ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 84/631

(2004/C 84 E/0709)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0576/04

by Philip Claeys (Nl) to the Commission

(26 February 2004)

Subject: Electioneering activities of Romano Prodi

Four left-wing parties are due to contest the European elections in Italy jointly under the ‘Prodi List’. Press reports suggest that the President of the Commission will not be standing himself on this list but will be playing an active part in the election campaign. He is reportedly involved in the selection of candidates. It would in fact be unlikely that the President of the Commission would lend his name to the list without being closely involved in the whole campaign.

Although these new party political activities will undoubtedly take up a great deal of his time, the Commission President has stated that he will remain in office until October.

Does Mr Prodi regard the office of President of the European Commission as a full-time job?

How much time does he think he will be spending each week on the election campaign in Italy?

Does the Commission consider it desirable for its members to be actively involved in election campaigns?

What arrangements have been made within the Commission? Who will take over Mr Prodi's duties in his absence?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(2 April 2004)

As the Commission has pointed out on a number of occasions in response to written and oral questions from MEPs, the Members of the Commission are politicians exercising a political function and, provided that they perform the duties incumbent, they remain free to express their personal views quite independently and on their own responsibility, as well as to be a member of a political party.

This having been made clear, Mr Prodi has confirmed that he does not intend to stand as a candidate in the election or take an active part in the election campaign. As in the past, he will continue to devote all his energy to his responsibilities as President of the Commission until the end of his term of office.
EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 88/246

(2004/C 88 E/0249)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0914/04

by Caroline Lucas (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(24 March 2004)

Subject: Illegal bird-trapping in Cyprus

Each year an estimated 12 million birds are illegally trapped while on migration through Cyprus. The use of such trapping methods as mist nets and lime sticks, which contravenes the Birds Directive, is still widespread.

Given that Cyprus has to fully implement and enforce the Birds Directive (79/409/EEC (1)) and the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC (2)) as of 1 May 2004, what action is the Commission taking to curb the practice of illegal bird-trapping and to ensure full implementation and enforcement by the date of accession?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(30 April 2004)

The Commission clearly pointed out during the negotiations for accession and the subsequent pre-accession period that certain bird-trapping methods, like those involving the use of mist nets and lime sticks, are incompatible with the provisions of the Birds Directive, Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds, as modified by Commission Directive 91/244/EEC of 6 March 1991 (3). The practice is illegal in Cyprus and the Cypriot authorities have assured the Commission that they would step up efforts for effective enforcement of the law in question.

Cyprus is required to ensure full implementation of the Birds and Habitats, (Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 31 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) Directives from the date of accession to the European Union. From 1 May 2004 onwards the Commission will take appropriate measures to ensure full implementation of these Directives as it would for any other Member State.

In this pre-accession period, Cyprus has now transposed these two Directives and is therefore obliged to implement them under Cyprus national law.

(1) OJ L 103, 25.4.1979, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7.

(3) OJ L 115, 8.5.1991.
EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 84/390

(2004/C 84 E/0453)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0417/04

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(9 February 2004)

Subject: Sackings from the Finex Group factory

The Finnish Finex Group owns a clothing factory in Nogueira, Maia, Portugal, which used to employ some 1 000 workers. Finex has already pressurised over half of them to accept dismissal agreements. Of the current 430 workers, some 300 women are now being pressurised to consent to unacceptable agreements on their dismissal by the end of this month. It should be noted that this company has received various subsidies.

Can the Commission answer the following:

1. How much Community subsidy has been paid to the Finex Group in Portugal and in other EU countries?

2. What measures are the Commission and the Portuguese Government going to take with a view to defending the employment and all the rights of Finex's workers, most of whom are women?

3. Is the Commission prepared to demand that the subsidies paid to the Finex Group should be repaid, if Finex continues to put pressure on its workers with a view to getting rid of them?

Supplementary answer given by Mr Dimas on behalf of the Commission

(31 March 2004)

The Commission informs the Honourable Member that Finex has received the following aid:

Community Support Framework (CSF II)

(in euro) Total European Social Fund (ESF) Orçameno da Segurança Social (OSS) PEDIP II 20 467,54 15 350,65 5 116,89

The granting of ESF assistance for vocational training measures is not subject to conditions linked to undertakings' continued existence, but to compliance with the access and eligibility criteria laid down in the regulations in force at the time of allocation of such assistance.

The Commission feels that any investment in human capital is of the greatest importance at national and regional levels. It must be underlined that ESF funding does not support a company as such, but provides an investment in human capital, so that the training which individuals benefit from improves their employability. Furthermore, as far as the Commission is aware, the company concerned is not in breach of the rules on the granting of Structural Fund assistance.

The Commission informs the Honourable Member that the company concerned has received cofinancing from the European Regional Development Fund amounting to EUR 308 413, for a project approved on 11 February 1996 under the programme for modernisation of the economic fabric (see CSF II) (1).

(1) Financial assistance to Portugal for a specific industrial development programme.
EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 78/933

(2004/C 78 E/0987)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0109/04

by Claude Moraes (PSE) to the Commission

(19 January 2004)

Subject: Sikhs and the banning of religious articles of faith

Is the European Commission aware of the implications for the Sikh community in any EU Member State which is considering the banning of religious articles of faith?

Is any action or analysis of this situation, which is of deepening concern to ethnic minority Europeans, being taken at EU level?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(17 February 2004)

The Commission is monitoring the developments the Honourable Member refers to through an ongoing dialogue with religious and ideological groups, based on deep respect for religious diversity. Should violations of fundamental rights (including freedom of religion) occur, under Community law, the Commission would take the appropriate action to ensure that these rights were respected.
1.

The Honourable Member makes an implicit reference to the s-Travel project (ref: IST-2001-3825). It must be remembered that Community funded projects must work within the existing legal framework at the EU and Member State levels. The main objective of this project was to strengthen airline passenger security by early adoption of biometrie technologies in the airport boarding process. One task of the project was to design and to implement the security measures to be set up in pilot activities in the Eleftherios Venizelos Airport and in Milan Airport. These security measures were in conformity with the ones identified in the light of the working paper (1) adopted on 1 August 2003 by the Working Party described hereafter (see: question 2.). The purpose of that document was to provide general guidelines relating to the processing of biometrie data and to contribute to a common understanding of the different issues. Another task was to run biometrie enrolment and checking kiosks. Authorisations to run these kiosks were requested in July 2003 before the start of this task. The Greek authority gave a negative answer in October 2003. Decision was taken to terminate the project in conformance with the Commission procedures and to not fund this final trial phase. It should be noted that experiments (not funded under Community programmes) of the same type have been launched and pursued without objections from the relevant authorities in other airports of the European Union, for example Aéroport de Paris (France), Schiphol (the Netherlands), London City Airport (United Kingdom).
EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 84/322

(2004/C 84 E/0371)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0162/04

by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(29 January 2004)

Subject: Commission's accounting systems

I understand the Internal Audit Service, in a report entitled ‘IAS Review of the Commission's Accounting Framework — Final Report’ dated 15 April 2003, made a number of recommendations to the Commission regarding the accounting systems.

Can the Commission verify that that the substantive quality assurance of its financial reporting practices has been improved? How has this improvement been implemented in the DGs?
EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 84/787

(2004/C 84 E/0884)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0412/04

by Charles Tannock (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(17 February 2004)

Subject: The regulation of exportation of timber from Indonesia

On the western and central islands of Indonesia including Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi, organised groups have been illegally logging parts of the rain forests and exporting timber without regard for the environment and the local communities that depend on it. West Papua is now in danger of being targeted by these groups.

Can the Commission outline what measures are being taken to ensure that timber imported into the EU has been correctly logged, recorded and legally exported according to the laws of Indonesia and the trade agreements operating between the EU, Indonesia and the World Trade Organisation?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(31 March 2004)

With the exception of timber species covered under the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) there is currently no Community legislation which would only allow the importation into the EU of legally harvested timber. Furthermore there are no multilateral agreements, including World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements, which directly address the issue of trade in illegally harvested timber.

The Commission set out a number of measures to address illegal logging and associated trade in its Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan (1), adopted in 2003 and discussed in the Parliament's Industry, Trade, Research and Energy Committee. Amongst these measures is a proposal for the EU to enter into voluntary FLEGT Partnership Agreements with timber exporting countries. Under such agreements only timber from these countries with a legality ‘certificate’ would be allowed entry into the EU. In the Communication the Commission also stated that it would examine other potential legislative options.

Indonesia has expressed interest in such a voluntary FLEGT partnership and is working with the Commission in the design of a major project to help it address the problem of illegal logging. The Commission intends to put forward in 2004 a proposal for a Regulation which would allow the implementation of the voluntary FLEGT certificate scheme at EU borders.

(1) COM(2003) 251 final.
EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 88/555

(2004/C 88 E/0567)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0990/04

by Jan Wiersma (PSE) to the Commission

(30 March 2004)

Subject: The recent clashes between Syrian Kurds and the Syrian authorities (March 2004)

Has the Commission sought information about the recent clashes between Syrian Kurds and the Syrian army, and what is the Commission's response to them?

Can the Commission ascertain the causes of the unrest, which led to many deaths, and whether it is due to the poor relations between the Syrian authorities and the Syrian Kurds?

Will the Commission raise this issue in the margins of the talks on the association agreement between Syria and the EU?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(30 April 2004)

The Commission through its Delegation in Damascus and together with Member States Embassies has sought to obtain as clear and complete a picture as possible of the events in the week following 12 March 2004. The local EU Troika met with the Syrian Foreign Ministry on 18 March 2004 to seek information and to express its concern about the situation and underline the importance of respect for human rights. The Troika expressed the European Union's continued interest in the matter and requested to be kept informed about the evolution of the situation.

The Commission does not possess any information that allows it to ascertain the immediate causes that triggered the widespread violence, apart from the fact that it started with riots related to a football game in the town of Quamishli. This unrest quickly spread to other towns with a large Kurdish population, leading to violent reactions and deaths.

As mentioned above, the Commission has raised this matter together with Member States in Damascus as well as in the course of its contacts with Syrian authorities.
EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 84/298

(2004/C 84 E/0346)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0043/04

by Elspeth Attwooll (ELDR) to the Commission

(20 January 2004)

Subject: Trade impact of the euro

In the answer to Written Question E-1883/03 (1) by Chris Huhne, Commissioner Solbes made a number of comments regarding the trade impact of the euro. Is the Commission now able to provide any additional information based on economic developments over the last six months?

(Original Question by Chris Huhne: Will the Commission summarise the conclusions of any major studies, including its own, on the impact of the euro on trade within the euro-area? Will it estimate the size of any increase in trade as a result of the introduction of the euro?)

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(23 February 2004)

In its reply to Written Question E-1883/03 by the Honourable Member Mr Huhne (2), the Commission gave an overview of the results of several academic studies assessing the euro's impact on trade within the euro-area. In the Quarterly Report on the Euro Area published on 30 September 2003, the Commission estimates, using trade data for the first quarter of 1991 to the fourth quarter of 2002, an effect of between 7 % and 18 %. The Commission, therefore, concludes that the euro has already had a sizeable impact on intra-euro area trade flows and that this effect could increase further.

Apart from the studies mentioned in the answer to the Written Question E-1883/03, it could be noted that in addition, an Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)-effect has also been established in studies on trade flows to and from individual Member States.

The Commission is not aware of any recent studies in this field using more recent trade data than the studies mentioned in the answer to the Written Question E-1883/03. However, it is unlikely that cyclical economic fluctuations in trade in the past six months would alter the basic findings of previous studies.

(1) OJ C 58 E, 6.3.2004, p. 106.

(2) OJ C 58 E, 6.3.2004, p. 106.
EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 84/599

(2004/C 84 E/0673)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0477/04

by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(23 February 2004)

Subject: Banana trade

In 1998 the EU launched a three-year ‘New Banana Recovery programme’. Please could the Commission confirm if the productivity of bananas has been increased or decreased since this date?

Has an inquiry taken place following the three-year programme to ascertain if it was a success? If so, please give details.

Following the end of the recovery programme was a new Banana Recovery programme launched? If so, please give details. Who approved this programme?

Were any MEPs substantially involved in the Banana Recovery programme? If so, please give details.

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(24 March 2004)

Council Regulation (EEC) No 404/93 of 13 February 1993 on the common organisation of the market in bananas (1) introduced management and support measures for this product.

On the structural aid side, measures to improve quality and competitiveness for the banana production chain were included in the 1994-1999 Operational Programmes for structural assistance in Objective 1 regions and were maintained for the period 2000-2006. There is however no specific ‘three-year programme’ of Structural Fund assistance for banana production.

Since the market organisation was set up launching aid has been available for banana producer groups.

There is also an income loss compensation scheme for producers. The rate applied is calculated for each marketing year.

A report assessing the effectiveness of the various market organisation measures is due at the end of this year.

(1) OJ L 47, 25.2.1993.
EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 84/323

(2004/C 84 E/0375)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0166/04

by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(29 January 2004)

Subject: Commission's accounting systems

I understand the Internal Audit Service, in a report entitled ‘IAS Review of the Commission's Accounting Framework — Final Report’ dated 15 April 2003, made a number of recommendations to the Commission regarding the accounting systems.

Could the Commission confirm that it has revised the summary tables for the intangible and tangible assets to make them clearer and more readable?
EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 88/704

(2004/C 88 E/0725)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0678/04

by Proinsias De Rossa (PSE) to the Commission

(9 March 2004)

Subject: Bushmeat – Biodiversity Action Plan

Following the European Parliament's support for the De Rossa report on Petition 461/2000 and the 2000 Biodiversity Action Plan, what investments have been made to support improved management of wildlife to achieve Biodiversity Action Plan targets?
EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 84/377

(2004/C 84 E/0437)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0364/04

by Proinsias De Rossa (PSE) to the Commission

(12 February 2004)

Subject: Packaging Waste Directive and Ireland

What reply has the Commission received from the Irish Government in response to the reasoned opinion that it sent in December 2002, as announced in Commission press release IP/02/1922, regarding Ireland's failure to implement correctly the European Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC (1) on packaging and packaging waste?

What action has it taken or is it considering taking in this matter?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(5 March 2004)

The Commission notified a Reasoned Opinion to Ireland on 19 December 2002 with regard to Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC of 20 December 1994 on packaging and packaging waste (2), as it was not satisfied that Irish transposing legislation was adequate for the purpose of meeting recovery and recycling targets that need to be achieved by the end of 2005 under the terms of Article 6 of the Directive. In June 2003, Ireland notified new legislation, with strengthened provisions in relation to Article 6. As a result, the Commission subsequently terminated the infringement procedure.

(1) OJ L 365, 31.12.1994, p. 10.

(2) OJ L 365, 31.12.1994.
EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 84/627

(2004/C 84 E/0704)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0556/04

by Proinsias De Rossa (PSE) to the Commission

(26 February 2004)

Subject: Definition of criteria for the recognition of disabilities

What action has the Commission taken in response to paragraph 7(h) of the European Parliament's resolution (P5_TA(2003)0369) of 3 September 2003 on implementing the social policy agenda which urged the Commission to define criteria for the recognition of disabilities and adopt an action plan aimed at effective prevention of musculoskeletal injuries at work?
EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 88/283

(2004/C 88 E/0290)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1114/04

by Proinsias De Rossa (PSE) to the Commission

(14 April 2004)

Subject: Civil protection

During my recent meetings with representatives of the Dublin Fire Brigade Union, they expressed an interest in being consulted during the preparation of future EU Community Action Programmes in the field of Civil Protection.

To ensure that Irish fire fighters are prepared for the implementation of current Community Action Programmes, the Dublin Fire Brigade representatives believe that a conference should be held for fire fighting groups from all 25 EU Member States and accession countries.

The conference would provide an opportunity for those responsible for the protection of European civilians to discuss coordination of EU activities. It would be one vital step towards better protection against, and reactions to, crises. I believe that a conference of EU fire brigades and police forces is particularly imperative in the wake of the tragic Madrid bombings in March.

Would the Commission consider organising such a conference? If so, what EU funding might be available?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(30 April 2004)

The Community Action Programme in the field of civil protection aims at supporting and supplementing Member States' efforts and at facilitating cooperation, exchange of experience and mutual assistance between Member States in the field of civil protection. To that effect the Commission consults on a regular basis with the competent authorities of the Member States. The fire fighters associations should liaise with the national civil protection authorities in order to contribute to the future action programme in the field of civil protection.

The recently finalised fire safety project developed under the Civil Protection Action Programme foresees the establishment of a network of national civil protection authorities in order to examine the most urgent issues to be handled by the fire safety community. Amongst these issues, the coordination of EU activities might be considered as a vital step towards better protection against and reactions to crises involving fire brigades.