WRITTEN QUESTION P-3342/00 by Luisa Morgantini (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Measures against coca growers in Bolivia.
Date: 2000-10-18
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Bolivia, alternative agricultural production, cooperation policy, development aid, drug traffic, farmer, fight against crime

C 136 E/224

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

8.5.2001

(2001/C 136 E/263)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3342/00

by Luisa Morgantini (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(18 October 2000)

Subject: Measures against coca growers in Bolivia

The situation in Bolivia between the government and small farmers who grow coca is very tense. Officially,
only 2 000 hectares of coca remain to be eradicated in Bolivia, as opposed to the 35 000 previously under
cultivation. For social reasons the producers(cid:146) associations are calling on the government to proceed rapidly
with the substitution programmes before destroying the remaining 2 000 hectares. The Catholic Church,
the Defender of the People (Ombudsman) and the Permanent Assembly on Human Rights are proposing a
deadline of one month, which has been rejected by the government on the pretext of pressure from
abroad.

Does the Commission align itself with the United States in demanding immediate eradication, or does it
present a different point of view to the Bolivian authorities, supporting the (cid:145)comisi(cid:243)n facilitadora(cid:146),
according to which the conflict should be resolved in a peaceful fashion, within a reasonable period of
time and with the small farmers being offered alternatives?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(7 November 2000)

The Commission is strongly committed to supporting alternative development programmes in Bolivia. It is
financing the following operations: € 19 million for alternative development in the main coca producing
area of Chapare in the Cochabamba region under the Praedac project (Programa de Apoyo a la Estrategia
de Desarrollo Alternativo en el Chapare), and € 11 million for economic development in impoverished
upland valleys to prevent migration to the coca-producing sectors.

The protocol on multi-annual indicative programming of Community financial and technical cooperation
for the period 2000-2006 about to be signed with the Bolivian government stipulates that around 10 % of
the available funding (between € 10 and 12 million) will be earmarked to support alternative development
projects.

The methodological approach recommended by the Commission takes the coca producers into account by
defining by mutual agreement, the social and economic support measures to put in place in return for
abandoning illegal crops. Clearly, however, the Commission(cid:146)s action in Bolivia must be in line with the
guidelines laid down by the public authorities.

The Commission is not involved in the Bolivian authorities(cid:146) eradication programmes, which are a matter of
domestic policy, nor has it made the granting of aid subject to compliance with specific timetables for
eradication.

(2001/C 136 E/264)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3343/00

by Ursula Schleicher (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(18 October 2000)

Subject: L-cysteine from human hair

L-cysteine is an amino acid used in the manufacture of various cosmetics. L-cysteine itself is produced in a
number of ways: by fermentation in Germany; by synthesis and biotransformation in Japan, using chicken
feathers in France and by hydrolysis of human hair in China. The L-cysteine made from human hair is the
cheapest.

Annex II to the cosmetics directive (76/768/EEC) (1) contains a list of substances that may not be used as
ingredients for cosmetic products, including, under number 416: cells, tissue or products of human origin.