member State in which he or she has been insured the longest must provide sickness benefits in kind (Article 28).

Under these circumstances, it cannot be ruled out that a person who receives a German pension but, for example, resides in and receives a pension from his or her Member State of origin may not be entitled to export German care benefits.

(1) OJ L 149, 5.7.1971, p. 2.

(2) OJ L 149, 5.7.1971.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-2830/98

by John McCartin (PPE) to the Commission

(28 September 1998)

Subject: Grant aid for pig meat industry in Ireland

Can the Commission state what amount of grant aid was paid for the marketing and processing of pig meat in Ireland over the last 15 years and what was the breakdown between the Irish and EU contribution?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(16 October 1998)

Investment aid (Irish pounds) awarded to the pigmeat section in Ireland

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WRITTEN QUESTION E-3616/98

by Nelly Maes (ARE) to the Commission

(3 December 1998)

Subject: Degree of responsibility for the ECHO affair borne by the current Director of ECHO

In its answer dated 11 September 1998 to the question raised in Mr Fabra Vallés initial working document (PE 226.913) on the measures taken by the Commission in response to Special Report No 2/97 of the Court of Auditors and the ECHO affair, the Commission indicated that just one official, who had now been suspended, was suspected of involvement. Mr Fabra Vallés working document also posed questions about the degree of responsibility borne by the current Director of ECHO, given that, on 3 June 1998, he had written a letter of thanks to the firm that had perpetrated the fraud in the ECHO affair.

Will the Commission please tell me how it can continue to maintain that the current Director of ECHO could have been unaware of the suspicions against the company accused of fraud, since no "decisive" elements had been found to incriminate the now suspended official at the time when he wrote the letter?

Can the Commission continue to maintain that the current Director of ECHO was not aware of the UCLAF investigation, all the more so since, in February 1998, UCLAF investigators interviewed at length the official who has since been suspended?

Can the Commission continue to maintain that the current Director of ECHO was unaware of the fact that UCLAF was interviewing his predecessor and his predecessor's assistant?

Can the Commission agree with the statement that: either the current Director of ECHO manifestly had no clue about what was going on in his department or that the current Director of ECHO was particularly imprudent in writing a letter of thanks on 3 June 1998 to the company accused of fraud, all the more so since the relevant UCLAF report on the current inquiry had been completed as early as mid-May 1998?
WRITTEN QUESTION E-3689/98

by Nikitas Kaklamanis (UPE) to the Commission

(7 December 1998)

Subject: Motifs on euro coins and notes

Speaking on behalf of the Commission, Commissioner Yves-Thibault de Silguy has repeatedly stated that any inaccuracy in the motifs on euro coins and notes will be corrected in good time so as to avoid offending nationalist sentiment among the peoples of the Member States of the Union. One glaring inaccuracy is undoubtedly the omission of the Greek islands on coins of the single European currency, which understandably engenders misgivings and bitterness among Greek citizens.

According to available information (cited in the report "on denominations and technical specifications of euro coins intended for circulation" by Mrs Soltwedel Schäfer, Doc. A4-0401/98), the coinage has already started.

Will the Commission say whether the omissions and inaccuracies in the depiction of the Greek islands on euro coins have been corrected so as to avoid offending nationalist sentiment among Greek citizens of the Union?

Answer given by Mr de Silguy on behalf of the Commission

(25 January 1999)

As the Honourable Member recalls, the endorsement, by the Amsterdam European Council, of the euro coins was subject to a number of minor modifications requested by Member States.

Following discussion by the monetary committee, the revised designs were presented to the Ecofin Council on 17 November 1997. Having received the Parliament's opinion, the Council recorded its unanimous agreement on its common position on the technical specifications of euro coins.

Specifically with regard to islands, a minimum surface area criterion of 2 500 km2 was applied for the 1 and 2 euro coins and the 10, 20 and 50 cent coins. This led to the inclusion of the island of Crete and other European islands in these coins. In addition, the representation of Greece, in particular Chalkidiki and Peloponnesos, was corrected.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-3301/98

by Kenneth Coates (GUE/NGL) to the Council

(10 November 1998)

Subject: Code of conduct on arms exports

Under the Code of conduct on arms exports, does a country wishing to export arms have to consult any other Member States which have refused export licences?

If it had to consult with all other Member States, would that make the process more transparent and provide greater safeguards against any collusion?
WRITTEN QUESTION E-3894/98

by Karl-Heinz Florenz (PPE) to the Commission

(4 January 1999)

Subject: Directive 64/433/EEC on trade in fresh meat and Directive 86/469/EEC on the examination of animals and fresh meat for the presence of residues

Does the Commission share the view that the Fresh Meat Directive (64/433/EEC)(1) needs amending to ensure that equidae may be slaughtered only if they are identifiable and if a passport listing the medicinal products administered to them is provided so that the examination for the presence of residues may be properly carried out?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(5 February 1999)

The Commission would refer the Honourable Member to its answer to Written Question E-1495/98 by Mr Kindermann(2).

(1) OJ 121, 29.7.1964, p. 2012.

(2) OJ C 31, 5.2.1999, p. 42.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-2940/98

by Iñigo Méndez de Vigo (PPE) to the Commission

(8 October 1998)

Subject: Freezing of a certain number of budget headings

The Commission has apparently decided to freeze a certain number of budget headings providing support for projects in the voluntary sector in the fields of development cooperation, social welfare and human rights.

What reasons lie behind this decision?

Will the Commission reconsider its position?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(23 November 1998)

The Commission would remind the Honourable Member of its reply to his Written Question E-2128/98 (1), which gave a detailed account of the measures taken in response to the freezing of certain budget headings following the judgment of the Court of Justice of 12 May 1998 in Case C 106/96.

(1) OJ C 142, 21.5.1999.