WRITTEN QUESTION P-1572/00 by Nicholas Clegg (ELDR) to the Council. Public statements by Council officials.
Date: 2000-05-12
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Council of the European Union, duties of civil servants, operation of the Institutions, transparency in decision-making

C 72 E/78

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

6.3.2001

(2001/C 72 E/092)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1572/00

by Nicholas Clegg (ELDR) to the Council

(12 May 2000)

Subject: Public statements by Council officials

Does the Presidency of the Council agree with the statement by Mr de Boissieu, Deputy Secretary-General
of the Council, as reported in The European Voice on 6 April 2000, that, since the Council is a decision-
making body, openness in the manner in which it takes decisions is not a particular priority?

What are the terms of reference for the Deputy Secretary-General of the Council? To whom must he
report in performing his duties?

Is there a code of conduct or are there internal rules governing the public appearances made by officials
from the Council(cid:146)s General Secretariat? If not, why not?

Reply

(18/19 September 2000)

Mr P. de Boissieu, Deputy Secretary-General of the Council, appeared before the European Parliament(cid:146)s
Committee on Constitutional Affairs on 3 April 2000 at the invitation of the Committee(cid:146)s Chairman. The
version of Mr de Boissieu(cid:146)s remarks reported in (cid:145)The European Voice(cid:146) of 6 April 2000 binds that
newspaper only. The members of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs who attended the session
heard exactly what Mr de Boissieu said.

Pursuant to the first subparagraph of Article 207(2) of the EC Treaty, the Council is assisted by a General
Secretariat, under the responsibility of a Secretary-General, High Representative for the common foreign
and security policy who is assisted by a Deputy Secretary-General responsible for the running of the
General Secretariat. The Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretary-General are appointed by the Council
acting unanimously.

Public activities of officials of the Council General Secretariat are governed by the Staff Regulations of
officials of the European Communities, notably Article 12.

(2001/C 72 E/093)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1574/00

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(19 May 2000)

Subject: Land development on Penteli

The WWF and other environmental organisations claim that a draft Presidential Decree is to release
600 hectares of land at Penteli to building firms. In the last five years, Penteli has been swept by fires and
lost more than 50 000 hectares of woodland. 200 of the 600 hectares released for development are forest,
the use of which is prohibited by the Constitution. 90 hectares form part of the Pentelikon, a class A
protected area, and many others were burned down in the fires of 1998. Previous attempts to develop the
area were ruled unconstitutional by the Council of State.

Given that the third Community Support Framework provides a variety of funding to create a well-
balanced environment in Attica, while releasing the land for development will alter the environment to the
detriment of the lives of the inhabitants of the region and the natural heritage of the country, what steps
will the Commission take to persuade the Greek Government to withdraw the draft Presidential Decree and
enforce its own legislation to protect its forests?