WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1033/99 by Richard HOWITT Organisation of the European Day of Disabled People by private consultants
Date: 1999-04-20
Institutions: European Parliament, HOWITT
Subjects: award of contract, communications policy, disabled person, public awareness campaign

21.12.1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 370/155

(1999/C 370/220)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1033/99

by Richard Howitt (PSE) to the Commission

(20 April 1999)

Subject: Organisation of the European Day of Disabled People by private consultants

Does the European Commission accept
that the organisation of this event by profit-making public
relations consultants was a grave error? Will the Commission explain how a consultancy who began
their presentation ‘We are not experts on disability’ came to be selected? Will the Commission apologise
that transport for mobility-impaired persons was chaotic on the day of the event, and that reimbursement
of travel expenses to unemployed disabled citizens such as Mr W. Derek-Main of Euro-Ataxia has not
occurred eight weeks after the event? At the same time, why had the company not supplied even the
attendance list to the Commission itself, as had been promised? Will the Commission now ensure, in line
with Parliament’s wishes, that future European Days are organised by disabled people themselves under the
auspices of the European Disability Forum, sub-contracting to public relations companies for specialist
assistance in this field should this be required?

Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission

(5 May 1999)

Thanks to unprecedented TV and newspaper coverage, the organisation of the European Day of Disabled
People in 1998 achieved its stated objective, namely to increase public awareness about the rights of
disabled people. All this was possible thanks to the expertise of a specialist communications and public
relations agency. The Commission was of course very concerned to make sure the content of the Day,
which aims to celebrate the rights of disabled people, was decided in agreement with disabled people or
their representatives. To this end, the European Disability Forum was closely involved in deciding upon all
the initiatives organised for the Day.

Concerning the case of the individual mentioned by the Honourable Member, the Commission can confirm
that his travel expenses were reimbursed on 21 January 1999 by the above-mentioned agency. The
Commission regrets all the problems encountered on the day of the event. The attendance list, which was
supplied to all participants on the day itself, will be transmitted direct to the Honourable Member and to
the Parliament’s Secretariat.

The Commission shares the Honourable Member’s concerns to enlist the full support of disabled people
themselves through their representatives. To this end, it intends to make sure that all initiatives organised
for future European Days of Disabled People are organised under the auspices of the European Disability
Forum. There have already been several preliminary contacts with the Forum for the 1999 European Day
of Disabled People. The Forum will be fully and effectively involved in all the decisions surrounding the
organisation of the 1999 Day.

(1999/C 370/221)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1039/99

by Marco Cellai (NI) to the Commission

(20 April 1999)

Subject: Measures to protect olive oil

Regulation No 2815/98 (Annex B) of 22 December 1998 (1) concerning marketing standards for olive oil
is valid temporarily, until 31 October 2001. In defining the standards regulating the optional right
(Article 1) to indicate on labels the designation of the origin of extra virgin and virgin olive oil the
Regulation links the designation of origin solely to the place where the olives are processed:
‘An extra
virgin or virgin olive oil shall be deemed to have been obtained in a geographical area ... only if that oil
has been extracted from olives in a mill located within that area’ (Article 3). The Regulation considers it
unimportant to know where or how the olives are produced and states that it is sufficient to guarantee the