WRITTEN QUESTION E-3597/00 by Juan Naranjo Escobar (PPE-DE) to the Commission. The Emcdda and the Santa Maria de Feira summit.
Date: 2000-11-22
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: area of freedom, security and justice, drug addiction

C 151 E/192

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

22.5.2001

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(9 January 2001)

Article 151 (ex Article 128) of the EC Treaty gives the Community the right to encourage cooperation
between Member States in the field of culture. The issue raised by the Honourable Member is not a
Community matter, however. In line with the principle of subsidiarity, this is a matter exclusively for the
Member State concerned.

(2001/C 151 E/221)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3593/00

by Samuli Pohjamo (ELDR) and Mikko Pes(cid:228)l(cid:228) (ELDR) to the Commission

Subject: Availability of EU statistics in official languages

(22 November 2000)

We have observed that it is not possible to obtain some of the most important statistics from the Eurostat
services on the Internet in any languages other than English, French or German. As many of the indexes
are complicated, this makes it awkward to access the Eurostat services.

What measures does the Commission propose to take to improve the opportunities for citizens to obtain
some of the most important economic statistics in all the EU(cid:146)s official languages?

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(22 December 2000)

Eurostat is very attentive to the issue of citizens having access to statistical data in the various Community
languages.

However, at present, Eurostat only has sufficient human and financial resources to make its published
information available to users in English, French and German, but not in all 11 Community languages.
information published more quickly, which users consider very
Moreover, the need to have statistical
important, also prevents documents from being made available in all the Community languages.

Nevertheless, Eurostat does try each year to produce one or more publications in all 11 Community
languages (e.g. (cid:145)Europe in figures(cid:146)) with a wide circulation (300 000 copies).

Eurostat will, however, investigate the possibility of publishing a range of basic statistical indicators on the
Internet in the 11 Community languages for 2001.

(2001/C 151 E/222)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3597/00

by Juan Naranjo Escobar (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: The Emcdda and the Santa Maria de Feira summit

(22 November 2000)

When the European Summit at Santa Maria de Feira adopted the EU Action Plan on Drugs 2000-2004,
it decided as follows (1):

The Member States according to technical tools and guidelines provided by Emcdda to give reliable
information on the five key epidemiological indicators in a comparable form drawn up by the Emcdda
and adopted by the Council:

1.

extent and pattern of drug use in the general population;

2. prevalence of problem drug use;

22.5.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 151 E/193

3.

4.

5.

demand for treatment by drug users;

drug-related deaths and mortality of drug users;

drug-related infectious diseases (HIV, hepatitis).

Can the Commission say what steps it intends to take for the adoption by the Council of these five
epidemiological indicators defined by the Centre, and specify the legal instruments it proposes to use for
that purpose?

(1) EU Action Plan on Drugs 2000-2004, 9283/00.

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(18 December 2000)

Article 2 of Regulation (EEC) No 302/93 on the establishment of a European Monitoring Centre for Drugs
and Drug Addiction (Emcdda), (1) as amended by Regulation (EC) No 2220/2000, states that the Emcdda is
to (cid:145)ensure improved comparability, objectivity and reliability of data at European level by establishing
indicators and common criteria of a non-binding nature, compliance with which may be recommended by
the Centre, with a view to greater uniformity of the measurement methods used by the Member States and
the Community(cid:146).

In view of the non-binding nature of the indicators established by the Emcdda, when the Santa Maria da
Feira European Council approved the Union(cid:146)s Action Plan on Drugs for 2000-2004 it urged (cid:145)Member
States, in cooperation with the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (cid:133) to enhance
their efforts to provide reliable and comparable information on the key epidemiological indicators in order
to better evaluate the impact of drug-related issues(cid:146).

At its next Management Board meeting in January 2001, the Emcdda should present a progress report on
the work on epidemiological
indicators and the difficulties encountered in implementation at national
level.

On this basis, the Commission will consider whether it is appropriate to prepare a legal instrument or to
implement any other measure so that comparable, objective and reliable epidemiological data can be
collected.

(1) OJ L 36, 12.2.1993.

(2001/C 151 E/223)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3603/00

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

Subject: Social assistance the first step on the road to deportation

(22 November 2000)

The German Government is continuing to pursue a policy of summary expulsions, which is all the more
serious in view of the infringement proceedings being brought against Germany under Article 48 of the
Treaty and the fact that it is being applied to the most vulnerable sections of the community, such as
migrant workers from other EU countries who have become unemployed, or pensioners whose income is
less than DEM 1 200, and who are therefore eligible to receive social assistance.

The German Government(cid:146)s current practice, which disregards the right of freedom of movement and
freedom of establishment, clearly shows that if a citizen works and is productive (and pays tax) he is
accepted and protected, regardless of his country of origin; but if his presence is no longer convenient in
economic terms, he is rejected and, worse still, expelled from the country.

Yet another case of expulsion, reported by Mr Zoratto, a member of the Comites di Stoccarda (Stuttgart-
based migrant workers(cid:146)) council and the CGIE (general council of Italians abroad), involves a citizen from
the Veneto who has been living in Costanza since 1961 and, now that he is receiving social assistance, is
being denied his right of residence.