WRITTEN QUESTION E-3263/00 by Jonas Sjöstedt (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Reciprocal defence guarantees in the EU.
Date: 2000-10-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: common security and defence policy

C 174 E/30

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

19.6.2001

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(12 December 2000)

The Commission follows closely the political situation in the Sudan and in particular the civil war between
the Sudanese government in Khartoum and southern rebel groups, the most important of which is the
Sudanese People(cid:146)s Liberation Movement. After 17 years of civil war it can be safely stated that there is no
military solution. The conflict has clear ethnic and religious implications. Economic issues like sharing
Sudan(cid:146)s oil wealth play an ever growing role.

Although it has been impossible to maintain a normal level of cooperation with the Sudan due to the
political situation, the Commission continues to be present in the country and to play a major role in the
field of humanitarian assistance. More than € 200 million have been made available for this purpose
during the last ten years. At the same time, the Commission is participating in the renewed political
dialogue between the Community and the government of the Sudan, which will soon come to the end of
its first phase. Together with a number of Member States it is an active member of the Inter Governmental
Authority on Development (IGAD) Partners Forum (IPF) that supports IGAD(cid:146)s efforts to mediate in the
Sudanese internal conflict.

The Commission strongly encourages the peace process, not only by providing political and moral support
to IGAD but also in its direct relations with the conflicting partners. It subscribes to the call for an
immediate cease-fire agreement under international supervision and to the demand for a stop to the
provision of arms to either side. The Declaration of Principles, adopted by both parties in the North-South
conflict, is considered the basis for a lasting peace, in particular as far as the right of self-determination is
concerned. Together with Member States, the Commission has been cooperating with the United States on
this matter. However, this has not always been successful given differences in the analysis of the process of
change in Khartoum.

(2001/C 174 E/030)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3263/00

by Jonas Sj(cid:246)stedt (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(20 October 2000)

Subject: Reciprocal defence guarantees in the EU

During a visit to Latvia on 10 February 2000, the Commission President Romano Prodi stated that any
attack or act of aggression against an EU Member State was an attack or act of aggression against the EU
as a whole.

Does the Commission consider, therefore,
guarantees?

that the Member States are bound by reciprocal defence

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(30 November 2000)

The Commission regrets that some comments on this issue have been taken out of context. In discussions
with Lithuanian President Adamkus, the President of the Commission affirmed that membership of the
Union gave a (cid:145)sense of belonging(cid:146) and that this was in a real sense an effective guarantee of security. What
the President of the Commission said during his visit to Latvia was that membership of the Union
represents the enhancement of national economic and political security through membership of the
world(cid:146)s largest trading bloc, largest aid giver and largest provider of technical assistance to the countries
of Eastern and Central Europe. So, there should be no confusion between the sense of security brought by
the membership of an enlarging Union and the kind of territorial security commitment provided by the
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and Western European Union (WEU) treaties, which were not
part of the discussions. The use of the word (cid:145)attack(cid:146) had no military significance.

19.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 174 E/31

It may be helpful to distinguish between two component parts of the overall European security and
defence equation (cid:129) territorial defence and Petersberg tasks. Issues of territorial defence should, of course,
be raised with Member States themselves. Military implications of individual Member States(cid:146) policy in the
defence area fall squarely into the national domain. As to a territorial security commitment, such as that
provided by article V of the NATO Treaty and article 5 of the WEU Treaty, this concerns only those EU
Member States which have signed those treaties. In addition, territorial defence does not form part of
ongoing discussions within the framework of ESDP.

The Union(cid:146)s stated aim is to be ready to support action within the framework of Petersberg tasks. All
Member States agree on this and are ready to contribute.

There is, of course, an umbilical
link between the military and non-military dimensions of conflict
prevention, conflict resolution and crisis management. It is in these areas that the Union, its Member
States and the Commission are increasingly active.

(2001/C 174 E/031)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3266/00

by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(12 October 2000)

Subject: Support for the arts in the EU

Can the Commission give details of Community legislation providing for EU subsidies for all types of
schools and academies of music (both public and private)
in the Member States? What Community
programmes are in force which provide for financial aid to such institutions?

Which Community initiatives provide subsidies for projects to promote the book sector? Are there plans
to provide aid for the publication of major works of European and world literature, such as the ancient
Greek tragedies, and to subsidise pioneering projects such as the translation of ancient philosophical,
historical and scientific texts into all the official languages of the Union?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(14 November 2000)

The Community action programme in the field of education, Socrates, subsidises transnational activities
initiated by institutional partnerships involving at least three participating countries. In principle, the
Comenius action on school education is open to all establishments recognised as schools by the
participating countries. A detailed list of eligible institutions appears in the programme application guide.
None of the Socrates actions is exclusively concerned with the arts.

The (cid:145)Culture 2000(cid:146) programme, which is the single financing and programming instrument for cultural
cooperation within the Community established by Decision No 508/2000/EC of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 14 February 2000 (1), is designed, inter alia, to promote cultural dialogue and mutual
knowledge of the culture and history of European peoples and to encourage creativity and the transna-
tional dissemination of culture.

The objectives of the framework programme are to be achieved through actions which are either vertical
(concerning one cultural field) or horizontal (associating several cultural fields).

In the case of books and reading, the vertical approach of the Culture 2000 programme is intended, in
particular: (cid:145)to improve awareness and the distribution of literary creation and the history of the European
people through supporting the translation of literary, dramatic and reference works (cid:133)(cid:146).