WRITTEN QUESTION P-3914/00 by Helena Torres Marques (PSE) to the Commission. Daphne Programme.
Date: 2000-12-06
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU programme, Portugal, child, eligible region, violence, woman, young person

6.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 163 E/225

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(22 January 2001)

Concerning the effect of video games on the psychological health of children, the Honourable Member is
referred to the Commission(cid:146)s reply to Written Question E-1182/98 from Mrs Karamanou (1).

Council Directive 88/378/EEC of 3 May 1988, on the approximation of the laws of the Member States
concerning the safety of toys, sets the safety conditions that toys must meet before being placed in the
market. At the time of adoption of this Directive, the legislator decided that the safety requirements should
cover health hazards and the risk of physical injury only. The Commission intends to examine the need for
a revision of the Directive during 2001. The issue raised by the Honourable Member will be considered in
that context.

Until any future legislation is adopted, any measure taken by a Member State to protect the psychological
health of children from toys has in principle to be notified under Directive 98/34/EC laying down a
procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations (2), in order
to allow an analysis of the conformity of the measure with Articles 28-30 (ex Articles 30-36) of the
EC Treaty.

Moreover, Decision No 372/99/CE of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 February 1999
adopting a programme of Community action on injury prevention in the framework for action in the field
of public health (1999-2003) (3) includes the analysis of the risk factors (including psychological risks)
associated with injuries. The concept of injury in this programme includes, among others, home and
leisure accidents involving children and certain aspects associated with damage. The establishment of an
injury data-collection and information system, and the epidemiological analysis of the data, are the first
actions to be instituted. A network concerning the epidemiology of injuries has been set up with experts
appointed in the Member States: examining the influence of this type of game on children(cid:146)s health will be
one of the subjects dealt with in the short term as part of the study of the extent and impact of these video
games on children(cid:146)s physical and mental health.

(1) OJ C 13, 20.1.1999.
(2) OJ L 204, 21.7.1998.
(3) OJ L 46, 20.2.1999.

(2001/C 163 E/265)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3914/00

by Helena Torres Marques (PSE) to the Commission

(6 December 2000)

Subject: Daphne Programme

The author of this question is extremely concerned at the fact that, this year, no Portuguese projects have
been approved under the Daphne programme.

Since Portugal is a country which normally submits quality projects in this field, would the Commission
state the reasons which prompted it to take such a decision?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(8 January 2001)

For the year 2000, the Commission received 415 proposals under the Daphne programme. Amongst
those, 308 were eligible. After evaluation, 47 projects were selected for funding, for a total amount of
€ 4 590 045.

Amongst the 415 proposals received, 15 were promoted by a Portuguese organisation; 11 out of these 15
were eligible. The final selection of 47 projects includes 1 project lead by a Portuguese organisation
(Associa(cid:231)ao Fernao Mendes Pinto in Montemor-o-Velho). Furthermore, amongst the 361 organisations
involved in all the selected projects, 27 (7,5 %) are Portuguese.