WRITTEN QUESTION E-2165/00 by Ioannis Souladakis (PSE) to the Council. Funding of the Turkish armed forces by the European Union.
Date: 2000-06-30
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Community budget, EU financing, Türkiye, aid recipient, armed forces, fraud against the EU, use of aid

18.4.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 113 E/69

Structural Fund resources allocated for the Community support framework for Greece for the 1994-1999
programming period have been entirely committed. Authorised payments for projects in progress will have
to be made before the end of 2001.

The operational programmes for the 2000-2006 period have not yet been formally adopted but the plans
presently being negotiated include action on water resource management, in priority in the most seriously
affected regions.

The agri-environmental measures part-financed by the Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural
Guidance and Guarantee Fund under the 2000-2006 rural development plan include water management in
connection with pollution from nitrates of agricultural origin in Thessaly and conservation of Natura 2000
wet biotopes in Macedonia and Thrace.

(2001/C 113 E/067)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2165/00

by Ioannis Souladakis (PSE) to the Council

(30 June 2000)

Subject: Funding of the Turkish armed forces by the European Union

According to recent press reports, a Turkish general recently proposed that the new plan for the Turkish
armed forces deployed in south-eastern Turkey should be funded from EU aid to Turkey. However, the aid
granted to Turkey by the EU is intended to develop the country to make it a viable candidate for future
membership of the EU and not to help tackle Turkey(cid:146)s long-term security problems in its south-eastern
provinces caused by its refusal to resolve the Kurdish problem.

How confident is the Council that the appropriations allocated to Turkey with a view to promoting its bid
for accession to the European Union will not end up in the budgets of the Turkish armed forces to be used
to strengthen Turkey(cid:146)s military machine in violation of all the relevant EU legislation?

What means and procedures is the Council employing to ensure and monitor the proper use of EU funds
in Turkey and to frustrate the wishes of the Turkish military?

Reply

(20 November 2000)

All projects funded out of the Community budget are decided on the basis of legislative acts of the Council
and, very often, of the European Parliament. In the case of Turkey, those acts currently include the MEDA
programme (1) and the Council Regulation regarding the implementation of measures to intensify the
EC-Turkey customs union (2). In addition, the Council has recently forwarded to the European Parliament
its common position with a view to the adoption of a Regulation regarding the implementation of
measures to promote economic and social development in Turkey (3).

These three Regulations contain specific and well-defined criteria concerning the areas in which a
cooperation project or measure may implemented and also lay down the objectives and principles which
govern those measures. The area referred to by the Honourable Member clearly falls outside the scope of
the Regulations. The Council is certain that the Commission, which implements the financial regulations
with the assistance of the MED Committee, shares this view and takes all necessary steps to ensure that
funds granted by the European Community are not improperly used.

C 113 E/70

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.4.2001

The Council will use the means at its disposal to ensure that the appropriations allocated to Turkey by the
European Community are not used by, or in order to strengthen, the Turkish armed forces.

(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 1488/96 of 23 July 1996 on financial and technical measures to accompany (MEDA)
the reform of economic and social structures in the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership (OJ L 189,
30.7.1996, p. 1), as amended by Regulation No 780/98, (OJ L 113, 15.4.1998, p. 3).

(2) Regulation (EC) No 764/2000 of 10 April 2000 (OJ L 94, 14.4.2000, p. 6).
(3) Common position adopted by the Council on 13 June 2000.

(2001/C 113 E/068)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2173/00

by Salvador Garriga Polledo (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(7 July 2000)

Subject: Development of the relationship between universities and businesses within the EU

The concept of a university as a public service to society must also incorporate the idea that universities
are essential to the business development of any society, for which reason Europe(cid:146)s economic environment
requires a more flexible relationship between universities and businesses and also greater flexibility in the
working practices of students and researchers.

It is plain to everyone that the harnessing of external resources which at the earliest opportunity establish
a relationship between students and the employment market needs to be rethought, as must
the
arrangements for the constant updating to which the relationship between universities and businesses
must be subject if imbalances are not to creep into that relationship (cid:129) one which is essential if the socio-
economic context is to develop smoothly.

What Community policy has been conducted with a view to sustaining an on-going dialogue intended to
safeguard the balance between universities and businesses? How has the Commission supported initiatives
which are capable of monitoring the state of that dialogue on a permanent basis?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(17 October 2000)

The establishment of close relationships between universities and the business sector has been recognised
by the Commission as one of the key elements for the development of the Community. The aim of
(cid:145)bringing schools and business sector closer together(cid:146)
is one of the general objectives aiming at the
development of the knowledge society set out by the Commission in its white paper (cid:145)Teaching and
learning (cid:129) Towards the learning society(cid:146) (1). Moreover,
in its communication (cid:145)Towards a Europe of
knowledge(cid:146) (2), the Commission identifies the economic partners, and in particular small and medium-
sized enterprises (SMEs), as one of the main parties involved. The communication from the Commission
(cid:145)Challenges for enterprise policy in the knowledge-driven economy(cid:146) (3) has confirmed the need to promote
an entrepreneurial culture in our society, bringing knowledge about business and entrepreneurship into the
education systems.

Since 1986 the Community programmes in the fields of education and vocational training provide
students with a wide range of possibilities to experience internships or vocational training schemes abroad.
The Comett programme (1986-1994) (4) has supported the placement of 28 000 students and about 1 000
staff exchanges between universities and entreprises. The Erasmus action of the Socrates programme (5),
which has allowed from 1987 to 2000 the mobility of about 700 000 students, also foresees the
possibility of spending part of the study period abroad under the form of an internship. Leonardo da
Vinci (6) (1995-1999) has supported 822 projects of placements in entreprises involving 40 000 students
and young graduates.

The decisions establishing the second phase of Socrates (7) and Leonardo da Vinci (8) stress that
(cid:145)in implementing the measures of the programme, the Commission and Member States shall have regard
to the priorities set out in the employment guidelines adopted by the Council, as part of a coordinated
employment strategy(cid:146). In these guidelines, defined in the framework of the Luxembourg process and