WRITTEN QUESTION E-3493/00 by Raffaele Costa (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Community measures to stop war in the Middle East.
Date: 2000-11-10
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Israel, Middle East, Palestine question, cooperation policy, development aid, establishment of peace, war

6.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 163 E/139

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(15 December 2000)

The Sicilian Black is not one of the animal species listed in the Annex to Council Directive 92/43/EEC of
21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (1).

The rural development assistance part-financed by the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee
Fund (EAGGF) Guidance Section includes agri-environmental measures to support farming methods that
protect the environment and maintain the countryside.

One of the forms assistance may take is support for farmers who undertake to breed farm animals of
endangered local breeds from the regions concerned.

The pig breed (cid:145)nero dei Nebrodi e delle Madonie(cid:146)
development plan for the Sicily region recently submitted to the Commission.

is listed as an endangered species in the rural

Provided this breed is recognised as being an endangered species on the basis of scientific data accepted by
international organisations that are authorities in this field, it will be able to qualify for aid part-financed
by the EAGGF Guarantee Section under the regional rural development plan for Sicily mentioned above.

No specific measure is provided for under the Structural Funds to safeguard the (cid:145)suino nero dei Nebrodi(cid:146).
However, under the farm investment aid measures provided for in the Objective 1 operational programme
for Sicily, approved by Commission Decision C(2000) 2346 of 8 August 2000, the EAGGF Guidance
Section may part-finance investment in pig farms, provided there is no increase in total pig production.
The breed in question might conceivably be included in such a measure.

(1) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992.

(2001/C 163 E/155)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3493/00

by Raffaele Costa (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(10 November 2000)

Subject: Community measures to stop war in the Middle East

Once again a dramatic, bitter and bloody conflict has been going on in the Middle East for several weeks.
Israelis and Palestinians have been fighting battles for which no end is in sight. President Clinton and the
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan are working to safeguard peace in the future and to eliminate the
flashpoints of war, the victims of which include Israelis and, even more, Palestinians.

What practical steps has the European Union taken to assist the work of Clinton and Kofi Annan (apart
from the empty words uttered in Biarritz)?

In the context of the MEDA programme (cid:129) the operation of which seems to be paralysed by unjustified
bureaucratic delays (cid:129) there is scope for structural as well as humanitarian measures. How does the
Commission intend to harness this programme, and the relevant funding, as a force for peace?

C 163 E/140

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

6.6.2001

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(8 December 2000)

The Commission is extremely concerned about the current spread of violence in the territories of West
Bank and Gaza and the difficulties in finding an agreement to end violence. The Commission is monitoring
with increasing preoccupation the closure of the Palestinian territories and the economic impact,
in
particular on the civil population, of the economic measures taken by Israel against the Palestinian
Authority.

In this context, the Commission is carefully examining all possibilities offered by its current co-operation
with the Palestinian Authority in order to help the Palestinian population to meet the additional needs
raised by this crisis.

In the meantime, the Commission allocated on 13 October 2000 620,000 € for emergency aid to provide
medical assistance to the Palestinian victims of recent clashes, including ambulances, emergency medical
supplies and equipment for medical centres.

Furthermore, the Commission has also authorised a payment of up to € 27 million to the Palestinian
Authority to help it meet urgent current expenses such as salaries for public sector employees. The
payment has been made under a special fund set up in 1998, through the Mediterranean development
assistance programme (MEDA) allocation, to provide funding in the form of refundable advances to the
Palestinian Authority in cases where the Israeli authorities did not transfer tax receipts on time to the
Palestinian Authority as provided in the 1994 Israeli-Palestinian Paris Protocol on economic relations.

(2001/C 163 E/156)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3495/00

by Hubert Pirker (PPE-DE) to the Council

(8 November 2000)

Subject: Council decision to raise the salaries of Europol staff

Adequate pay is an important factor in motivating staff. Europol staff do an excellent job under difficult
circumstances. However, the Council has yet to honour its commitment to raise their salaries.

Why has a decision to do so not yet been taken?

When and to what extent will the Council raise the salaries of Europol staff?

Reply

(12 February 2001)

The Honourable Member of the European Parliament is informed that Europol has taken up its activities
on 1 July 1999, at which date the Staff Regulations applicable to Europol employees (1) became
operational. The exact salary levels for Europol employees are determined in a table contained in these
Staff Regulations.

By Decision of 2 December 1999 (2) the Council decided to increase the salaries as laid down in the
aforementioned Staff Regulations by 8,5 %. This increase applies retroactively as from 1 July 1999.

As far as further increases of the salary of Europol are concerned, the Honourable Member(cid:146)s attention is
drawn to the fact that the Staff Regulations in Article 44 provide that these increases have to be adopted
by Council, acting unanimously according to the procedure of Title VI TEU. It is foreseen that any
initiative tabled to increase the salaries of Europol employees will be submitted for an opinion to the
European Parliament.

(1) OJ C 26 of 30.1.1999.
(2) OJ C 364 of 17.12.1999.