WRITTEN QUESTION E-2536/99 by Heidi Hautala (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Status of the teaching of Finnish in the EU institutions.
Date: 2000-01-04
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Finland, administration of the Institutions, award of contract, foreign language, language teaching, management accounting, personnel administration, teacher

C 330 E/18

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

21.11.2000

The Education Council of 6 May 1996 noted the Greek government(cid:146)s initiative to establish such a centre.
The Commission said it was prepared to examine such an initiative, but has not yet received a request
from the Greek authorities.

Moreover the Commission, particularly through the Socrates programme, provides regular support for
projects in this area. Thus, under Comenius and Erasmus, several cooperation projects between schools or
universities have targeted the teaching of classical
languages and cultures. Among adult education
activities, a project has been launched which aims to construct a European identity through a return to
the roots of this identity, using Greco-Latin mythology as a starting point.

(2000/C 330 E/017)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2536/99

by Heidi Hautala (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(4 January 2000)

Subject: Status of the teaching of Finnish in the EU institutions

At the Commission there are some 60 established teachers providing foreign-language teaching of the
languages of the Member States to officials. Under a decision in principle by the Commission, the Council
and the European Parliament, established teachers are to remain in their posts until they retire. Demand
over and above the capacity of the established teachers is filled by invitations to tender.

At present Finnish is the only EU language without an established teacher, and this has given rise to
concern among students, teachers and translation services. As a result of economies it was decided not to
grant established status to the part-time Finnish teacher. Since then, again to save on costs,
the
Commission has decided to terminate the contract of the part-time Finnish teacher and to pay a local
language school to provide Finnish teaching. This has caused a deterioration in the quality of the teaching
and has placed Finnish in an unequal position in relation to the other languages.

Can the Commission explain why the teaching of Finnish was entrusted in the spring term 1999 to a
language school which did not have on its payroll any qualified staff knowing Finnish at the date when the
course began? On what basis was the language school successful in the competition for this contract? Does
the Commission consider that the language school fulfilled the other conditions referred to in the notice of
competition, such as a level of pay which reflected the demands of the work and was sufficient to motivate
the teacher?

Does the Commission intend to consider altering its decision in principle and opening a post for a Finnish
teacher with a view to improving the status of Finnish? In the absence of an established teacher, how does
the Commission propose to ensure that the demand for Finnish courses is met? Can the Commission
explain what costs were saved by employing an outside language school?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(16 February 2000)

The decision to outsource language courses that could not be covered by the permanent teaching staff of
the Council and the Commission was made in 1996 at the end of the Trilogue (Parliament, Council,
Commission) set up to examine how expenditure in this area could be rationalised.

In order to implement this decision, an interinstitutional call for tender was organised, giving rise to the
conclusion of three contracts for the provision of language teaching services, at the beginning of 1999.
These contracts were awarded after the usual tendering procedures. The choice of language schools was
made unanimously by the representatives of the Parliament, Council, Commission, Economic and Social
Committee and Committee of
for tender were taken into
consideration before the contracts were awarded.

the criteria in the call

the Regions. All

21.11.2000

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 330 E/19

In line with the decision of the Trilogue, the contracts of any non-permanent language teachers were not
renewed once the institutions were in a position to outsource these services. All the teachers concerned
and their representatives were kept fully informed of developments at all stages.

All courses that have been outsourced are monitored on a regular basis. All evaluations demonstrate a high
level of satisfaction on the part of the participants and there is no indication that the quality of any of the
outsourced courses is inferior to those provided by the permanent teaching staff. Regular meetings are held
between the institutions and the language schools concerned to review performance.

At present, the Commission has no intention of suggesting a modification to the Trilogue arrangements,
which would be necessary if it were to recruit a permanent Finnish-language teacher.

The cost of outsourcing language teaching is, on average, about 40 % of that of a permanent teacher.

(2000/C 330 E/018)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2538/99

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(4 January 2000)

Subject: Milk quota exceeded in the Azores Autonomous region of Portugal

The dairy sector is of strategic importance to the Azores since it accounts for nearly 80 % of the islands(cid:146)
gross agricultural product, 25 % of milk delivered and over 13 % (equivalent to over 5 000 producers) of
Portugal(cid:146)s dairy farmers. The sector also acts as a stimulus to economic activities which provide jobs in a
region which has to bear the costs of being island-based and which qualifies as an outlying region, even
though it accounts for only 0,03 % of European production.

The sector has received a certain amount of investment and has been increasing its annual production,
which is the only way for farmers to ensure that they earn at least the minimum income, in view of the
fact that production prices have fallen in relative terms over the last ten years. For the current marketing
year, all the indications are that the Azores has already exceeded its own internal quota, which means that
Portugal(cid:146)s quota as a whole will also be exceeded. Producers should not, however, be penalised as a result
since most of them operate small, family-run farms.

On the basis of the Amsterdam Treaty and taking into account the Azores(cid:146) status as an outlying region,
what action could be taken at Community level in order to ensure that the above producers are not
penalised?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(4 February 2000)

The Commission knows how important milk production is in the Azores. Because the national quota set
in 1991 also reflected that importance, milk production in the Azores has been able to
for Portugal
increase each year since then (as the Honourable Member acknowledges). The Commission therefore
considers that the Council has already taken into account the dairy sector(cid:146)s strategic importance for
the Azores region and that a new proposal in favour of the Azores would not be appropriate, particularly
given the Council(cid:146)s recent decision (cid:129) by Regulation (EC) No 1256/1999 of 17 May 1999 amending
Regulation (EEC) No 3950/92 establishing an additional levy in the milk and milk products sector (1) (cid:129) to
continue the milk quota system and to set Member States(cid:146) quotas until 2008. It should be borne in mind
that this Agenda 2000 decision was reached after lengthy discussion in which a delicate balance was struck
within the Council between the legitimate demands of all the Member States, the fall in official prices and
their entry into force in 2005. If the national quota is in fact exceeded as forecast, it will be up to Portugal
to implement the adjustment measures available under Community legislation in order to ensure fair
treatment for the producers affected.

(1) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999.