WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1016/98 by Ulf HOLM to the Commission. Recipients of support under the sugar regime
Date: 1998-03-26
Institutions: European Parliament, HOLM
Subjects: EAGGF Guarantee Section, EU financing, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom, common organisation of markets, export aid, general budget (EU), sugar

19. 11. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 354/51

Answer given by Mrs Gradin on behalf of the Commission

(17 June 1998)

The  Commission  shares  the  Honourable  Member(cid:146)s  concern  about  free  movement  of  foreign  children  legally
resident or temporarily in the Community.

In this respect, Article 2 of the Schengen Agreement provides that internal borders may be crossed at any point
without any checks being carried out.

Action has been also taken for instance to facilitate the free movement of school children from third countries
travelling within the Community.

Three directives (1)  proposed  by  the  Commission  on  24  August  1995  which  seek  to  improve  free  movement
within  the  Community  also  touch  upon  free  movement  of  third  country  nationals  legally  resident  in  the
Community.

The United Nations Convention on the rights of the child adopted in 1989, which provides a common framework
of commitment to children(cid:146)s rights to be developed by the Member States in their national legal systems, and the
Hague  Convention  of  1993,  which  deals  with  the  setting  up  of  a  cooperation  mechanism  for  taking  care
throughout  the  adoption  procedure  that  the  higher  interest  of  a  child  is  safeguarded,  do  not  contain  specific
provisions on movement of foster children travelling within the Community.

The proposal for a convention on the right to family life drawn up by the European coordination for the right of
foreign nationals to family life, as currently drafted, focuses on family reunion and does not address specifically
the issue of foster children.

(1)  OJ C 306, 17.11.1995, OJ C 289, 31.10.1995 and OJ  C 307, 18.11.1995.

(98/C 354/91)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1016/98

by Ulf Holm (V) to the Commission

(26 March 1998)

Subject: Recipients of support under the sugar regime

Which companies are the five biggest net recipients of Community support for imports, exports and the storage
of sugar in Sweden, Germany and the UK respectively?

What percentage of the total amount of the aforementioned types of support do they account for in each of those
countries?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(21 April 1998)

The Community(cid:146)s revenue and expenditure resulting from the application of the common organization of the
markets in the sugar sector are recorded in the general budget of the Community. From this document, and from
the annual financial reports of the European agricultural guidance and guarantee fund: guarantee section, it is
possible to obtain an accounting breakdown to the level of each Member State.

The Commission does not possess the information needed to provide a more detailed breakdown to the level of
individual undertakings. Such detailed accounting is not needed for the sound management of the Community(cid:146)s
sugar  sector  and  it  is  clear  that  the  costs  of  establishing  and  maintaining  the  necessary  centralized  data  base
would be prohibitive in relation to any benefits that might accrue.

The Commission is accordingly unable to provide the detailed analyses requested by the Honourable Member.