WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1531/98 by Arthur NEWENS to the Commission. ASEM Conference, London 1998
Date: 1998-05-08
Institutions: European Parliament, NEWENS
Subjects: East Timor, Far East, International Monetary Fund, Myanmar/Burma, economic recession, financial cooperation, financial situation, human rights, international monetary system, speculative capital

C 354/110

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

19. 11. 98

(98/C 354/175)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1531/98

by Arthur Newens (PSE) to the Commission

(8 May 1998)

Subject: ASEM Conference, London 1998

Further  to  the  recent  ASEM  Conference  in  London  would  the  Commissioner  let  me  have  a  response  to  the
following points:

›  Was  any  discussion  held  on  the  question  of  human  rights  ›  particularly  in  reference  to  the  situation
prevailing in Burma and East Timor, and were any efforts made to keep such sensitive issues off the agenda?

›  Was any sympathy expressed by EU representatives for the view of Prime Minister Mahathir that financial
speculation is an important cause of the economic crisis in the Far East and will the Commissioner give
details?

›  Was the issue of reform of the international monetary system discussed in addition to the question of reforms
to be recommended to individual countries and what was the nature of any proposals put forward?

Answer given by Mr Marin on behalf of the Commission

(2 June 1998)

The second Asia Europe meeting (ASEM) summit, held in London on 3-4 April 1998, provided the opportunity
for a substantive political dialogue among heads of state and government of the two regions. This touched on a
number of global and regional issues, emphasising the increasingly inter-dependent nature of the world in which
we live today, and included the question of human rights. The specific questions of Burma and East Timor were
not entered into in the plenary session, but the wide range of bilateral meetings held on the margins of the summit
provided the opportunity for these topics to be discussed.

The  heads  of  state  and  government  also  discussed  the  current  financial  and  economic  situation  in  Asia,  and
expressed confidence that with full implementation of the necessary policy reforms and strong mutual support
financial stability would be restored. In this context, heads of state and government discussed ways in which the
international financial system could be reformed and strengthened, focusing on crisis prevention and reducing
the vulnerability of domestic financial systems to potential shocks, including speculation-induced instability.
They called inter alia for a strengthened capacity of the International monetary fund (IMF) to respond to financial
difficulties, enhanced and more transparent global IMF surveillance, and strengthened cooperation, regulation
and supervision in financial sectors, and improved transparency in financial markets, including the possibility of
monitoring short-term capital flows.

Further details of the summit(cid:146)s conclusions are contained in the chairman(cid:146)s statement issued at the close of the
meeting, and in the separate statement on the financial and economic situation in Asia.

(98/C 354/176)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1551/98

by Rainer Wieland (PPE) to the Council

(25 May 1998)

Subject: Motor-vehicle number-plate requirement

From 1 June 1998 drivers whose vehicles carry the blue EU emblem on the number-plate, will no longer be
required to display indications of nationality such as (cid:145)D(cid:146), (cid:145)SF(cid:146), etc. when travelling within the Union.

On what legal basis was this negotiated?

To what extent did the Council link Switzerland into the negotiating process?

Was Switzerland actually involved in any way in the above negotiations, or was it merely consulted or notified
before or during the negotiating process?