WRITTEN QUESTION E-2103/00 by Daniel Hannan (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Parliamentary dependants.
Date: 2000-06-30
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU financing, Member of Parliament, United Kingdom, pension scheme

C 103 E/62

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

3.4.2001

If it is not possible for applicants and holders of former authorisations of the same product to reach an
agreement on the sharing of data, Member States may introduce national measures obliging applicants and
holders of former authorisations located within their territory to share the data with a view to avoiding
duplication of testing on vertebrate animals as well as to determine both the procedure for utilising
information, and the reasonable balance of the interests of the parties concerned.

Besides, it follows from the above explanation that the Directives 91/414/EEC and 98/8/EC cannot be
considered as encouraging abuses of dominant positions within the meaning of Article 82 (ex Article 86)
of the EC Treaty.

(1) COM(1999) 719 final.

(2001/C 103 E/064)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2103/00

by Daniel Hannan (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(30 June 2000)

Subject: Parliamentary dependants

Further to the Commission answer to my Written Question E-1215/00 (1), will the Commission identify
those persons who sit in the United Kingdom Parliament and receive (a) pensions and (b) grants from the
European Union, for instance peers who receive a pension after retirement from the civil service in
Brussels or MPs who are directors of companies which receive financial support from the EU budget?

(1) OJ C 53 E, 20.2.2001.

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(7 September 2000)

The Commission(cid:146)s answer to the Honourable Member(cid:146)s written question E-1215/00 (1) contains the
relevant information as far as ex-Members of the Commission of British nationality who currently benefit
from a Community pension are concerned.

As far as Commission officials are concerned, the payment of a pension after retirement does not prevent
them (while respecting Articles 16 and 17 of the Staff Regulations) taking up another position.

Grade A1 and A2 officials who were retired in the interests of the service by decision of the appointing
authority (Article 50 of the Staff Regulations) receive a monthly indemnity for a fixed period. Article 50
provides that income received from any new employment, during the period in which the former official
benefits from that allowance, shall be deducted from that allowance, if the income and the allowance
together exceed the total remuneration last received by the official.

At 10 July 2000 eight such former Commission officials of British nationality are receiving this allowance,
The information relating to income from professional sources supplied to the Commission does not, at
present, necessitate a review of any of these indemnities.

No persons in the UK Parliament receive (cid:145)grants(cid:146)
the
Commission(cid:146)s knowledge, Lord Williamson the former Secretary General of the Commission, is the only
former Commission official in either House of Parliament and, naturally, he receives the retirement pension
to which he is entitled.

from the European Union. To the best of

3.4.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 103 E/63

The Commission does not compile any record of directors of companies that receive financial support
from the Community budget as a result of the work that they do, or the functions that they fulfil, and is
therefore not in a position to say whether any such persons are MPs or Peers.

(1) OJ C 53 E, 20.2.2001.

(2001/C 103 E/065)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2106/00

by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Council

(30 June 2000)

Subject: 1995 Convention on the Protection of the European Communities(cid:146) Financial Interests

What action does the Council intend to take in order to ensure the ratification of the 1995 Convention on
the Protection of the European Communities(cid:146) Financial Interests, given that it should have been completed
by 1998 and that ratification will become pointless once the Commission has submitted a proposal for a
Community act?

Reply

(7 November 2000)

The Council is continuing to call on those Member States which have not yet done so to proceed rapidly
with ratification of the Convention signed in 1995 and of the Protocols thereto. The Council sees no need
to consider the possible consequences of a Commission initiative for a Community act in this field as long
as no such initiative has been taken or formally announced.

(2001/C 103 E/066)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2107/00

by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(30 June 2000)

Subject: Reforming the Commission

Can the Commission give its opinion on Paragraph 41 of the Van Hulten report which calls for
(cid:145)the individual political responsibility of Commissioners to be enshrined in the Treaties(cid:146)?

What progress, if any, has been made to date, and what future action would the Commission envisage to
attain this objective?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(7 September 2000)

In its opinion of 26 January 2000 on the Intergovernmental Conference (1), the Commission proposed that
the political undertaking given by the Members of the present Commission to resign if asked to do so by
the President be written into the Treaty. To that end, it proposed an amendment to Article 215 of the
In its Resolution of 13 April 2000 on the Intergovernmental Conference (2), Parliament
EC Treaty.
proposed that (cid:145)any Member of the Commission guilty of serious misconduct in the performance of his
duties should be required to tender his resignation when asked to do so by the President of the
Commission(cid:146) (point 12.6).