WRITTEN QUESTION E-1494/00 by Per Gahrton (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Publication of Europe without frontiers.
Date: 2000-05-11
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU publication, production cost, promotion of the European idea

C 53 E/154

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.2.2001

mineral for at least ten years to special social security benefits. Workers employed by Breda-Omeca have
not yet been granted entitlement to the social security benefits provided for by Italian law, despite the fact
that numerous technical expert(cid:146)s reports have found traces of blue asbestos in the factory. The firm(cid:146)s
employees are continuing to work in premises that have been declared on several occasions to be
contaminated by asbestos and never decontaminated.

The Commission:

1. Will it ascertain whether or not this is true?

2. Will it check whether the presence of many workers in factories contaminated with asbestos is not in
breach of the Community legislation in force to protect workers against the risks of exposure to
carcinogenic agents at the workplace?

3. Will it also ascertain whether the workers in the factory, many of whom have worked with asbestos
for many years, are not entitled to specific social security benefits under Community provisions?

4.

If necessary, will it take the matter up with the Italian authorities to ensure that workers in Breda-
Omeca in Reggio Calabria are entitled to the social security benefits provided by the law referred to
above?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(27 June 2000)

The Commission is not aware of the specific case reported by the Honourable Member.

However, the protection of workers against risks related to exposure to asbestos at work is covered by
Council Directive 83/477/EE (1) of 19 September 19831 as amended by Council Directive 91/382/EE (2) of
25 June 19912 which contains specific provisions to prevent the health effects of asbestos. This Directive
has been transposed correctly into Italian law.

Any possible infringement of the national provisions transposing the above Directive must be notified to
the Italian authorities responsible for their enforcement, which must organise and carry out the inspections
and checks necessary for the proper implementation of these measures.

Although Commission Recommendation 90/326/EEC of 22 May 1990 to the Member States concerning
the adoption of a European Schedule of occupational disease (3)3 refers to all the diseases caused by
exposure to asbestos, compensation for occupational diseases and specific social security benefits are
matters for the Member State.

(1) OJ L 263, 24.9.1983.
(2) OJ L 206, 29.7.1991.
(3) OJ L 160, 26.6.1990.

(2001/C 53 E/198)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1494/00

by Per Gahrton (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(11 May 2000)

Subject: Publication of (cid:145)Europe without frontiers(cid:146)

What does it cost to publish (cid:145)Europe without frontiers(cid:146)?

20.2.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 53 E/155

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(12 July 2000)

The newsletter (cid:145)Europe without Frontiers(cid:146) is published in 11 languages, with about 100 000 copies per
issue (variations are due to new names being added to the mailing list) and 9 issues per year.

It costs about € 120 000 a year. The annual cost of the Swedish version (10 300 copies) is about € 11 300.

(2001/C 53 E/199)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1502/00

by Ilka Schr(cid:246)der (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

Subject: World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)

(12 May 2000)

1.
The concept of (cid:145)author(cid:146) is not defined in the WIPO Treaty. Legal disputes about copyright between
the parties to the Treaty must consequently be expected. How is the Commission responding to this
problem? Will it seek to impose its own definition of copyright on the other parties to the Treaty?

2.
The WIPO approach is based on the concept of individual right. The legal understanding of other
WIPO member states is based partly on collective right. How does the Commission assess that contra-
diction?

The WIPO Treaty overlaps with the TRIPS (trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights)
3.
Convention in the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
In both cases, the issue is the (cid:145)protection of
intellectual property(cid:146). Since most questions relate to the area of trade in intellectual property rights,
WIPO is in part responsible for the same matters as the TRIPS Convention. Does any division of tasks or
responsibilities apply between WIPO and TRIPS? How does the Commission assess the overlapping of
responsibilities between WIPO and TRIPS? Do hierarchies apply between WIPO and TRIPS?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(27 June 2000)

1.
The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Copyright Treaty builds upon the existing
protection in the Berne Convention for the protection of literary and artistic works 1886, (Paris Act 1971)
((cid:145)the Berne Convention(cid:146)). The Berne Convention is the principal international agreement in the field of
copyright and itself does not contain a general definition of the term (cid:145)author(cid:146). To date this has not led to
disputes nor is it expected that any such dispute will arise with the WIPO Copyright Treaty.

As yet there is no general harmonisation of the concept of (cid:145)authorship(cid:146) in Community legislation, although
certain aspects of the authorship of cinematographic works, computer programmes and creative databases
have been addressed. For the time being, the Commission does not see a need to harmonise the different
concepts of copyright protection in Member States.

2.
The WIPO Copyright Treaty grants rights to individuals. However, it does not deal with the issue of
management of those rights whether by individuals or on a collective basis. This is left to the discretion of
the contracting parties.

3.
The Berne Convention, the Trade-related intellectual property right (TRIPs) Agreement and, after its
entry into force, the WIPO Copyright Treaty together provide the multilateral framework for protection in
the field of copyright. The TRIPs Agreement forms part of the agreement establishing the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) and most WTO members are also parties to the Berne Convention and have signed
up to the WIPO Copyright Treaty.

Article 1(1) and (2) of the WIPO Copyright Treaty expressly provide that the WIPO Copyright Treaty shall
not have any connection with treaties other than the Berne Convention, nor shall it prejudice any rights
and obligations under any other treaties. For the purposes of the WIPO Copyright Treaty, the international
bureau of WIPO performs certain administrative tasks only.