WRITTEN QUESTION P-0449/00 by Harlem Désir (PSE) to the Council. Political situation in Austria and amendment of the Treaties.
Date: 2000-02-14
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Austria, EU Member State, European Union membership, Treaty of Amsterdam, diplomatic relations, extreme right, operation of the Institutions, political situation

21.11.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 330 E/161

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(21 March 2000)

The mission report, together with the comments of the French authorities on the draft report, have already
been published on the Internet.

The Commission(cid:146)s standard procedure for follow-up to veterinary mission findings is to give the Member
State the opportunity to provide details of the action taken and planned in relation to the recommenda-
tions contained in the mission report. In the case of the veterinary mission to France (DG SANCO/1058/
1999) the Commission has requested a reply from the French authorities. The Commission will take
whatever follow-up action is necessary, in the light of this reply.

Follow-up action will apply to all deficiencies observed, including bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)
monitoring, readmission of suspect cases into the food chain and implementation of the meat and bone
meal (MBM) ban. The mission team found that fallen stock (i.e. animals which died on the farm) are
excluded from BSE surveillance, but it found no evidence that fallen stock enters the human food chain in
France.

(2000/C 330 E/183)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0449/00

by Harlem DØsir (PSE) to the Council

(14 February 2000)

Subject: Political situation in Austria and amendment of the Treaties

As was pointed out by Commission President Romano Prodi in his statement to Parliament on 2 February
2000, the Treaties as they stand make no provision for the departure (cid:129) voluntary or otherwise (cid:129) of a
Member State of the Union even in the event of serious and repeated infringements of the founding
principles enshrined in Article 6 of the Amsterdam Treaty.

On the eve of the Union(cid:146)s enlargement and at a time when an extreme right-wing party has joined the
government of a Member State thus prompting the Portuguese Presidency and the heads of state or
government of the 14 other countries to suspend their bilateral relations with that country, should not this
question be placed on the agenda for the next IGC? Indeed, would it not be appropriate to envisage an
amendment to the Treaties to include a clause providing for suspension or expulsion in the event of a
country infringing the European Union(cid:146)s founding values and principles of freedom, democracy and
respect for human rights?

Reply

(2 May 2000)

Pursuant

to Article 48 of

the
the Treaty on European Union,
1.
representatives of the governments of the Member States, and not for the Council, to determine by
common accord the amendments to be made to the Treaties.

is for the Conference of

it

2.
The Council would remind the Honourable Member that, as far as the present Intergovernmental
Conference is concerned, provision has been made for two observers from the European Parliament to
attend meetings of the representatives of the governments of the Member States and intervene to express
the European Parliament(cid:146)s view on all matters discussed.