WRITTEN QUESTION P-1690/99 by Rosa Díez González (PSE) to the Council. Death penalty handed down to Spanish citizen Joaquín José Martínez in the US.
Date: 1999-09-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU action, United States, death penalty, human rights

C 170 E/76

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.6.2000

(2000/C 170 E/085)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1684/99

by Reino Paasilinna (PSE) to the Commission

(22 September 1999)

Subject: Retirement age for fire fighters

The retirement age for fire fighters is 65 in Finland, while in other European countries it is set by each
country(cid:146)s legislation. At the Conference on the Conditions of Employment and Work of Fire-fighting
Personnel, which was held in Geneva from 9 to 16 May 1990, the International Labour Organisation
recommended a substantial lowering of the retirement age for fire fighters. It is common knowledge that
the work of fire fighters is tough and dangerous and it would be justified to follow the ILO recommenda-
tion in all EU countries.

Does the Commission intend to draw up legislation or, at least, a recommendation concerning lowering
the age of retirement for fire fighters in all EU countries?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(26 October 1999)

The Commission does not intend to propose any harmonisation of the retirement age for firefighters in the
Member States.

(2000/C 170 E/086)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1690/99

by Rosa D(cid:237)ez GonzÆlez (PSE) to the Council

(20 September 1999)

Subject: Death penalty handed down to Spanish citizen Joaqu(cid:237)n JosØ Mart(cid:237)nez in the US

On 2 November 1999 the Supreme Court in the US state of Florida will hear an appeal against the death
sentence handed down to Spanish citizen Joaqu(cid:237)n JosØ Mart(cid:237)nez, an inmate on (cid:145)death row(cid:146) at Starke prison
in the United States. The defence team for this European citizen has stressed that legal guarantees and the
presumption of innocence were ignored in reaching such an unspeakable verdict, which many US states
still enforce.

Given the urgent nature of this case and the fact that such an inhumane punishment is irreversible:

1. What steps has the Council taken to ensure that a universal moratorium on executions (resolution of
18 June 1998) is honoured and that a punishment which constitutes an affront to the most basic
democratic values is abolished once and for all, bearing in mind, inter alia, European Parliament and
United Nations resolutions and Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights?

2. What action can and will the Council take to prevent the execution of Joaqu(cid:237)n JosØ Mart(cid:237)nez from

going ahead and ensure that he receives a free and fair trial?

Reply

(2 December 1999)

EU action against the use of the death penalty is a key element of the EU(cid:146)s overall human rights
1.
policy. In June 1998, the Council adopted guidelines for EU policy towards third countries on the issue of
the death penalty. The final objective is a worldwide abolition of the death penalty. With the view of
reaching this objective, where the death penalty still exists, the Council calls upon States to introduce a
moratorium and insists that minimum standards be respected. It further encourages States to become party
to the international legal instruments that prohibit capital punishment

20.6.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 170 E/77

In line with these guidelines, the EU has taken the initiative to introduce jointly for the first time, at
2.
the 55th session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (1999), the draft resolution on the
death penalty which had hitherto been introduced by Italy. This initiative was very successful; not only did
it contain stronger language than previous resolutions, it also attracted more co-sponsors (cid:129) 72 States
against 65 in 1998. The EU has also taken the initiative to organise in the margins of the CHR a
discussion panel on the death penalty in which NGOs and government representatives from different
countries participated.

3.
In view of the success encountered by the draft resolution on the death penalty at the 55th session of
the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, the EU also presented a draft resolution on the death
penalty for the first time at the UN General Assembly (54th session), which took place this year. The
resolution calls upon all States that still maintain the death penalty to establish, inter alia, a moratorium on
executions with a view to completely abolishing the death penalty. The Council is confident that this EU
initiative will further reinforce the international trend towards abolition of capital punishment.

4.
In addition to general initiatives in multilateral or bilateral contexts, there are occasions when the
European Union makes specific demarches concerning individual cases. The European Union is particularly
concerned with cases which violate minimum standards in terms of human rights. For instance, the death
penalty should never, in any circumstances, be imposed on persons below 18 years of age at the time of
the commission of their crime, pregnant women and mothers, and persons who have become insane. The
European Union also attaches great importance to the respect of standards offering minimum legal
guarantees, such as clear and convincing evidence, the competence of the court and its strict observation
of procedures as well as adequate legal assistance.

In the case of Mr Joaqu(cid:237)n JosØ Mart(cid:237)nez, the European Union will closely follow the results of his

5.
appeal to the Florida Supreme Court and will react in the light of the principles set out above.

(2000/C 170 E/087)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1692/99

by Manuel PØrez `lvarez (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(29 September 1999)

Subject: Measures to support the elderly

The budget items designed to support the elderly for 1996 (cid:129) Item B3-4104 (cid:129) and 1997 were blocked
owing to the case brought before the Court of Justice by the United Kingdom on the grounds of a lack of
legal basis.

Can the Commission outline the current situation with regard to the above items in support of the elderly,
and does it see any possibility of these two lines corresponding to 1996 and 1997 being unblocked?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(12 November 1999)

An inter-institutional agreement on legal bases and implementation of the budget was reached on 17 July
1998 between the Parliament, the Council and the Commission. This stated that using funds from the
Community budget required a (cid:145)basic instrument(cid:146) (secondary legislation providing a foundation in law for
Community action and for incurring the expenditure entered in the budget), with only certain specified
exceptions. In the light of this inter-institutional agreement, the United Kingdom did not feel it necessary
to continue with case C-239/96 challenging the Commission(cid:146)s call for applications for grants from budget
line B3-4104 and the case was withdrawn.

One exception allowed by the inter-institutional agreement
is for funding for preparatory measures
intended to prepare the way for proposals for the adoption of future Community action. On this basis,
actions relating to older people were supported in 1998 by budget line B3-4116 (co-operation with