WRITTEN QUESTION P-3391/00 by Joan Colom i Naval (PSE) to the Commission. Current and forecast ECSC reserves.
Date: 2000-10-25
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: ECSC, ECSC operating budget, management accounting, reserves

8.5.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 136 E/229

(2001/C 136 E/269)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3391/00

by Joan Colom i Naval (PSE) to the Commission

(25 October 2000)

Subject: Current and forecast ECSC reserves

In view of the fact that the ECSC Treaty is soon to expire, would the Commission say what quantity of
reserves the ECSC currently holds and what the forecasts are for the date on which the Treaty actually runs
out?

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(16 November 2000)

The Commission is actively preparing for the expiry of the ECSC Treaty in line with resolutions which
have been adopted by the Council and Parliament.

On 6 September 2000 it approved a communication entitled (cid:145)Expiry of the ECSC Treaty: financial activities
after 2002(cid:146) (1).

The statistical
Honourable Member on the current level and trends in ECSC reserves up to and after 23 July 2002.

tables attached to the communication provide all

the information requested by the

At 31 December 1999, reserves and provisions totalled € 1 943 million (see tables 1 and 2) of the
communication. At 31 July 2002, they should be € 1 601 million, taking into account the working
hypotheses adopted by the Commission.

(1) COM(2000) 518 final.

(2001/C 136 E/270)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3394/00

by Sebastiano Musumeci (UEN) to the Commission

Subject: Expulsion of a Sicilian family from Germany

(25 October 2000)

It is reported in the Sicilian newspaper Il Giornale di Sicilia that a family of Sicilians comprising husband,
wife and four children aged between 9 months and 14 years has been expelled by the German authorities
after the head of the family lost his job following an accident. At 5 o(cid:146)clock in the morning the German
police came for the family and took them to Stuttgart airport, where they were stripped naked and
searched, and then unceremoniously bundled on to an aircraft bound for Milan.

As has already occurred in other, similar cases, the action taken by the German authorities was apparently
prompted by the fear that the man, who suddenly found himself without any means of support, might
submit an application for Sozialhilfe (social benefits), to which not only Germans but also all non-
Community persons arriving in Germany are entitled.

This constitutes a clear infringement of the right of establishment, which is one of the cornerstones of the
EC Treaty.

What action can the Commission take in order to ensure that there is no recurrence of the kind of
regrettable incident described above?

Is the Commission aware of the case involving another Italian citizen (cid:129) Francesco Vidimar (cid:129) who was
expelled from Germany following action taken by the Stuttgart Office for Public Order, in the words of
which Mr Vidimar (cid:145)had for a long time been receiving continuous benefit payments, for which reason he is
no longer covered by the rules on freedom of movement but is subject to the general laws applicable to
foreigners(cid:146)?