WRITTEN QUESTION P-1749/00 by Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Elections in Kosovo.
Date: 2000-05-25
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Kosovo, OSCE, UNO, administrative structures, local election, local government, organisation of elections, the EU's international role

13.3.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 81 E/87

The Member States were asked to compare and review national legislation with the aim of categorising the
following as offences: the sexual exploitation or sexual abuse of children and trafficking in children with a
view to their sexual exploitation or abuse, participation in such offences or attempts to commit such
offences. It was requested that sanctions should include custodial penalties, possibly involving extradition
(at least in serious cases), confiscation of the instruments and proceeds of the offences and temporary or
permanent closure of establishments which had been used for committing offences. The Joint Action also
provided that (cid:145)Each Member State shall take the measures necessary to ensure that in addition to ordinary
constraining measures such as search and seizure, adequate investigation powers and techniques are
available to enable the [abovementioned] offences
to be investigated and prosecuted effectively(cid:146).
The Member States were asked to make provision for the protection of witnesses and appropriate
assistance for victims and their families and to grant each other the (cid:145)widest possible judicial cooperation
in the investigations and judicial processes relating to the offences(cid:146) mentioned above, be means of specified
procedures. In Title IV, point B, the Joint Action stipulated:
(cid:145)The Council will assess, on the basis of
appropriate information, the fulfilment by Member States of their obligations under this Joint Action, by
the end of 1999(cid:146).

Has the Council fulfilled the obligation placed on it by virtue of the Joint Action it adopted? If so, how far
have the Member States fulfilled their abovementioned obligations, and with what results? In the event that
the Member States have not complied with the Joint Action, what steps does the Council intend to take on
the issue of combating trafficking in children?

Reply

(28 September 2000)

Since the adoption on 24 February 1997 of the Joint Action to which the Honourable Member refers,
different initiatives have been taken at European Union level. These include Article 29 of the Treaty on
European Union, as amended by the Treaty of Amsterdam, which specifically mentions measures to
combat trafficking in persons and offences against children among the means for creating an area of
freedom, security and justice. In addition, powers in the area of child pornography have been entrusted to
Europol (1).

Lastly, on 29 May 2000 the Council adopted a Decision to combat child pornography on the Internet on
the basis of an initiative of the Republic of Austria.

Article 6 of that Decision, on which the European Parliament has been consulted, provides for an
examination by the Council of the extent to which Member States have fulfilled their obligations pursuant
to Joint Action 97/154/JHA and the extent to which the measures proposed in the Decision have proved
effective. That examination will be carried out in the near future according to the rules laid down in the
Decision. Consequently, the Council is not yet in a position to verify Member States(cid:146) legislation in this
area.

(1) Council Decision of 3 December 1999 (1999/C 26/05 (cid:129) OJ C 26, 30.1.1999, p. 21).

(2001/C 81 E/105)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1749/00

by Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(25 May 2000)

Subject: Elections in Kosovo

Kosovo(cid:146)s first local elections will be held this autumn.

The success of this enterprise is crucial, since local democracy is the foundation for the region(cid:146)s political
reconstruction, a goal
in which the people of Europe are making considerable moral and material
investment.

C 81 E/88

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.3.2001

Will the Commission take part in the preparation and monitoring of the election procedure, and also in
the establishment and operation of the first municipal and communal councils that these elections will
produce?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(26 June 2000)

In the division of responsibilities within the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), the Community
has responsibility for Pillar 4 Economic reconstruction, recovery and development. The Commission is
directly involved in the management and financing of this pillar headed by a Commission official who is
also a Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General. Administrative costs are paid
from the Community budget. The majority of the financing for the work of the pillar is coming from the
Union and from Community funds. The organisation of the donor coordination mechanism for such issues
is in the hands of the Commission and the World Bank.

On the other hand, the Organisation for security and cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is the lead agency for
Pillar 3 of UNMIK, and thus for issues of institution-building, civil society, and elections. The OSCE is
therefore primarily responsible for the organisation of the forthcoming municipal elections. The costs of
this exercise, and the rest of the work of that (cid:145)pillar(cid:146), are borne by OSCE members. Although this means
that Member States, under the OSCE (cid:145)key(cid:146), pay 67 % of the these costs, and that the Community is
concentrating its efforts on Pillar 4 for which it is primarily responsible, the Community is also providing
vital assistance in this area without which the elections cannot take place e.g. € 5 million for the hardware
for civil and voter registration as well as support for the UNMIK ID cards and the voter education
campaign. No decision has yet been taken, by the Community, as regards additional involvement in the
monitoring of
themselves, although Community-funded personnel on the ground
(e.g European Community monitoring mission (ECMM)) will undoubtedly play a role.

the elections

The establishment and operation of the municipal councils are a matter for UNMIK. The financial aspects
are covered by the Kosovo budget, the largest single voluntary contribution by the Community, and a large
part of the remainder of which derives from the economic and customs structures which the Commission
has successfully, through the work of Pillar 4, helped to put in place. The Community has, in addition,
provided considerable support through its twinning programme, the members of which are involved in the
drafting of the new municipal law and which will continue to provide the elected administrations with
expert advice on the highest Community standards of municipal administration, so as to ensure sustainable
democracy at the grassroots level.

(2001/C 81 E/106)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1750/00

by Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou (PPE-DE) to the Council

(5 June 2000)

Subject: Elections in Kosovo

Kosovo(cid:146)s first local elections will be held this autumn. The success of this enterprise is crucial, since local
democracy is the foundation for the region(cid:146)s political reconstruction, a goal in which the people of Europe
are making considerable moral and material investment.

Will the Council take part in the preparation and monitoring of the election procedure, and also in the
establishment and operation of the first municipal and communal councils that these elections will
produce?