ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
WRITTEN QUESTION E-1374/97 by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE) to the Commission (21 April 1997)

Subject: Impact of the EU's agrements with third countries on fish and mollusc preserves

In view of the direct influence that the signing of various agreements with third countries has on fish and mollusc preserves and the fact that many of the European firms in this sector do not know the contents of these agreements, can the Commission say what is the state of negotiations, relations or, if appropriate, the latest agreements concluded by the European Union with Turkey, the CEECs, ASEAN, the ACP and SPG countries and the Andean Pact (drugs) etc., as regards fish and other seafood preserves?

Answer given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission (27 May 1997)

The Commission is collecting the information it needs to answer the question. It will communicate its findings as soon as possible.
WRITTEN QUESTION P-0422/97 by Olivier Dupuis (ARE) to the Council (6 February 1997)

Subject: EU action on China with regard to the UN Commission on Human Rights

With 6 more weeks to go until the annual meeting of the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, it seems that the EU has still not decided on action to be taken on the very serious human rights situation in China.

So far the EU Human Rights Working Group has failed to reach a conclusion on what the EU should do with respect to a China resolution. At the same time, the human rights situation in China is deteriorating even further, while the so-called dialogue on human rights between the EU and China is deadlocked. For these reasons, a UN resolution condemning the human rights situation in China is needed more than ever.

It seems that the Presidency of the Union is committed to such a resolution and is supported by most other Member States on this issue. However, from well-informed sources as well as from the press, it appears that 2 Member States are strongly opposed and are obstructing the consultation process.

Can the Council confirm this information? If this is the case, what action is the Presidency of the Union planning to take to overcome the deadlock?

Answer (27 May 1997)

The Honourable Member of Parliament is correct in his assumption that the Union has not yet taken a decision on what action it will take on the human rights situation in China at the forthcoming 53rd session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

The Troika at ministerial level has met with a Chinese delegation in Singapore on 14 February 1997. This allowed the European Union to reiterate the great importance it attaches to a dialogue on human rights with China. Without engaging in any form of negotiations on the Union's principles concerning the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, it also provided the Union with an opportunity to impress upon the Chinese side its expectations for tangible improvement in the human rights situation in China.

Clear examples of such improvements would be the release of political prisoners in need of medical treatment, the signature and ratification of the two United Nationas human rights covenants and allowing the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit prisons in China.

The outcome of the Troika meeting with China in Singapore, and measures taken by China to improve its human rights situation will be taken into consideration by the Union when deciding upon the course it will take at the Commission on Human Rights.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0200/97 by Gianni Tamino (V) to the Commission (5 February 1997)

Subject: Union funds for vivisection

In the Pisa, Italy, local press Professor Giulio Soldani of the veterinary faculty of the local university said he was carrying out experiments on animals for an EEC programme.

Is the Commission aware of such research?

What important innovations have resulted from such studies?

What is the total funding involved?

Does it consider it right that beagles should have been bought with European funds for Professor Soldani's experiments at a cost of LIT 1 200 000 (about ECU 631) each?

Answer given by Mrs Cresson on behalf of the Commission (14 April 1997)

The research in question relates to a project carried out under the Biomedicine and Health programme, entitled 'Histamine H3 Agonists and Antagonists as drugs'.

A final report on the three-year project was submitted to the Commission in January 1995. The report recorded the project's achievements, viz. the development of two new types of medicinal products for gastro-intestinal and cardio-vascular use.

Experiments on dogs, cats and rats proved necessary to study gastric acid secretion, and were performed in accordance with Directive 86/609/EEC on the protection of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes ((OJ L 358, 18.12.1986. )). For instance, the dogs were anaesthetized during operations.

ECU 450 000 was allocated to the project for the three years.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0284/97 by Honório Novo (GUE/NGL) to the Council (14 February 1997)

Subject: Amendment of Regulation 3030/93

The Commission recently adopted a document (COM(96)0703) proposing a number of changes to Regulation 3030/93 ((OJ L 275, 8.11.1993, p. 1. )) on the agreement on textiles products.

The Commission also appears to have decided to submit this document to the Council for approval, without having consulted Parliament on the amendments adopted by it.

Can the Council state, as a matter of urgency, whether or not it intends to approve the Commission's text amending Regulation 3030/93, given that the mandatory consultation of Parliament has not taken place and that Parliament has had no opportunity of delivering an opinion on the matter?

Answer (30 May 1997)

The Council received a proposal for a Regulation amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 3030/93 of 12 October 1993 on common rules for imports of certain textile products from third countries. After examining the matter, the Council considered that this proposal, which was forwarded to it by the Commission on 20 January 1997, did not require consultation of the European Parliament as it was based on Article 113 of the Treaty establishing the European Community. The Council adopted the Regulation at its meeting on 29 April 1997.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0974/97 by Miguel Arias Cañete (PPE) to the Commission (17 March 1997)

Subject: EAGGF-Guarantee Fund in Germany

Can the Commission specify how much funding Germany received in total from the EAGGF-Guarantee Fund in 1996, giving a breakdown

per chapter (arable crops, sugar, fibre plants and silkworms, fruit and vegetables, other plant sectors or products, the vine-growing sector, tobacco, milk and milk products, beef and veal, sheepmeat and goatmeat, pigmeat, eggs and poultrymeat, other animal product aid measures, refunds on processed agricultural products, refunds in connection with EU food aid, the distribution of agricultural products to deprived persons in the Community, accompanying measures, rural development measures related to the operation of markets, other measures, income aid and the European Fisheries Guarantee Fund), and

per procedure (export refunds, compensatory pricing aid, 'area' aid, aid per head of stock, guidance premiums, private storage aid, withdrawal and similar operations, compensatory amounts, accompanying measures for reform of the CAP and public storage expenditure)?

Joint answer to Written Questions E-0974/97, E-0975/97, E-0976/97, E-0977/97, E-0978/97, E-0979/97, E-0980/97, E-0981/97, E-0982/97, E-0983/97, E-0984/97, E-0985/97, E-0986/97, E-0987/97 and E-0988/97 given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (6 May 1997)

Because of the length of the answer, which includes a number of tables, the Commission is sending it direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament's Secretariat.
WRITTEN QUESTION No. 521/97 by Anita POLLACK to the Council. Kashmir



Official Journal C 319 , 18/10/1997 P. 0100



WRITTEN QUESTION E-0521/97 by Anita Pollack (PSE) to the Council (19 February 1997) Subject: Kashmir According to press reports in India, there has been a recent visit to Kashmir by ambassadors of five EU Member States - France, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain. Will the Council explain the results of their visit and whether the question of the British hostage and the other hostages, now held for over a year, was raised? Answer (27 May 1997) There has been no recent visit to Kashmir by EU ambassadors as erroneously mentioned by press reports.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0004/97 by Karin Riis-Jørgensen (ELDR) to the Commission (22 January 1997)

Subject: EIB-funded investment projects

In Denmark the FinansieringsInstituttet for Industri og Hångværk (Financial Institute for Industry and Craft Trades) (FIH) administers loans funded by the European Investment Bank (EIB). Small and medium-sized undertakings with investment projects covered by the objectives of the global loan system may take out FIH loans funded by the EIB.

On what terms and how was the FIH selected to administer EIB global loans in Denmark?

In what circumstances may the FIH refuse a loan to an undertaking?

What are the terms of the EIB lending to the FIH?

One of the EU's objectives is to encourage access by small and medium-sized undertakings to capital. How does the Commission ensure that the EIB's lending policy is to the advantage of SMUs and hence in line with the EU's objectives, where global loans are granted via national financial institutions such as the FIH in Denmark?

Answer given by Mr de Silguy on behalf of the Commission (11 April 1997)

For close on thirty years, the European Investment Bank (EIB) has employed a decentralized financing procedure (global loans), in close touch with investors and their needs, to support small and medium-scale projects that, for reasons of operational efficiency, effective vetting and knowledge of this market segment, it would not be possible to finance through individual loans. The 130 or so banks and financial institutions which are partners of the EIB and act as intermediaries for its global loans in the Community have been selected on the basis of their network of contacts with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) at national, regional and even local level and because they are able to vet projects in that sector.

These intermediaries vet projects to be financed in accordance with the criteria laid down in the agreement governing the granting of global loans. As a general rule, the following criteria apply: projects costing between ECU 20 000 and ECU 12.5 million and undertaken by firms which may employ up to 500 workers (priority given to firms with fewer than 50 workers) and whose net fixed balance-sheet assets do not exceed ECU 75 million. The intermediary banks manage the loan and the associated risk. The EIB's lending terms as regards the FIH in Denmark are no different from those for other intermediaries and closely reflect market conditions and the cost of resources raised by the EIB. The financing of projects undertaken by SMEs helps to improve their competitiveness and, in the case of capacity-augmenting projects, to support job creation.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0611/97 by María Estevan Bolea (PPE) to the Commission (27 February 1997)

Subject: Auto/Oil Programme

Will the requirements laid down by the Auto/Oil Programme in respect of vehicles manufactured in the European Union apply equally to vehicles imported from third countries, in particular Korean and Japanese vehicles?

Answer given by Mr Bangemann on behalf of the Commission (9 April 1997)

The Commission has drawn up requirements for motor vehicles to take account of the results of the auto/oil programme. These requirements will be introduced by an amendment ((COM(97) 77. )) to Directive 70/220/EEC on measures to be taken against air pollution by motor vehicles ((OJ 76, 6.4.1970. )) , sent to Parliament and the Council.

This Directive applies to all new vehicles intended for use on Community territory, whichever their country of origin.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0229/97 by Stanislaw Tillich (PPE) to the Commission (7 February 1997)

Subject: Assistance for nuclear power stations in the CEECs and the CIS

Can the Commission say which nuclear power stations in Eastern Europe and the successor states to the former Soviet Union received assistance from 1991 to 1996, under what EU programmes and on what scale?

Can it also make a comparison between resources available and resources actually used?

Answer given by Mr Van den Broek on behalf of the Commission (20 March 1997)

Tacis countries, on-site assistance

>TABLE>

Tacis countries, design safety

Several projects are intended to provide assistance to the Russian and Ukrainian utilities concerning generic problems of all plants.

Budget 96.5 mecu Start 1991

About 60% of the budgets allocated has been contracted.

Phare countries

Phare activities in the field of nuclear safety began in 1990 in Czechoslovakia (Dukovany nuclear power plant (NPP), Temelin NPP, Bohunice NPP) and Poland. Later, in 1991, the Kozloduy emergency programme was launched in Bulgaria. The Bulgarian national programmes 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996 followed. An extension of the existing programme for Czechoslovakia was launched in 1991, and later was split between the Czech and Slovak republics. A national programme for Lithuania (Ignalina NPP) began in 1991 and was continued in 1993.

In 1992, a regional programme was decided, followed by a 1993 regional programme for nuclear safety. Both included operational safety improvements, near term technical improvements, enhancing of safety regulatory regimes and nuclear and fuel cycle and waste management and the same lines were covered in the 1995 regional programme. The 1992/1993 regional programme was followed by the 1994 regional programme, a logical continuation of the same, directed to VVER 440-213 plants which are operated in three Phare countries. The 1994 regional programme followed the same classification as past regional programmes.

On-site assistance has been given to Kozloduy NPP in Bulgaria since 1991. The other NPPs at Ignalina in Lithuania, Bohunice in Slovakia, Dukovany in Czech Republic, and Paks in Hungary were supported by different measures mentioned above.

The total budget was 133 mecu of which until now about 60% has been contracted.
WRITTEN QUESTION P-0906/97 by Umberto Bossi (NI) to the Commission (12 March 1997)

Subject: Permitted maximum quantity of residues in certain fish species: situation in the various Member States

In the light of the somewhat vague answer to my Written Question P-0385/97 ((OJ C 217, 17.7.1997, p. 170. )), will the Commission now say which Member States have imposed maximum limits on the levels of the organochlorine antiparasitic agent known as DDT present in certain fish species? What is the maximum permitted concentration of DDT in each Member State?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (9 April 1997)

The Commission is collecting the information it needs to answer the question. It will communicate its findings as soon as possible.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0880/97 by Jens-Peter Bonde (I-EDN) to the Commission (12 March 1997)

Subject: Commission diktat concerning the young people's European cooperation organization

What are the Commission's reasons for discriminating against young people from European non-member States in the young people's European cooperation organization?

Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission (29 April 1997)

If the creation of the European Youth Forum were to lead to the disappearance of the Union Youth Forum the basic principles that led the Commission to support the creation of the Youth Forum in 1978 would be fundamentally altered and the relationship between the institutions and the Youth Forum would need to be thoroughly overhauled. These principles, set out in the letter of 19 June 1978 from the Commission to the European Community Youth Forum, concern the value of establishing a special relationship with Member States' youth organisations, involving them in the dialogue on Community youth policies and, inter alia, providing them with the funding they need in order to function independently and develop activities which promote European integration.

If the Union Youth Forum were to disappear, the status of the new platform would simply be that of an international organisation. However, if the Union Youth Forum were to continue to function, as a separate entity from the European Youth Forum, there could conceivably be a close tie-in between the activities of the two platforms, including at the financial level, on the understanding that the Union Youth Forum would continue to be the Commission's interlocutor for policy and funding questions.

At their General Assembly in early December 1996 the representatives of the youth organisations decided, democratically and in accordance with their statutes, to retain the two bodies and to work towards devising a coordinated action framework. The Commission is in close contact with the members of the executive bureaux of the two platforms to help them establish just such a framework.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0820/97 by Jean-Yves Le Gallou (NI) to the Commission (10 March 1997)

Subject: Community subsidies to associations, NGOs and various other bodies

With regard to heading B7-6210 (North-south cooperation schemes in the context of the campaign against drug abuse), can the Commission provide a complete list of associations, NGOs and other bodies benefiting from Community subsidies and the exact amount of these subsidies for the last completed budgetary year, i.e. 1996?

Answer given by Mr Marín on behalf of the Commission (11 April 1997)

>TABLE>
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0874/97 by Amedeo Amadeo (NI) to the Commission (12 March 1997)

Subject: 1995 Cohesion Fund

With regard to the Cohesion Fund for 1995 can the Commission say what projects were approved and subsidized in Italy and the amount of appropriations allocated to each of them? In particular can it specify which projects concerned the environment and transport?

Joint answer to Written Questions E-0872/97, E-0873/97 and E-0874/97 given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (7 April 1997)

According to Article 2.2 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1164/94 of 16 May 1994 ((OJ L 130, 25.5.1994. )) setting up the Cohesion fund, only Greece, Spain, Portugal and Ireland are eligible for Cohesion fund financing until the end of 1999. Italy is therefore not eligible and no projects in Italy have been financed by the fund.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0675/97 by Wilfried Telkämper (V) to the Commission (6 March 1997)

Subject: Publication of all calls for tender in the supplement to the Official Journal of the European Communities

With effect from 1 January 1997 all EU calls for tenders - whether they are for goods, services or programmes - will only be published in the very comprehensive and detailed supplement to the Official Journal of the EC. Prior to that date announcements of calls for tenders for general programmes appeared in the C series of the Official Journal, which also contains other politically important documents of interest to a wide readership.

1. What is the reason for the change?

2. Who is responsible for it?

3. Is the person responsible aware that this will mean substantial additional costs for subscribers, that it will therefore be impossible to draw the attention of operators in certain key sectors in the Member States to support programmes and that at the same time it will reduce the number of persons who can take part in the programmes?

Answer given by Mr Oreja on behalf of the Commission (5 May 1997)

The Commission would refer the Honourable Member to its answer to Written Question E-629/97 by Mr Bontempi ((See page 141. )).
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0177/97 by Roberta Angelilli (NI) to the Commission (3 February 1997)

Subject: Insurance policies for voluntary service organizations

Under Italian legislation (Framework Law No 266 of 11 August 1991 on voluntary service and the Decree issued by the Ministry for Industry, Trade, and Craft Trades on 14 February 1992), voluntary service organizations are obliged to take out insurance policies on behalf of all members who do voluntary work, to cover accidents, occupational diseases, and third party liability.

Is there any basic legislation at Union level governing the obligations of voluntary service organizations to take out insurance policies for their working volunteer members?

Specifically, if such obligations exist, what guarantees have to be offered, what procedures have to be followed, and what, if any, are the maximum amounts of accidental damage excess?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission (7 April 1997)

There are no specific provisions at Community level that oblige voluntary service organizations to take out insurance contracts on behalf of their members to cover occupational diseases or third party liability.

However, on 13 June 1985 the Council adopted a Recommendation on social protection for volunteer development workers ((85/308/EEC, OJ L 163, 22.6.1985. )), urging Member States to introduce a system under which volunteer development workers would benefit from an adequate level of social protection. The Commission presented the first report on progress achieved in implementing this Recommendation on 31 March 1992 ((SEC(92) 59 final. )) and a second report is planned for 1997.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0898/97 by Johanna Maij-Weggen (PPE) to the Commission (12 March 1997)

Subject: Aid for Burmese refugees

How much money did the Commission pay out in 1995 and 1996 to aid projects in Burma and Burmese refugees in the surrounding countries?

Can the Commission give details of the projects involved?

Answer given by Mr Marín on behalf of the Commission (7 April 1997)

Three projects were financed by the Commission under budget line B7-212, aid towards self-sufficiency of refugees, displaced persons and uprooted people in 1995.

>TABLE>

Six projects were financed under the same budget line in 1996.

>TABLE>

During the same period, the Commission in the context of humanitarian aid has financed other projects listed in a document sent direct to the Honourable Member and to the Parliament's Secretariat.
WRITTEN QUESTION E-1147/97 by Lucio Manisco (GUE/NGL) to the Council (2 April 1997)

Subject: Violation of human rights in women's prisons in the United Kingdom

There have been reports in the press that women prisoners in Holloway prison are forced to give birth chained to their beds.

1. Is the Council aware of this practice?

2. Does the Council not consider that this practice is inhumane and that such a violation of human rights in a women's prison should be condemned?

3. What steps does the Council intend to take to put an end to this violation of human rights?

Joint answer to Written Questions E-0515/97, E-0630/97, E-1147/97 and E-1148/97 (27 May 1997)

The conditions in which prisoners are held in Member States' prisons are within the responsibility of the appropriate authorities of the Member States. The authorities of the Member State referred to in these questions have rejected entirely the allegations made. The Council recalls that all Member States are parties to the European Convention for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, signed in Rome on 4 November 1950 and all Member States are parties to the European Convention for the prevention of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of 26 November 1987.