WRITTEN QUESTION No. 171/98 by Freddy BLAK to the Commission. Trade in Ukrainian women
Date: 1998-02-02
Institutions: BLAK, European Parliament
Subjects: EU police cooperation, Ukraine, fight against crime, forced migration, illegal migration, organised crime, prostitution, trafficking in human beings, women's rights

C 310/32

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

9. 10. 98

(98/C 310/37)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0168/98

by Gianni Tamino (V) to the Commission

(28 January 1998)

Subject: Extension of the concession held by Autostrade Spa

On  Friday  16  January  the  Italian  Council  of  Ministers  decided,  despite  opposition  from  the  Minister  for  the
Environment, to extend the validity of the relevant decree, making slight amendments to it and asking the Court
of Auditors either to approve or to register its reservations concerning the extension of the concession, laid down
in that decree, granted to the company Autostrade Spa until the year 2018 at present, by another twenty years,
i.e. until 2038. Extension of the concession is linked to a number of projects, such as the re-routing of a mountain
pass 32 kilometres long and the building of a third lane on the Bologna-Florence section of the Autostrada del
Sole, and other projects, which by virtue of the decree can be carried out directly by Autostrade Spa, without the
need  to  issue  a  Europe-wide  call  to  tender.  The  Court  of  Auditors,  as  stated  in  the  previous  question  on  the
subject, had rejected the idea of extending the concession, but the government decided to ignore this.

It  emerges  from  interviews  and  statements  in  various  newspapers  that  the  Italian  Minister  for  Public  Works
considers that it is unnecessary to send the relevant documents to Brussels, not least because, according to the
Minister,  Brussels  has  not  requested  specific  documentation  and  moreover  is  not  competent  to  deal  with  the
matter.

Does the Commission consider that the decisions and general attitude of the Italian Government are compatible
with European legislation in this field?

What in particular does the Commission think of the Italian Government(cid:146)s refusal to inform it about these issues
and the doubts regarding its competence in this sphere?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(30 March 1998)

On  1  December  1997  the  Commission  sent  a  formal  request  to  the  Italian  authorities  for  information  on  the
concession granted to Autostrade SpA.

They have not yet replied to the questions contained in that letter. However, the Commission is in contact with
the Italian authorities.

At the moment, there is no reason to suppose that the Italian Government wishes to sidestep the obligation to
cooperate incumbent upon it under Article 5 of the EC Treaty or that it is unwilling to provide all the information
required for an analysis of the situation. Similarly, no reservations have been expressed as to the Commission(cid:146)s
competence.

(98/C 310/38)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0171/98

by Freddy Blak (PSE) to the Commission

(2 February 1998)

Subject: Trade in Ukrainian women

1.
The  International  Herald  Tribune  of  12  January  1998  reports  that  large  numbers  of  women  are  being
exported from Ukraine and many other east European countries for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Many of
the women are illegally resident in EU Member States, where they are often kept in slave-like conditions and
forced into prostitution. Is the Commission aware of this phenomenon?

2.
Has the Commission done anything or does it intend to do anything to stamp out this modern form of the
slave trade? What for instance is being done to stamp out the organized crime responsible for the slave trade, and
is it possible to use some of the money the East European countries receive from the EU so that women have
more possibility of creating a meaningful existence for themselves in their home countries?

3. Will  the  Commission  do  something  to  improve  the  situation  of  the  women  already  illegally  resident  in
the EU?