WRITTEN QUESTION P-3172/00 by Gerardo Galeote Quecedo (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Obstacles to the contracting of non-EU workers by sports clubs.
Date: 2000-10-04
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: association agreement (EU), discrimination on the basis of nationality, equal treatment, foreign national, sports body, third country, working conditions

22.5.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 151 E/85

3.

In the opinion of the Commission, has Turkey, since the Helsinki Summit, made any progress

(a)

towards fulfilling the Copenhagen criteria, and

(b)

towards complying with the preconditions laid down in the communique issued by the European
Council in Helsinki?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(30 October 2000)

The Commission is very much aware of the Loizidou case. It has mentioned this issue in the regular report
for Turkey in 1999 (1) and it intends to raise the matter again in the framework of the report for 2000,
which will be published on 8 November 2000.

The Commission also intends to publish the accession partnership for Turkey on 8 November 2000. Its
content will be presented to the Parliament on the same day. The drafting of this document is currently
part of the Commission(cid:146)s usual internal deliberations.

(1) COM(1999) 513 final.

(2001/C 151 E/095)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3171/00

by Adriana Poli Bortone (UEN) to the Commission

Subject: Crisis in the olive oil market in Puglia (Italy)

(10 October 2000)

What steps will the Commission take to prevent and crack down on the (cid:145)triangular(cid:146) arrangements under
which certain Mediterranean countries (Tunisia, Morocco, etc.) are illegally importing into Italy poor
quality groundnut, almond and olive oils to be used to adulterate Italian olive oil, particularly in the south
of the country? These practices, which have been condemned by olive growers in the province of Brindisi,
are responsible for the collapse in the price of Italian olive oil and the poor sales of this product.

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(20 November 2000)

The Member States are responsible for the policing needed to combat both the entry of adulterated
products from non-Union countries and the marketing of such products within the Community. The
Commission uses the resources available to it to promote research aimed at providing Member States with
increasingly effective methods of detecting adulteration (see the reply to the Honourable Member(cid:146)s
Written Question P-1763/00 (1)).

(1) OJ C 72 E, 6.3.2001, p. 111.

(2001/C 151 E/096)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3172/00

by Gerardo Galeote Quecedo (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(4 October 2000)

Subject: Obstacles to the contracting of non-EU workers by sports clubs

Recent press reports have highlighted the problems encountered by sports clubs in contracting non-EU
players, notably nationals of the candidate countries.

C 151 E/86

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

22.5.2001

Can the Commission provide a list of the third countries with which the Community has association
agreements in force which include provision for nationals of those countries being treated on an equal
basis with Community citizens from the viewpoint of conditions of work, including non-discrimination on
grounds of nationality?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(30 October 2000)

Europe agreements between the Communities and their Member States and the countries of association (1)
provide that workers from these countries shall be free from any discrimination based on nationality as
regards working conditions once they are legally employed in a Member State.

This means that workers from candidate countries who are legally employed in a Member State are to be
treated in the same way as nationals of that Member State as regards working conditions, remuneration
and dismissal.

(1) List of candidate countries with association agreements: Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria,
Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia. Co-operation between Turkey and the European Communities is based
on an association agreement, an additional protocol and Decision No 1/80 of the Council of Association on the
development of the Association.

(2001/C 151 E/097)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3176/00

by Arlindo Cunha (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(4 October 2000)

Subject: Agenda 2000

Following the adoption of the appropriations to allocated to the Structural Funds a year and half ago, at
the Berlin European Council, and the determination of the sums to be allocated to rural development
policy approximately one year ago, it is now necessary to implement, in practice and without delay, the
development measures deriving from these key policy choices of the Union.

The author of this question has been informed of cases of unacceptable delay (cid:129) in some cases, because the
Commission received Member States(cid:146) proposals late, in other cases because of delays attributable to its own
services.

Can the Commission provide information on its decisions adopting the operational programmes for
agriculture and rural development in each of the Member States?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(31 October 2000)

Of the 69 rural development plans in all which Member States submitted in accordance with Article 40(3)
and (4) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on support for rural development
from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) (1), 53 had been approved by the
Commission as at 11 October 2000.

As regards rural development measures financed by the EAGGF Guidance Section which, in accordance
with Article 40(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999, form part of the programming for Objective 1 of the
Structural Funds (including regions receiving transitional support), the Commission has approved 6 Com-
munity support frameworks (out of a total of 7 submitted), 11 single programming documents (out of a
total of 18 submitted), and 15 operational programmes (out of a total of 51 submitted) containing such
measures.