WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2238/97 by Richard HOWITT to the Commission. Promoting links between the tractor plants in Minsk Belarus and Basildon UK
Date: 1997-07-02
Institutions: European Parliament, HOWITT
Subjects: CIS countries, EU aid, EU programme, Russia, board of management, financial aid, tractor, trade union, type of business

C 45/162

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

10. 2. 98

(98/C 45/212)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2238/97

by Richard Howitt (PSE) to the Commission

(2 July 1997)

Subject: Promoting links between the tractor plants in Minsk Belarus and Basildon UK

Precisely  what  support  may  be  made  available  from  European  Union  funds,  under  the  TACIS  and  other
programmes, to promote the links being built up between trade unionists and management at tractor plants in
Basildon in my constituency and in Minsk in Belarus?

Could the Commission give details of amounts available and deadlines for applications expected during the next
18 months?

Could the Commission give details of similar links which could be used as a model by the participants?

Answer given by Mr Van den Broek on behalf of the Commission

(16 July 1997)

The Tacis democracy programme does finance trade union links, but rarely on the level of a single plant. In the
recent past non governmental organisations building up trade union policies have been supported. However, the
suggested link could be eligible under the Tacis partnership and coordination programme (PCP), in so far as the
United Kingdom proposes the project for PCP support. The next PCP round is expected to be launched before the
end of the year.

(98/C 45/213)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2246/97

by Kirsi Piha (PPE) to the Commission

(2 July 1997)

Subject: Financial aid provided by the European Union to the Democratic Republic of Congo

The  European  Union  has  provided  a  significant  amount  of  financial  aid  to  relieve  the  disastrous  situation  in
Congo. However, estimates have been produced claiming that a large part of this aid has fallen into the wrong
hands.

What  is  the  total  amount  of  financial  aid  out  of  EU  resources  provided  to  Congo  so  far?    How  does  the
Commission propose to ensure that the aid allocated to Congo in future gets to its destination and that the aid
reaches those who need it?

Answer given by Mr Pinheiro on behalf of the Commission

(4 August 1997)

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) is a signatory to the Lome· Convention and, as such, it
has had the benefit of the Community(cid:146)s financial and technical cooperation via the European Development Fund
(EDF).  The  assertion  that  aid  has  fallen  into  the  wrong  hands  has  never  been  proven  as  regards  Community
cooperation, implementation of which is monitored closely by the Commission(cid:146)s delegation in Kinshasa.

On 22 January 1992, as a result of the Mobutu authorities(cid:146) obstruction of the development of democracy, the
Community and its Member States suspended the cooperation programmes, with the exception of humanitarian
aid.  Since  then,  the  Commission  has  confined  its  initiatives  to  the  financing  of  humanitarian  aid  and
rehabilitation  operations,  involving  a  total  of  approximately  ECU  307  million.  Those  operations  have  been
implemented  by  organisations  that  form  part  of  civil  society  and  by  international  organisations,  without  any
direct involvement of the successive governments, but with the active participation of the recipients.