WRITTEN QUESTION No. 136/98 by Shaun SPIERS to the Commission. Employment rights for clergy and church workers
Date: 1998-01-23
Institutions: European Parliament, SPIERS
Subjects: Anglicanism, EU law - national law, United Kingdom, customs and traditions, employment policy, job security, labour law

C 223/124

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

17. 7. 98

(98/C 223/158)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0136/98

by Shaun Spiers (PSE) to the Commission

(23 January 1998)

Subject: Employment rights for clergy and church workers

Is the Commission aware that ancient freehold rights for the clergy of the established church in England are being
eroded and that, since clergy of all faiths in Britain are not protected by domestic employment legislation, rights
under European Union legislation are not being universally applied to all workers within the European Union?

Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission

(24 February 1998)

The  provisions  of  Community  directives  on  labour  law  are  generally  applicable  to  employees.  However,  the
Directives currently in force do not themselves define the concept of (cid:145)employee(cid:146).

In the absence of a uniform Community concept in the field of labour law, the concept in the national law of each
Member State determines the category of persons covered by the term (cid:145)employee(cid:146) and should, therefore, fall
within the scope of the provisions in question. This idea is confirmed by the case law of the Court of Justice.

This  does  not  mean,  however,  that  a  Member  State  is  free  to  restrict  or  extend  the  concept  of  (cid:145)employee(cid:146)
deliberately in order to determine the scope of each Community Directive individually. In this context it is the
general concept of labour law in force in the Member States which should apply.

(98/C 223/159)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0144/98

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(2 February 1998)

Subject: Support for Greek citrus-fruit growers

Citrus-fruit  growers  in  Greece  are  faced  with  severe  problems  in  marketing  this  year(cid:146)s  crop  owing  to
overproduction in the EU, uncontrolled imports of very cheap orange juice from Brazil and the USA and the
exceptionally harsh recent weather. Market prices have plummeted as a result of the considerable reductions in
export  subsidies  deriving  from  the  new  rules  applying  to  market-garden  produce,  their  withdrawal  from  the
market  and  pulping  for  juice  and  the  manner  in  which  the  Commission  has  administered  them.  The  entire
situation is exacerbated by competition from third countries, particularly Mediterranean, which have preferential
relations with the EU.

In the light of this situation, will the Commission say:

1.  how it will respond to the considerable loss of income suffered by growers,

2.  whether it will allow an increase in the withdrawal ceiling by way of exception (from the current 35% of

marketable quantities) in order to absorb part of the crop, and

3.  what other measures it will take to relieve the dire financial situation which has befallen citrus-fruit growers

in Greece?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(9 March 1998)

The Greek citrus-growing sector suffers from structural problems such as undiversified production, weak

1.
marketing structures and a processing industry not geared towards manufacturing competitive products.