WRITTEN QUESTION P-3743/00 by Maurizio Turco (TDI) to the Council. Clarifications concerning the reply to priority Written Question P-2247/00 on Opus Dei and European officials' right to exercise discretion.
Date: 2000-11-29
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Council of the European Union, European Parliament, European social policy, interinstitutional relations (EU), parliamentary question, religious sect

19.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 174 E/131

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(5 January 2001)

The Commission is aware of the concerns about a possible general application of genetic test results for
insurance purposes in all Member States.

As far as single market rules on insurance and data protection are concerned, there is no specific provision
regarding the use of genetic data for insurance purposes. Under Community law and in line with the
subsidiarity principle, it is for Member States to decide whether or not to authorize the use of genetic data,
taking into account (cid:145)general good(cid:146) requirements. According to information available to the Commission,
insurers in most Member States are subject to restrictions of some kind. These are either legal (as in
Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands and Austria,) or else insurers operate on the basis of voluntary
agreements (the German, Irish and Italian national insurance associations have agreed not to ask for results
of genetic tests. British insurers will only ask for results of these tests in excess of a certain minimum sum
insured). It should be noted that a recent Parliament Resolution on supplementary health insurance (1)
called on the Commission to examine the possibility of prohibiting the use of personal medical data, such
as genetic typing.

However, Article 8 of directive 95/46/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the
protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such
data (2) requires the consent of the data subject for the processing of genetic data concerning their health,
unless a specific exception applies.

(1) A5-0266/2000, of 16.11.2000.
(2) OJ L 281, 23.11.1995.

(2001/C 174 E/135)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3743/00

by Maurizio Turco (TDI) to the Council

(29 November 2000)

Subject: Clarifications concerning the reply to priority Written Question P-2247/00 on Opus Dei and

European officials(cid:146) right to exercise discretion

Knowing that:

(cid:129) on 30 June 2000, I tabled priority Written Question P-2247/2000,

(cid:129) Rule 44 of the Rules of Procedure provides that such questions should be answered within 3 weeks,

while non-priority questions should be answered within 6 weeks,

(cid:129) on 7 November 2000, the Council

(cid:145)The first four questions raised by the
Honourable Member have never been brought up before the Council. The last three questions are
obviously matters for the internal organisation of the general secretariat(cid:146).

(cid:145)replied(cid:146) as follows:

The Council:

(cid:129) does it regard itself as bound by those provisions of the Rules of Procedure of the European

Parliament that relate to the Council?

(cid:129) why does it reply only to questions that have already been brought before it?

(cid:129) is it not possible to table parliamentary questions concerning the powers of the general secretariat?

(cid:129) are the activities of the general secretariat confidential?

(cid:129) what staff regulations apply to Council officials?

C 174 E/132

Official Journal of the European Communities

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19.6.2001

(cid:129) what action does the Council intend to take in relation to the officials responsible for drafting the

reply to question P-2247/00?

(cid:129) does the Council intend to answer the questions raised in question P-2247/00, and if so, when?

Reply

(12 March 2001)

The Council believes that it gave a proper and full reply to question P-2247/00.

The Council was not apprised of the facts set out in question P-2247/00 before the Honourable Member(cid:146)s
question was referred to it. The reply stating that (cid:145)the first four questions raised by the Honourable
Member have never been brought before the Council(cid:146) has to be understood against that background.

The Council would remind the Honourable Member that it is not bound by the provisions of the Rules of
Procedure of the European Parliament, as inferred from the joint reply by the Council to Written Questions
E-1299/00 and E-1300/00 put by Charles Tannock and P-1541/00 put by Michl Ebner. For all that, the
Council has never refused to reply to parliamentary questions concerning the powers or activities of its
General Secretariat.

In the case in point, the decision to which the Honourable Member referred in question P-2247/00 ((cid:145)(cid:133) the
secretariat of the Council of Ministers refused to allow the holding of a meeting on its premises organised
by an association of officials, the Amicale de la pensØe critique, on the question (cid:147)Do sects in general, and
Opus Dei in particular, represent a threat to a democratic and pluralist Europe?(cid:148)(cid:146)) was not taken. In fact, in
order to take account of the comments made by the administration of the General Secretariat of the
Council on the wisdom of the wording of the planned topic, which was likely to cause controversy, the
Amicale de la pensØe critique decided to hold the scheduled meeting off the Council premises, as it is
always free to do, and withdrew its request. The General Secretariat of the Council took note of that
decision.

Officials of the General Secretariat of the Council are subject to the Staff Regulations of officials of the
European Communities, as laid down by amended Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 of
29 February 1968. The Council has not found there to be any delay in the preparation of the reply to
question P-2247/00 and therefore does not intend to take any action or make any special arrangements.

(2001/C 174 E/136)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3746/00

by Marit Paulsen (ELDR) and Karl Olsson (ELDR) to the Commission

(4 December 2000)

Subject: TSE in pigs

What do we actually know about prions, the agents which pass on TSE and Creutzfeld-Jacobs disease? No-
one knows exactly how this protein becomes a hazard but we do know that it does.

The disease is spread via feedstuffs and food and the incubation period can extend over several years.
Contagious prions have already crossed two species barriers, from sheep to cattle and from cattle to
humans. We have also known for more than ten years that prions enter the food chain via meal
containing animal remains.

Pigs are fed the same type of foodstuffs as cattle and have the same digestive system as humans. The
reason pigs have so far not demonstrated TSE symptoms might well be that they do not live long enough
for the disease to develop.

Can the Commission therefore exclude the possibility that pigs might be carriers of TSE?

If not, when does the Commission intend to propose that TSE tests are also carried out on pigmeat?