WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2445/98 by Angela SIERRA GONZÁLEZ to the Commission. Activities of the Chiquita multinational in Latin America
Date: 1998-07-30
Institutions: European Parliament, SIERRA GONZALEZ
Subjects: Costa Rica, Latin America, fraud, multinational enterprise, national law, occupational health, pesticide, public health, tropical fruit

C 96/98

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

8.4.1999

(1999/C 96/137)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2445/98

by Angela Sierra GonzÆlez (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

Subject: Activities of the Chiquita multinational in Latin America

(30 July 1998)

Recent reports appearing in various sectors of the media contain a number of interesting revelations on the
activities of the Chiquita multinational in various Latin American countries.

These include the following:

› Chiquita secretly controls dozens of allegedly independent companies in order to evade restrictions on land

ownership and laws on national security in Central American countries;

› Chiquita and its subsidiary firms have carried out operations using pesticides which have affected the health
of their workers and people living in the area despite an agreement signed with an environmental group
(Rainforest Alliance) to adhere to safety standards. The pesticides used include some which are not permitted
in any EU country;

› hundreds of people in one district in Costa Rica have been exposed to emissions of toxic gas from a factory

belonging to a subsidiary of Chiquita.

Is the Commission aware of the information reported in the media?

Does the Commission know whether the Chiquita multinational or its subsidiary firms comply with the
parameters established to protect the health of their workers and conserve the environment?

Answer given by Mr Mar(cid:237)n on behalf of the Commission

(22 September 1998)

The Commission is keeping a watching brief on Chiquita in a number of Latin American countries.

It is aware that various Costa Rican bodies have brought actions in the local civil court and various United States
courts against the use of highly toxic pesticides. The plaintiffs were successful in the US courts and damages were
paid, but numerous complaints are still being lodged.

Reports in the media suggest that Chiquita is complying with its basic economic undertakings and pays the
minimum wage for banana workers laid down by Costa Rican law. The monitoring of Chiquita(cid:146)s activities from
the standpoint of environmental conservation is purely a matter for the Costa Rican authorities.

(1999/C 96/138)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2450/98

by Angela Sierra GonzÆlez (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

Subject: Port at Granadilla (Tenerife, Canaries)

(30 July 1998)

The Spanish Ministry of Public Works is supporting the construction of a port on the coast which forms part of
the municipal district of Granadilla (Tenerife, Canary Islands). The port will be large enough to contain, among
other things, a breakwater 3 600 m long and a quay 2 000 m long. The area of sea taken up by this new installation
will stretch to more than one million square metres.

The project will have a wide-ranging impact on the environment, including:

a) direct and indirect effects on part of an area put forward as an area of Community interest by the Canaries

Government, known as the (cid:145)Sebadales del Sur de Tenerife(cid:146).