WRITTEN QUESTION E-3484/00 by Timothy Kirkhope (PPE-DE) to the Council. Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Date: 2000-11-13
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, legal status

C 235 E/4

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

21.8.2001

(2001/C 235 E/004)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3430/00

by Marielle De Sarnez (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(7 November 2000)

Subject: Town-twinning

In order to promote a Citizens(cid:146) Europe, appropriations are allocated to French local authorities wishing to
organise exchange programmes and town-twinning schemes with other local authorities in Europe.

However, the budget allocated to that type of programme was apparently exhausted in September. I should
therefore like to know, in detail, how many French local authorities were able to benefit from that subsidy
between 1 January and 15 September 2000 (final date for applications set out
in a Commission
communication dated 10 February 2000) and the amount involved.

I should also like to know what changes will be made to the procedure in order to make it more selective.

Finally, I should like to know whether the Commission is intending to give priority in 2001 to those
authorities which forwarded duly completed application forms but which were rejected in 2000 for lack of
funds.

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(7 December 2000)

To date the Commission has accepted 320 applications submitted by French local authorities for
exchanges organised in 2000 between citizens from twinned towns. The total amount awarded to these
host towns is € 1,2 million.

In addition, 445 local authorities in France submitted applications which were approved as guest towns.
The total amount awarded in transport expenses is € 1,3 million.

Furthermore, the Commission is in fact introducing a new procedure which should help to increase
effectiveness. An information meeting on this new call for proposals procedure was held on 23 October
2000; representatives of
the national
associations of the 15 Member States, the central and eastern European countries, Malta, Cyprus and
Turkey, the United Towns Organisation (UTO) and the Assembly of European Regions were invited so that
all points of view could be examined. The new call for proposals and the relevant forms can be found on
the Europa site at the following address:
http//europa.eu.int/comm/dg10/towntwin/index_

the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR),

Finally, for procedural reasons and due to the annual nature of the budget, projects for which applications
submitted in 2000 were rejected cannot be taken into consideration for 2001. For twinning projects to
take place in 2001, the interested parties must submit applications in accordance with the new procedures
in force for 2001.

(2001/C 235 E/005)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3484/00

by Timothy Kirkhope (PPE-DE) to the Council

(13 November 2000)

Subject: Charter of Fundamental Rights

Following the informal meeting of the Council in Biarritz on 13/14 October 2000 and the discussions that
took place on the second day thereof, would the Council please confirm that it was always its intention
that the Charter of Fundamental Rights should be legally justiciable? In the event of this not being
achieved, what status in legal/constitutional terms would it wish the Charter to have?

21.8.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 235 E/5

Reply

(7 May 2001)

The Council would remind the Honourable Member that,
in accordance with the conclusions of the
Cologne European Council on 3 and 4 June 1999 and the proceedings of the Biarritz European Council on
13 and 14 October 2000, the Council, together with the European Parliament and the Commission, has
solemnly proclaimed the draft Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union which emerged from
the proceedings of the Convention established for that purpose as the Charter of Fundamental Rights of
the European Union. That proclamation took place in Nice on 7 December 2000.

In conformity with the conclusions of the Cologne European Council, it will now have to be considered
whether and, if so, how the Charter might be integrated into the Treaties.

In accordance with the Declaration on the future of the Union issued at the Nice European Council, the
question of the status of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU will be addressed as part of the
follow-up process to Nice.

(2001/C 235 E/006)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3519/00

by Ari Vatanen (PPE-DE), Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE-DE),
Charles Pasqua (UEN), Arlindo Cunha (PPE-DE), Hans-Gert Poettering (PPE-DE),
Elmar Brok (PPE-DE), Mary Banotti (PPE-DE), Alejandro Agag Longo (PPE-DE)
and Arie Oostlander (PPE-DE) to the Council

(13 November 2000)

Subject: The current system of car taxation and its inconsistency with the internal market and free trade

Will the Council please consider, as a matter of urgency, the correction of distortions in car taxation? In
several Member States, the tax system treats the importation of cars unfairly, especially when the importer
is a private citizen. The taxes levied on imported cars are frequently not based on the real value of the car,
particularly if the car is a used car. The excessively high taxes act as a barrier to intra-EU trade and prevent
the establishment of competitive markets in the European Union. Article 25 of the Treaty establishing the
European Community forbids customs duties on imports and exports between Member States as well as
charges having equivalent effect.

What does the Council intend to do in order to correct the distortions caused by arbitrary car import rules
in the Member States? What will the Council do to ensure transparent car imports which are in conformity
with Community law?

When will European consumers be able to enjoy the benefits of a genuine internal market when buying
a car?

Reply

(14 May 2001)

The Council would stress to the Honourable Members that the determination of the taxation system
1.
applicable when a car is purchased by a private individual must be viewed in the light of very differing
situations (acquisition within the Community or importation) and of the taxes in question. In this respect,
it would point out that, as Community law currently stands, with the exception of the situation regarding
VAT, there is no common system of vehicle taxes, in particular as regards registration taxes or road taxes.

2.
The Council is aware of the problems, in particular regarding double taxation, which may arise from
a lack of coordination of Member States legislation. It would remind the Honourable Members that, under
Article 93 TEC, the Council is indeed empowered to act with regard to the harmonisation of indirect
that such harmonisation is necessary to ensure the establishment and the
taxation,

to the extent