WRITTEN QUESTION E-0717/00 by Carlos Carnero González (PSE) to the Commission. Preparations for the Eighth summit on progress and development in Equatorial Guinea.
Date: 2000-03-17
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU relations, Equatorial Guinea, democracy, development aid, terms for aid

13.2.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 46 E/31

information to other parts of the electricity company. Most Member States have decided to go further than
the obligations of the Directive, in the sense that they have either legally unbundled the TSO, or even
unbundled ownership of the TSO. The Commission has asked Member States that have unbundled only
the management of the TSO to provide information as to the practical implementation of this requirement.
The Commission is assessing the answers and will
the
management unbundling has not been sufficiently ensured.

take the appropriate action if

feels that

it

It is the task of the regulatory authorities to regulate transmission prices, and it is the objective of all

2.
independent regulators to keep transmission prices as low as possible.

3.
The transmission tariffs have recently been set in the Member States due to the implementation of
the Electricity Directive. The transmission tariffs are monitored by regulatory authorities in Member States.
The Commission is of the opinion that a comparison of transmission tariffs in the Member States is
important for transparency of the electricity market. Non-discriminatory and fair access to the network is
fundamental for arriving at a competitive electricity market. For this reason it will launch a comparative
study on the transmission tariffs in the Member Sates this year.

4.
As the transmission tariffs have only recently been developed and are still under development in the
Member States that had an additional period to implement the Directive, these data have not yet been
collected for the Community.

5.
The Commission through its contacts with the market players is however aware of the fact that quite
substantial differences exist in transmission tariffs throughout the Community. The reasons for these
differences will be one of the elements of the study that the Commission intends to launch this year.
However, it can already be stated that these levels will differ due to differences in size of networks, in
consumer base over which to allocate the costs due to productivity and efficiency levels, and due to
different levels of investments, also for investment in interconnection capacity to facilitate trade in the
internal market.

6. Monitoring of the different levels of transmission tariffs is an important element in ensuring that the
internal electricity market functions on a non-discriminatory basis. The Commission regards it very much
as its task to ensure that transmission tariffs guarantee equal access to the transmission grid.

(1) OJ L 27, 30.1.1997.

(2001/C 46 E/036)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0717/00

by Carlos Carnero GonzÆlez (PSE) to the Commission

(17 March 2000)

Subject: Preparations for the Eighth summit on progress and development in Equatorial Guinea

The press agency Agence France Presse reported on 11 February that a meeting had been held in Malabo
on 10 February between Teodoro Obiang, President of Equatorial Guinea, and Friedrich Nagel, Head of the
Commission Delegation in YaoundØ, Cameroon.

According to this report, Mr Nagel stated on the radio that the object of his visit was to deliver to
Mr Obiang an (cid:145)official letter of notification(cid:146) concerning the (cid:145)Eighth summit on progress and development
in Equatorial Guinea(cid:146). There was no public announcement of the date and place of this summit.

As many NGOs have pointed out, including the Spanish NGO Asodegue and the international organisation
MØdecins sans FrontiŁres, the situation in Equatorial Guinea is deteriorating constantly, to the point where
MØdecins sans FrontiŁres has had to abandon the humanitarian work it was engaged in on the ground.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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13.2.2001

for human rights, with
The deterioration results from an ongoing lack of democracy and respect
widespread poverty among the population, despite the country(cid:146)s natural resources being exploited with
increasing rapidity.

The responsibility for this lamentable situation clearly rests with the regime of Mr Obiang, who has
systematically failed to fulfil all his promises of progress towards a constitutional State.

Under these circumstances, Mr Nagel(cid:146)s visit raises justifiable concern, as it gives the impression that the
Commission intends to resume cooperation with Guinea despite the inertia of the country(cid:146)s ruling
dictatorship.

In view of the above:

(cid:129) can the Commission provide detailed information about Mr Nagel(cid:146)s visit to Malabo?

(cid:129) what is its view of the lack of progress towards democracy in Guinea?

(cid:129) does it intend to make resumption of cooperation with this country conditional on a democracy

clause?

(cid:129) what is the content of the (cid:145)Eighth summit for progress and development in Equatorial Guinea(cid:146)?

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(18 April 2000)

The information published on the Commission(cid:146)s relations with Equatorial Guinea is incorrect.

The Commission has no knowledge of the (cid:145)Eighth summit on progress and development in Equatorial
Guinea(cid:146). However, on 11 February the Head of the Commission delegation in Equatorial Guinea did indeed
meet President Obiang. The meeting had two aims: to give Mr Obiang the letter of notification stating the
amount allocated to Equatorial Guinea under the Eighth European Development Fund (EDF), and to inform
him of the imminent arrival of a Community human rights mission.

In recent years, relations between the Community and Equatorial Guinea have been significantly affected
by the latter(cid:146)s difficulties with its process of democratisation and respect for human rights. Together with
the Member States represented there, the Commission is conducting an intensive political dialogue with
the government in order to take the democratisation process forward.

Equatorial Guinea is a country in which Community cooperation can nevertheless play a significant role in
terms of impact on the poorest sections of the population.

for instance,

The Commission is,
financing a project to rehabilitate the drinking water supply and
sanitation networks of the town of Malabo and plans to fund a similar project for Bata. Both projects
will go a long way towards improving the living conditions of the most vulnerable population groups in
Equatorial Guinea.

The Commission is also due to send a mission of three independent experts to Equatorial Guinea in the
near future to establish a plan of action for democratisation, human rights, the fight against poverty and
the development of civil society.

The Commission is closely following the situation in the country via its office in Malabo and by means of
frequent contacts with the Member States and other international donors.

The Commission has acted and will continue to act with the greatest caution in relations with Equatorial
Guinea to promote the establishment of the rule of law and facilitate the democratisation process, two
areas which will continue to be given priority in discussions with the country(cid:146)s authorities.