WRITTEN QUESTION P-3176/00 by Arlindo Cunha (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Agenda 2000.
Date: 2000-10-04
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EC Decision, European Commission, common agricultural policy, operational programme, rural development

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.

22.5.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 151 E/87

Lastly, in accordance with Article 40(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999, rural development measures
financed by the EAGGF Guarantee Section have been incorporated into 20 single programming documents
for areas covered by Objective 2 of the Structural Funds (including areas receiving transitional support)
which the Commission is currently examining.

A more detailed breakdown by Member State has been sent to the Honourable Member direct and to
Parliament(cid:146)s Secretariat.
In addition, the documents which the Commission has approved have been
forwarded to Parliament in accordance with the Code of Conduct on the implementation of structural
policies by the Commission (2).

(1) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999.
(2) OJ C 279, 1.10.1999.

(2001/C 151 E/098)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3186/00

by Marie-Arlette Carlotti (PSE) to the Commission

(4 October 2000)

Subject: Negotiations on Turkey(cid:146)s accession to the European Union and acknowledgement of genocide

against Armenians

In its resolution of June 1987 on a political solution to the Armenian question (1), the European Parliament
most notably expressed the belief that (cid:145)the Armenian question and the question of minorities in Turkey
must be resituated within the framework of relations between Turkey and the Community(cid:146) and called on
the Turkish authorities to acknowledge formally that the tragic events of 1915-1917 involving Armenians
living on the territory of the Ottoman Empire constituted genocide within the meaning of the convention
adopted by the UN General Assembly on 9 December 1948.

With Turkey(cid:146)s status as an applicant country having been confirmed by the Helsinki European Council
in December 1999, and with institutional activities and political dialogue within the Association Council
having resumed last April, will the Commission say exactly to what extent the issue of acknowledgement
by the Turkish authorities of the genocide against Armenians features in the negotiations on Turkey(cid:146)s
accession to the European Union?

(1) OJ C 190, 20.7.1987, p. 119.

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(30 October 2000)

The Commission considers that this issue is not covered by the Copenhagen criteria.

(2001/C 151 E/099)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3187/00

by Carlos Costa Neves (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(4 October 2000)

Subject: Milk production in the Azores

As the Commission knows, milk production in Portugal exceeded the available milk quota by some

1.
63 000 tonnes in the year 1999-2000, with the surplus occurring in the Azores autonomous region.