WRITTEN QUESTION E-2377/00 by María Valenciano Martínez-Orozco (PSE) to the Commission. Communication on the Community strategy for equality between men and women (2001-2005) and the proposal for a directive on sexual harassment in the workplace.
Date: 2000-07-13
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Commission, European Parliament, European social policy, access to EU information, gender equality, interinstitutional relations (EU), sexual harassment, working conditions

22.5.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 151 E/3

(2001/C 151 E/003)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2373/00

by Dana Scallon (PPE-DE) to the Council

(24 July 2000)

Subject: Child soldiers and small arms in African conflicts

There are horrific stories of the devastation caused by the use of small arms and the destruction of a
generation of children through conscription into armies, both unofficial and official.

It is estimated that up to 300 000 children world wide, and 120 000 in Africa alone, are serving as
combatants in government armed forces or armed opposition groups.

Unfortunately, many of the arms used are manufactured in Europe and traded from Europe, sometimes
through by-passing the code of conduct on Arms Exports adopted in 1998.

How can the Council ensure a more stringent and binding application of the EU code in each country of
the Union?

Can the Council give more particular attention to the criteria and operative provisions at the yearly review
of this code, most of all for criteria 1, 3, 7, and operative provisions 8 and 11?

Reply

(22 December 2000)

The Council

is constantly concerned by the destabilising accumulation of small arms and light
1.
weapons and their devastating effects on child soldiers enrolled in official and unofficial armies. The Code
of Conduct on arms exports adopted on 8 June 1998 is directed towards establishing high common
standards to be regarded by all Member States as a minimum for the control of conventional arms
transfers. The Code is also aimed at strengthening the exchange of relevant information with a view to
greater transparency.

2.
Arms exportation policies and application of the Code are the responsibility of the Member States,
which take decisions authorising or refusing arms transfers on the basis of the Code. The Member States
are, however, obliged to exchange information each year, within the Council, on their arms exports. An
annual report is prepared on that basis, allowing a joint evaluation of implementation of the Code and in
particular of the application of each of the criteria contained therein.

(2001/C 151 E/004)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2377/00

by Mar(cid:237)a Valenciano Mart(cid:237)nez-Orozco (PSE) to the Commission

(13 July 2000)

Subject: Communication on the Community strategy for equality between men and women (2001-2005)

and the proposal for a directive on sexual harassment in the workplace

On 7 June 2000 the Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, Anna Diamantopoulou, announced
to the general public and to the media that the Commission had adopted a communication on a
Community strategy for equality between men and women (2000-2005) and a proposal for a directive
on sexual harassment in the workplace.

In accordance with the framework agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the
Commission, the Commission must keep Parliament fully informed of legislative or budgetary proposals
and initiatives, and may not make public any legislative initiative or any other significant initiative or
decision without having first informed Parliament.

How, then, does the Commission explain the fact that, at the time of writing, twenty days after it
announced the adoption of these proposals in a blaze of publicity, it systematically refuses Members of this
Parliament access to their content, and that none of the official documents is yet available?

C 151 E/4

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

22.5.2001

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(5 October 2000)

On 7 June 2000 the Commission adopted the communication (cid:145)Towards a Community framework strategy
on gender equality (2001-2005)(cid:146) (1), the proposal for a Council Decision on a supporting programme, and
the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 76/207/
EEC on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to
training and promotion, and working conditions (2). These texts had to be
employment, vocational
thoroughly checked by the Commission(cid:146)s lawyer-linguists in order to ensure the reliability and accuracy
of the different language versions. This entailed comparing the terms used in each translation with the
original language of the documents, and ensuring that the 11 language versions were consistent with each
other. As stated by the Honourable Member, this meant there was a delay in making available the final
versions of the documents in the 11 languages.

Whilst regretting this delay, the Commission would like to emphasise the fact that it kept Parliament
properly informed throughout the process of preparing the Communication and the proposal for a
Directive.

(1) COM(2000) 335 final.
(2) COM(2000) 334 final.

(2001/C 151 E/005)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2392/00

by Mathieu Grosch (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(13 July 2000)

Subject: Bank charges

Despite the European Parliament and Council directive 97/5/EC (1) of 27 January 1997 on cross-border
credit transfers, a study carried out by the IECI and presented on 5 February shows that within the 11
EURO Member States, for payments abroad:

(cid:129) the costs of cross-border transfers are, firstly, far too high and out of all proportion to the costs
actually incurred by the banks; secondly, they vary quite considerably depending on the direction in
which they are made;

(cid:129) despite the ban (if there is no agreement) on charging the recipient, this is nevertheless what happens

in 35 % of cases in 10 of the 11 countries;

(cid:129) the specified time limit of 5 days is not respected in most countries.

What action does the Commission intend to take, in the interests of consumers, to prohibit this abuse
which is tolerated in individual Member States?

(1) OJ L 43, 14.2.1997, p. 25.

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(20 September 2000)

The European Interregional Institute for Consumer Affairs (EIICA) carried out for the Commission a study
to ascertain whether charges were imposed for conversion transactions between the euro and national
currencies. The findings were excellent in that no charges are made for such transactions. However, where
cross-border transfers are concerned,
it transpired that transaction costs are invariably high and that
Directive 97/5/EC is not being applied correctly as regards the breakdown of costs and the time the
transaction takes.