WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2622/97 by Christine ODDY to the Commission. International exploitation of victims of Asian sex tourism
Date: 1997-09-01
Institutions: European Parliament, ODDY
Subjects: Asia, child, fight against crime, international cooperation, joint action, prostitution, sexual violence, tourism, trafficking in human beings, woman

3. 4. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 102/75

(98/C 102/110)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2621/97

by Nikitas Kaklamanis (UPE) to the Council

(1 September 1997)

Subject: Cost of the new annual (cid:145)Euro tax disc(cid:146)

According to reports in the Greek press, the cost of motorway usage, i.e of a (cid:145)Euro tax disc(cid:146), for the whole of the
EU is determined by whether or not the motor of the vehicle is (cid:145)Euro(cid:146)- standard and the number of axles.

The cost of the (cid:145)Euro tax disc(cid:146) for lorries with up to three axles will be ECU 990 for vehicles not fitted with
(cid:145)Euro(cid:146)- type motors, and ECU 840 and ECU 690 for (cid:145)Euro I(cid:146)- type vehicles and the even (cid:145)cleaner(cid:146) (cid:145)Euro II(cid:146)- type
vehicles, respectively. For vehicles with four and more axles, the cost of the (cid:145)Euro tax disc(cid:146) will be ECU 1 650,
ECU 1 400 and ECU 1 150, respectively.

It is clear from the above information that the charge for vehicles not fitted with (cid:145)Euro(cid:146)- type motors will be
extremely high, and the situation will be exceptionally difficult for vehicles from EU countries which are very
remote from the rest.

Will the Council say whether it intends to provide for a reduction › and, if so, on what scale › for heavy vehicles
from the particularly remote countries of the EU which have to bear the cost resulting from this geographical
distance, given that the idea of replacing the present stock of lorries with new, up-to-date and (cid:145)clean(cid:146) lorries is
unrealistic, owing to the lack of incentives, an argument that applies with particular force to Greek road hauliers?

Answer

(10 November 1997)

The  Council  cannot  prejudge  the  outcome  of  the  ongoing  discussions  on  the  proposal  for  a  Directive  on  the
charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures ((cid:147)Euro tax disc(cid:148)) which is intended to
replace Directive 93/89/EEC, which was declared void by the Court of Justice on 5 July 1995.

The Council would like to point out, however, that the derogation from the user charges set out in Directive
93/89/EEC only allows for a temporary reduction in the rates of user charges to be granted to certain Member
States which are disadvantaged because of their limited economic development and their particular geographical
situation, aggravated in some cases by political conflicts in certain third countries.

(98/C 102/111)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2622/97

by Christine Oddy (PSE) to the Commission

(1 September 1997)

Subject: International exploitation of victims of Asian sex tourism

The  European  Conference  held  in  Vienna  on  the  Trafficking  of  Women  was  hailed  a  success  and  was
summarized in the Commission(cid:146)s document (cid:145)Communication on trafficking in women for the purposes of sexual
exploitation(cid:146) (COM(96) 567 final).

What  developments  have  taken  place  that  the  Commission  is  aware  of,  particularly  in  relation  to  the
implementation of recommendations which include:

› 

improved facilities for the collection of reliable data and research;

› 

improved conditions for the dissemination of information between relevant authorities;

› 

increased cooperation and liaison with source country, governments, NGOs and human rights organizations;

›  preventive action through the distribution of information to women in source countries who are potentially at

risk;