WRITTEN QUESTION E-3286/00 by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) and Gianfranco Fini (UEN) to the Commission. Combating paedophilia.
Date: 2000-10-25
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU action, Internet site, child pornography, child protection, intellectual property, paedophilia

6.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 163 E/79

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(4 December 2000)

1.
As mentioned in the reply to the Honourable Member(cid:146)s Written Question E-2352/00, the Commis-
sion confirms that it has not received an official request from the territorial authorising officer of the
Netherlands Antilles for assistance to rebuild the infrastructures of the islands of St. Maarten that were
struck in recent years by hurricanes.

However, the Commission has received from the territorial authorising officer a request for € 34
2.
million for infrastructure to be built on that island (water intake/desalination plant € 2 million, water
distribution € 22 million and road improvements € 10 million). This infrastructure has nothing to do with
that damaged by the hurricanes. It will be built under the agreed European development fund (EDF)
programmes for the Netherlands Antilles. A team of technical assistants is currently analysing the requests
received for St. Maarten (including the designs, technical papers and tender documents) in order that
projects can be prepared according to the normal EDF standards and approved during the course of 2001.

3.
The low rate of commitments for the 8th EDF can be explained by the fact that the last indicative
programme of the Netherlands Antilles was only signed in May 1999. As happens at the beginning of each
EDF cycle, the first year after the signature of an indicative programme is mainly used to select, appraise
and design projects and it is only when this phase is concluded that projects can be approved and
implementation begun. This is precisely what is happening at the moment with the 8th EDF indicative
programme of the Netherlands Antilles.

(2001/C 163 E/083)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3286/00

by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) and Gianfranco Fini (UEN) to the Commission

Subject: Combating paedophilia

(25 October 2000)

The increasingly serious and alarming problem of paedophilia is exacerbated by the Internet, which is not
yet subject to any rules to ensure it is used properly.

It has emerged that yet another pornographic website, namely www.unioneuropea.com, is using an official
name.

What action does the Commission intend to take to prevent the fraudulent use of official EU website
names?

How can minors be protected if criminal organisations use official EU names to publish pornography,
including child pornography?

Does the Commission agree that it would be appropriate for the EU institutions(cid:146) e-mail to incorporate
a message stressing the EU(cid:146)s commitment to preventing the promotion of paedophilia via the Internet?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(17 January 2001)

The Commission has long been concerned about the diffusion of paedophile images on the Internet, in
particular child pornography. In order to fight against it, it proposed a multiannual Community action
plan on promoting safer use of
the Internet by combating illegal and harmful content on global
networks (1). It was adopted by the Council and the Parliament on 25 January 1999. The action plan
provides support in four areas: a European network of hotlines, self-regulation by industry, filtering and
rating and awareness. Furthermore Member States are also committed to provide an appropriate frame-
work under the Council Recommendation 98/560/EC of 24 September 1998 on the development of the
competitiveness of the European audio-visual and information services industry by promoting national
frameworks aimed at achieving a comparable and effective level of protection of minors and human
dignity (2).

C 163 E/80

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

6.6.2001

As regards the specific situation of the web-site www.unioneuropea.com, the Commission is aware of the
misrepresentation and potential abuse that may arise if a web-site, apparently representing the Union, is
used in this way. The Commission believes that the site referred to no longer contain pornographic
material, following a complaint to the company hosting this web-site.

The site in question is not an official Community site. However, the Commission is prepared to take
appropriate action to defend its rights and prerogatives and the Commission has been actively participating
in international efforts to address this kind of problem, undertaken mainly by the International corporation
for assigned names and numbers (ICANN) and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). These
have started with the trademarks problem, but are currently being extended to include other categories of
names including persons(cid:146) and geographic names. The Commission will also propose, in the context of
the.eu domain name that will become available next year, a code of conduct aiming at preventing such
abuses within the Community.

Regarding illegal content, the primary responsibility for taking action against such sites rests with the
appropriate law enforcement and judicial authorities of the Member States, irrespective of whether such
sites refer specifically to the Community, or not. Regarding adult pornographic material that should not be
available for minors, please refer to first paragraph, above. With a view to ensure that Members States
have effective sanctions in place to combat the diffusion of child pornographic images on the Internet, the
Commission has recently introduced a proposal for a Council Framework Decision which will include
provisions for the approximation of laws and sanctions of the Member States in the field of the sexual
exploitation of children, with particular reference to child pornography on the Internet.

The Commission has already published material on the Web regarding the multiannual Community action
plan referred to under first paragraph, above, with particular reference to material referring to the labelling
and filtering of sites appropriate for minors.

(1) OJ L 33, 6.2.1999.
(2) OJ L 270, 7.10.1998.

(2001/C 163 E/084)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3287/00

by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(25 October 2000)

Subject: Gas prices

Because the Belgian distributor has indexed natural-gas prices to oil prices, households in Belgium are
likely to be paying up to 20 % more for their gas by the end of this year than they were in 1999.
However, the two energy sources are not interchangeable from the point of view of the domestic
consumer, as domestic burners are not compatible with both.

Does it accord with Community competition law and with liberalisation of the gas industry to include in
the pricing of gas an element of indexation to the long-term price of crude oil, in addition to charging
such fixed costs as transport?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(29 November 2000)

Gas prices have traditionally been indexed to oil prices because gas can be substituted for oil, and to allow
natural gas to penetrate in oil dominated market segments. In the absence of gas-to-gas competition, gas
prices in Europe therefore closely follow oil price developments on the world market, albeit with a couple
of months delay. This fuel price inter-relationship affects the consumer through the tariffs applied for gas
consumption.