WRITTEN QUESTION E-1447/00 by Wolfgang Kreissl-Dörfler (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Multilateral competition rules and development.
Date: 2000-05-10
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: UN Conference on Trade and Development, World Trade Organisation, competition, developing countries, multilateral agreement, technical cooperation, vocational training

18.4.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 113 E/13

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(3 July 2000)

The Commission has not closed any of its crŁche facilities or reception services.

The Commission did propose the transfer of its after-school child-minding service (garderie) which is
currently at the Wilson/Beaulieu complex to the European schools.

This proposal was made with two purposes in mind:

(i)

to reduce the current overcrowding problem,

(ii)

to increase the number of creche places available by subsequently converting the Wilson garderie into
a new creche in order to try to reduce the present substantial waiting list.

Following consultations with staff representatives and the parents association, however, it has been decided
not to pursue the proposal immediately because the conditions which were expressed by the parents for
facilitating such a transfer could not be met in practice in the short term.

The Commission will continue discussions with the European schools to determine the possibility of
providing the (cid:145)garderies(cid:146) facilities on their premises from 2002, if the requirements set out can be met.

Further options, over a longer time frame, will be examined in the framework of the Reform process and,
in particular,
in the consultative document on social policy that is foreseen in the White Paper on
Reforming the Commission (1) for October 2000.

The Commission recognises the importance of offering good working conditions to its staff and continues
to be convinced that they must include satisfactory crŁche facilities.

The reference to the reception services may relate to the closure of the (cid:145)Welcome Office(cid:146) (bureau d(cid:146)accueil) at
the Beaulieu premises of the Commission. This decision was taken in the context of an initiative launched
on 1 March 2000 consisting of an Infoservice to provide a better service to the staff and the Directorates
general. This Infoservice (cid:129) including a call centre and info centre (former (cid:145)Welcome Office(cid:146)), as well as a
specific site on intranet (cid:129) is mainly intended to provide an improved service to the staff and to use the
services of Directorate general for Administration in a more cost effective and efficient way.

In recent years the number of staff running the Welcome Office in Beaulieu became disproportionate to
the number of officials using the service and, after full examination of all relevant details, the Commission
concluded that the number and nature of information requests from staff did not justify continued full
time staffing of the Beaulieu facility.

A decision was therefore taken to allocate the posts to a new service that is being established. This will
provide a visiting service of social workers to the Beaulieu complex on a regular basis as well as advice
which, in the past, was provided by the Welcome Office.

(1) COM(2000) 200 final.

(2001/C 113 E/012)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1447/00

by Wolfgang Kreissl-D(cid:246)rfler (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

Subject: Multilateral competition rules and development

(10 May 2000)

The Commission(cid:146)s draft text on the EU(cid:146)s negotiating position in the Millennium Round calls for a
multilateral agreement on competition law, referring to aspects such as cooperation between individual
authorities, the establishment of basic principles and minimum standards to govern national competition
law, etc.

C 113 E/14

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.4.2001

In the above-
International competition rules would serve the interests of the developing countries.
mentioned draft text the Commission refers to various forms of assistance for the countries of the South.

How are the countries to be supported? Which institutions would make the relevant resources

1.
available?

2. What exactly is meant by flexible and special arrangements for the developing countries?

Does the Commission see any way of transferring the European competition law model to the

3.
international stage?

Answer given by Mr Lamy on behalf of the Commission

(16 June 2000)

The Community is proposing an enhanced approach to technical assistance to support developing
1.
countries in the competition area. Already at present, a number of technical assistance and capacity
building activities are being undertaken. These activities range from studies on the impact of anti-
competitive practices on developing countries, assistance in the drafting of competition laws, on-the-job
training of developing country competition officials with the competition authorities of developed
countries, and establishment and reinforcement of competition authorities.

Technical assistance and capacity building activities are provided by international organisations,
in
particular the United Nations conference on trade and development (Unctad) and the World Bank, as
well as individual countries on a bilateral basis. As for the Community and its Member States, assistance is
provided to a number of countries, including through cooperation or association agreements with Latin
American and Mediterranean countries. In addition to this, the new partnership agreement between the
African, Caribbean and Pacific states and the Community identifies competition as an area for cooperation
which includes (cid:145)((cid:133)) assistance in the drafting of an appropriate legal framework and its administrative
enforcement with particular reference to the special situation of the least developed countries(cid:146) (1).

The Community believes that technical assistance and capacity building activities in the competition field
should be enhanced and coordinated. A World Trade Organisation (WTO) competition agreement could
play a catalytic role in this respect. It should also ensure that competition authorities in developing
countries can effectively benefit from cooperation and assistance. A WTO competition policy committee
could be an important forum to facilitate participation of developing countries in international cooperation
on competition policy.

2.
As regards the implementation of a multilateral framework agreement on competition, the Commun-
ity is proposing an approach based on flexibility and progressivity with respect to developing countries.
This would apply both to the timing of the actual introduction or adoption of domestic competition laws
as well as the effective enforcement of such laws. In addition to this, flexibility and progressivity should
also apply to the issue of sectoral exclusions from the application of domestic competition law, especially
where such exclusions are driven by development objectives and have only a minimal
impact on
international trade.

3.
The Community is not envisaging a transposition of the Community competition model to a
multilateral framework agreement. A multilateral framework would not lead to harmonisation of domestic
competition laws, but rather would set out certain core principles that WTO members would be required
to include in their domestic competition laws, if not already available.

(1) See Partnership Agreement between the African Caribbean and Pacific States and the European Community and its

Member States, Article 45, paragraph 3.