WRITTEN QUESTION E-1997/00 by Isidoro Sánchez García (ELDR) to the Commission. Individual EIB loans in the Canaries.
Date: 2000-06-21
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Canary Islands, EIB loan, airport, small and medium-sized enterprises, telecommunications, water

C 81 E/128

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.3.2001

(2001/C 81 E/154)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1987/00

by Eija-Riitta Korhola (PPE-DE) to the Council

(13 June 2000)

Subject: The status of religious minorities in Pakistan

General Musharraf is coming under increasing pressure from religious parties to back down on his pledges
to introduce key reforms aimed at improving the status of religious minorities in Pakistan. The Chief
Executive has already succumbed to pressure to backtrack on his reform of the administrative procedure
for registering blasphemy cases. This was announced on 16 May 2000,
just two weeks after a new
blasphemy case was registered against Kungri Masih, a 27 year-old Christian from Faisalabad. Also in
early May, 35-year prison sentences for blasphemy were handed down to Rasheed and Saleem Masih, two
Christian brothers from Pasrur. These three men are the latest in a long line of victims of Pakistan(cid:146)s much-
abused blasphemy laws.

Is the Council aware of these cases; and has it made any representations on behalf of these men? Does the
Council intend to offer General Musharraf encouragement as he seeks to press ahead with other reforms,
such as the restoration of the joint electoral system and the reform of the madrassahs (Koranic schools)?

Reply

(28 September 2000)

The Council
is aware of the general problems mentioned in the honourable MEP(cid:146)s question, and in
particular of Chief Executive Musharraf(cid:146)s reluctance to reform Pakistan(cid:146)s blasphemy law. However, the
Council has not, so far, discussed the individual cases of Rasheed and Saleem Masih.

As the honourable MEP is well aware, the regular political dialogue between the European Union and
Pakistan, together with the signature of the EC-Pakistan Co-operation Agreement, has been suspended in
the wake of General Musharraf(cid:146)s military coup which overthrew Pakistan(cid:146)s democratically elected govern-
ment in October 1999. Nonetheless, the Council will continue to raise the issue of tolerance, religious
freedom and the rights of minorities in Pakistan on an ad hoc basis, whenever an appropriate opportunity
arises. Similarly, the EU Heads of Mission in Islamabad have in the past raised individual human rights
problems directly with the Pakistani authorities and will continue to do so in the future. The Council
hopes that General Musharraf(cid:146)s recent appeal to Islamic religious leaders, issued on the occasion of his
speech at the Seerat conference in mid-June, to pay more attention to human rights and to end sectarian
violence in the country will yield better results.

The Union pursues also at a multilateral level its efforts aimed to counter intolerance and violence based
on religion or belief. In this context, Member States recently co-sponsored the resolution (cid:145)Implementation
of the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Religious Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on
Religion or Belief(cid:146), introduced by Ireland and adopted by consensus at the 56th session of the United
Nations Commission on Human Rights (20 March-28 April 2000).

(2001/C 81 E/155)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1997/00

by Isidoro SÆnchez Garc(cid:237)a (ELDR) to the Commission

(21 June 2000)

Subject: Individual EIB loans in the Canaries

What is the sum total of the individual loans granted by the European Investment Bank in the Canaries
over the period 1994-1999, and, where applicable, to what fields and what institutions has this funding
been channelled?

13.3.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 81 E/129

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(27 July 2000)

loans in the Canary Islands for a total amount of € 363,41 million,

The European Investment Bank (EIB) informs the Commission that over the period 1994-1999, it granted
individual
in the fields of
telecommunications, water management and to upgrade the islands(cid:146) four airports. These loans aimed at
assuring the territorial continuity between the mainland and the islands, as well as improving infrastructure
benefiting both the islands(cid:146) population and the tourism sector, of great importance for the islands(cid:146)
economy. The loans break down as as follows:

Year

1994

1994

1995

1996

1996

1996

1997

1998

1999

Project

Promoter

Sector

Purchase, launch and operation of two telecommunications & tele-
vision satellites

Hispasat

Telecommunications

Improvements to wastewater treatment, sewerage and water supply
infrastructure

Aguas de Canarias

Environment

Modernisation and extension of telecommunications system

Modernisation and extension of telecommunications network

Telef(cid:243)nica

Telef(cid:243)nica

Telecommunications

Telecommunications

Sewerage and sewage disposal and drinking water supply schemes

Aguas de Canarias

Environment

Improvement and extension of four airports on the islands of
Tenerife (2), Lanzarote and Fuerteventura

Improvement and extension of four airports on the islands of
Tenerife (2), Lanzarote and Fuerteventura

AENA

AENA

Transport

Transport

Upgrading of national road network

Ministerio Fomento

Transport

Reinforcement and extension of electricity transmission and supply
network

Endesa

Energy

1999

Upgrading of national road network

Ministerio Fomento

Transport

(€ million)

EIB Loan

0,41

63,04

23,72

8,27

37,68

27,87

39,25

47,45

27,72

88,00

Total

363,41

Furthermore, the EIB states that during the same period and under its global loan scheme, 158 small and
medium-sized enterprises and local authorities benefited from funding for their investments, for a total
amount of € 133,04 million.

(2001/C 81 E/156)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2012/00

by Christoph Konrad (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(21 June 2000)

Subject: Lack of uniform legislation governing the use of mobile machinery

1. Why is the marketing of mobile machinery (e.g. trailer-mounted cranes) (cid:129) which really means the
use of such machinery (cid:129) subject to divergent national
laws? Why is only the manufacture of such
machinery regulated on a Europe-wide basis by Directive 98/37/EC?

2. What measures does the Commission intend to take to combat discrimination against manufacturers
who cannot sell their machinery because of variations in the national laws governing the use thereof?

3.
How would the Commission further defend the impeding of low-cost serial production and the
unnecessary costs which manufacturers of such machinery have to bear because they are obliged to
manufacture specific models for different countries?