MemberStateleveltoreducethepotentialforcriminalmisuseofRohypnol.Theseincludereformulating
themedicinetomakeitmoredifficulttoadministercovertlyandinforminghealthcareprofessionalsandthepublicoftheriskofmisuse.
(2004/C58E/216) WRITTENQUESTIONE-2716/03
byKathleenVanBrempt(PSE)totheCommission
(11September2003)
Subject:Radardetectors
AwholerangeofdetectorsystemsforspeedchecksareavailableontheEuropeanmarket.Oneoftheseis
theBritishRoadPilot,anewhigh-techGPSreceiverwhichwarnsmotoristswhentheyareapproachinganunmanned camera and tells them whether or not they need to reduce their speed. Unlike all otherdetectors,theRoadPilotisnotbannedinBelgiumbecauseitdoesnotdetectpoliceradarwhichisillegalinBelgium.However,BelgianscanacquirepoliceradardetectorsintheNetherlandswheretheyarelegal.Asaresult,manymotoristsaredrivingaroundwithradardetectionsystems.
Roadsafetyexpertshavedrawnattentiontothedangersofdetectionsystemsofthiskind.Theypointout
thattherearedriverswhobrakesuddenlywhentheyreceiveasignalandthenspeedupagainoncetheyhavepassedthespeeddetectiondevice.
WhatistheCommission’sattitudetoradardetectors?
IstheCommissionawareofthecommercialsuccessofthesespeedcameradetectorsystems?Doesitnotagreethatradardetectorsaredangerousforroadsafety?
DoesitintendtodrawupEuropeanregulationsonthismatter?
AnswergivenbyMrsdePalacioonbehalfoftheCommission
(21October2003)
TheCommissioniscollectingtheinformationitneedstoanswerthequestion.Itwillcommunicateits
findingsassoonaspossible.
(2004/C58E/217) WRITTENQUESTIONE-2719/03
byMargrietusvandenBerg(PSE)totheCommission
(11September2003)
Subject:Follow-upquestionontheproblemsoffrontierstudents
Fromitsanswerof27AugusttoWrittenQuestionE-2534/03(1),itappearsthattheCommissiondoes
havetheauthoritytoencouragecooperationbetweenMemberStatesintheareaofeducationandtheorganisationofeducationsystems.Whatstepsisitpreparedtotakeinthissphere?
(1) OJC33E,6.2.2004.6.3.2004EN C58E/201 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanUnion
AnswergivenbyMrsRedingonbehalfoftheCommission
(10October2003)
While Member States remain fully responsible for the content of teaching and the organisation of
education systems, the Commissioncurrently fulfils its role of encouraging and supporting Europeancooperationonschooleducationbymeansoftwomaintools.
ThefirstoftheseistheSocratesProgramme,andspecificallytheComeniusactionsforcooperationinthe
fieldofschooleducation.Theseactionstargetallactorsintheschooleducationcommunity,includingnotonly pupils and teachers, but also education authorities, inspectors, parents’ groups, communityassociations,andteachertraininginstitutions,amongstothers.TheoverallobjectivesofComeniusaretoenhance the quality and reinforce the European dimension of school education, and to promote thelearningoflanguagesandinterculturalawareness.FurtherinformationontheComeniusactions,includingdetailsofthetypeofmobilityactivitiessupported,canbefoundonthefollowingCommissionwebsite:(http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/programmes/socrates/comenius/index_en.html).
TheotherprincipalframeworkinwhichcooperationonschooleducationistakingplaceatEuropeanlevel
isthroughthe‘objectivesprocess’ontheconcretefutureobjectivesofeducationandtrainingsystems(
1),in
whichtheCommissionplaysacoordinatingrole.TheseobjectivesprovideabasisforMemberStatestoworktogetheratEuropeanleveltocontributetothegoaldefinedattheLisbonEuropeanCouncilmeetingof March 2000, namely that of making Europe the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-basedeconomyintheworld.TheHonourableMemberwillbeinterestedtonotethatthegoalsofincreasingmobilityandexchangeandstrengtheningEuropeancooperationareamongstthosebeingaddressedinthis
process.
ThroughtheCommunityInitiativeInterregIIIfundingcanbeprovided,intermsofprojectsanddepending
ontheassessmentoftheregionsconcernedoftheneeds,toco-operationofthepublicauthoritiesinthefieldofeducation aswellastocross-borderlearning ofe.g. languages. Though targeted projects canprovideonlyshort-termfunding,theoutcomesofsuchprojectsmayhavealong-termimpactprovidingsolutionstoproblemsencountered.
(1) Seethe‘Detailedworkprogrammeonthefollow-upoftheobjectivesofeducationandtrainingsystemsinEurope’
adoptedbytheCouncilon20February2002,document6365/02EDUC27.
(2004/C58E/218) WRITTENQUESTIONE-2747/03
byPaulRübig(PPE-DE)totheCommission
(15September2003)
Subject:Discrimination against Austrian building contractors in the provision of services on German
buildingsites
Austrianfirmsandorganisationsrepresentingtheconstructionindustrycomplainincreasinglythat,onthe
basisoftheGermanlawonthepostingofworkers,theGermanauthoritiesarerestrictingcompetitionandhindering the posting of workers for the provision of services on building sites in Germany by notrecognisingallowances,bonusesandextrapaymentsforpostedworkersfromotherMemberStatesaspartoftheminimumwage,astheydointhecaseofemployeesofGermanfirms.
The situation will worsen after 1September 2003, when a further and considerable increase in the
minimumwagetookeffectundertheaboveGermanlaw,bringingitfarabovetheAustriancollectivelyagreedminimumwage(nottakingintoaccountadditionalallowances,bonusesandextrapaymentsthatarerequiredbylaworundercontracts).C58E/202 EN6.3.2004 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanUnion