WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3594/98 by Johanna MAIJ-WEGGEN to the Commission. The Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin
Date: 1998-12-03
Institutions: European Parliament, MAIJ-WEGGEN
Subjects: Bangladesh, extremism, free movement of persons, literary profession, restriction of liberty

28.6.1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 182/105

(1999/C 182/138)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3594/98

by Johanna Maij-Weggen (PPE) to the Commission

(3 December 1998)

Subject: The Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin

Can the Commission indicate what it has done in response to the resolution adopted by the European
Parliament in September 1998 in order to ensure that Mrs Taslima Nasrin’s safety is guaranteed when she visits
her terminally ill mother in Bangladesh?

Answer given by Mr Marín on behalf of the Commission

(12 January 1999)

The Commission, through its delegation in Dhaka, has been following very closely developments in the case of
writer Taslima Nasrin.

It may be noted that there have been recent developments. On 22 November 1998 Mrs Nasrim appeared
before the High Court which granted her bail in the second case filed against her by a Bangladeshi citizen. It
should be recalled that in the first case, filed by the government in 1994, Mrs Nasrin had already obtained bail.
Following the granting of bail and according to her defence counsel, she is now free to travel inside Bangladesh
and abroad. Obviously her freedom of movement is limited by the risk of action that might be taken against
her by pro-Islamic extremist groups.

The Commission delegation in Dhaka remains in close contact with the diplomatic missions of the Member
States and is ready to participate in any initiative considered helpful in the Taslima Nasrin case.

(1999/C 182/139)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3595/98

by Paul Lannoye (V) to the Council

(24 November 1998)

Subject: Application of the reduced VAT rate to wood as a source of energy

Council Directive 92/77/EEC (1) of 19 October 1992 authorises Member States to apply a reduced VAT rate to
gas and electricity supplies.

Moreover, in its White Paper on renewable sources of energy (COM(97) 599) adopted by the European
Parliament on 18.6.1998 (2) the Commission sets itself the objective of doubling the share of renewable
energies in overall energy consumption by the year 2010, amongst other means by adopting fiscal and finance
measures drawn from ‘the necessary additional proposals for legislation and amendments to existing
Directives ... including tax exemption or reduction on RES energy products.’

The argument in favour of respecting competition constitutes a sine qua non for the application of the reduced
VAT rate. Such competition is all the more fully respected in the case of thermal energy, which by its very
nature cannot be transported for more than a few kilometres.

The budgetary impact of applying the reduced VAT rate to heating networks such as wood would be relatively
minor.

Lastly, the exploitation of renewable energies as advocated by the Commission in its White Paper is hampered
by the low price of ‘traditional’ energies such as electricity and gas, due in part to the reduced VAT rate from
which the latter benefit.

In view of the above, the fact that Council Directive 92/77/EEC applies the reduced VAT rate to natural gas and
electricity alone would appear to present a contradiction.