WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1770/98 by Nikitas KAKLAMANIS to the Commission. Autonomy in Northern Epirus
Date: 1998-06-05
Institutions: European Parliament, KAKLAMANIS
Subjects: Albania, Epirus, Greece, autonomy, ethnic group, human rights, rights of minorities

22.2.1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 50/89

symbols (for insufficiently sampled bathing areas) and red symbols (for not sampled and thus incompliant
bathing areas) in the report.

(1) OJ L 31, 5.2.1976.
(2) OJ L 377, 31.12.1991.

(1999/C 50/129)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1770/98

by Nikitas Kaklamanis (UPE) to the Commission

(5 June 1998)

Subject: Autonomy in Northern Epirus

According to the UN Charter, autonomy is one of the inalienable civil rights of peoples. In the EU, autonomy is a
common form of institution; countries such as Italy, Spain and Finland have granted fundamental rights to
autonomous regions on their territory. Northern Epirus is a region of Albania whose right to autonomy has been
established (as long ago as 17 May 1914 by the (cid:145)Corfu Protocol(cid:146)) and provision made for the protection of the
population(cid:146)s language and religion. Moreover, the Protocol was signed at the time by the plenipotentiary
countries of the (present-day) EU (Italy, Great Britain, Germany, Austria and France) and by the Special
Representative of Albania himself.

Will the Commission state its position on this issue, which concerns the protection of human rights in a country
which desires closer relations with the EU but which has refused for years to honour the commitment that it
undertook?

Answer given by Mr van den Broek on behalf of the Commission

(2 July 1998)

It is not for the Commission to judge the reference made by the Honourable Member to the UN Charter or to
assess, in the current Albanian context, the validity and exact scope of the 1914 Corfu Protocol granting specific
rights for the autonomy of the southern part of Albania and in particular of the Greek ethnic minority in the
region.

Albania, which joined the Council of Europe in 1995, has ratified the Convention for the Protection of Human
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (including almost all of the related protocols) and in 1995 signed the
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. The High Commissioner for National
Minorities of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) noted in the course of a mission
in 1994 that minority rights in Albania were adequately respected and that certain improvements had been made,
notably in education in Greek. Following this mission, an office for minorities was set up in 1995 enabling
members of minorities to file complaints. An agreement on the opening of additional Greek-language schools in
certain villages in southern Albania was obtained under a friendship agreement between Albania and Greece
signed in March 1996, which also set up bipartite committees for settling outstanding problems.

As part of the Community(cid:146)s regional policy towards certain countries of south-east Europe, including Albania,
the Commission will continue to monitor political and economic developments in the countries concerned,
including respect for democratic principles, human rights and the rights of minorities.

(1999/C 50/130)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1773/98

by Joan VallvØ (ELDR) to the Commission

(5 June 1998)

Subject: Use of certain methods of capturing wild animals

Is it legal to use snares with an in-built catch or selective snares (taken to mean those which cannot shut with a
circumference of less than 19 cm, thus preventing most species from being caught provided that they are not used