WRITTEN QUESTION E-3838/00 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Refusal of the Turkish Foreign Ministry to grant visas to Cypriots.
Date: 2000-12-07
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Cyprus, EU visa policy, Türkiye, UN resolution, accession to the European Union, free movement of persons, political parties

C 187 E/60

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

3.7.2001

The dossier on which the selection of this project was based was proposed by the Spanish National
Agency for this programme (1). It contained no racist or xenophobic content to exclude it from receiving
Community funding.

The Commission(cid:146)s Representation in Berlin informed the relevant departments in Brussels of the

2.
Honourable Member(cid:146)s comments.

An investigation has been carried out in the Spanish National Agency and the activity report submitted has
been analysed in depth. On the basis of the information it has available, the Commission was legally
obliged to comply with the terms of the above contract.

The Honourable Member(cid:146)s written question provides additional

3.
information relating to activities
carried out under a pseudonym by one of the musicians involved in the concert which was part of the
project. The Commission was not in possession of this information when examining the dossier and was
not able to take it into account when assessing its eligibility.

4.
The Commission shares the Honourable Member(cid:146)s concerns regarding the fight against racism and
xenophobia. It condemns racism and intolerance of every kind and is committed to combating them. It
notes the comments made by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia concerning the
dangers related to music and new technologies as vehicles for racist and xenophobic messages and the
importance of positive educational measures, particularly for young people.

For this reason, even though in this specific case it does not feel that it is possible to go back on its legal
obligations, the Commission has decided to give priority in the Youth Programme to projects promoting
respect for human rights and combating racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia. This theme was has been
selected as one of the priorities for the year 2001 in agreement with the programme(cid:146)s Committee. It is
planned to organise a major conference on this issue in Berlin in the course of 2001, in cooperation with
the German Government.

In addition, the Commission will try, even more so than in the past, to put in place as many guarantees as
possible concerning projects receiving financial support under the Youth Programme, and will make
recommendations to this effect to the National Agencies.

(1) The National Agencies are responsible for implementing the programme at national level.

(2001/C 187 E/064)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3838/00

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(7 December 2000)

Subject: Refusal of the Turkish Foreign Ministry to grant visas to Cypriots

The third Conference of Left-Wing Parties (Turkey, Greece and the two communities in Cyprus) in Istanbul
which was intended to make progress with the peace process and promote mutual understanding between
the two communities in Cyprus has been postponed because the Turkish Foreign Ministry refused to grant
a visa to representatives of AKEL which is the second largest party in the Cypriot Parliament. It should be
borne in mind that the first conference of the same parties scheduled to take place in Istanbul in 1998 had
had to contend with similar problems.

Does the Commission intend to intervene to persuade the Turkish Government not to hinder free
communications between parties of neighbouring countries in future? How does it view the fact that
a country which is a candidate for accession to the EU refuses to recognise another candidate country?

3.7.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 187 E/61

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(7 February 2001)

The question raised by the Honourable Member should be addressed in the context of the political
settlement of the Cyprus problem.

The Union position on this problem has been reconfirmed recently at the Nice European Council
in December 2000. In its conclusions, the European Council (cid:145)welcomed and strongly supports the efforts
of the United Nations Secretary-General to achieve an overall agreement on the Cyprus problem consistent
with the UN Security Council Resolutions and to arrive at a positive conclusion of the process initiated
in December 1999. It appeals to all the parties concerned to contribute to the efforts made to this effect(cid:146).

(2001/C 187 E/065)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3846/00

by Mar(cid:237)a Sornosa Mart(cid:237)nez (PSE) to the Commission

(7 December 2000)

Subject: Demolition of the district of Cabanyal-Canyamelar (Valencia) and infringement of Directive 97/11/

EC

In its answer to Written Questions E-2416/00, E-2417/00 and E-2418/00, the Commission expressed the
view that the redevelopment of the district of Cabanyal-Canyamelar in Valencia could be classified as an
urban development project and that it was therefore the sole responsibility of the Spanish authorities to
decide whether or not a study of its impact on the cultural heritage was needed.

However, the Commission failed to take into account the fact that Annexes I and II to Directive 97/11/
EC (1) on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment include
constructions such as (cid:145)car parks(cid:146) and (cid:145)shopping centres(cid:146) among the projects subject
to an impact
assessment. Clearly, the project to extend Blasco IbÆnez Avenues to the sea includes constructions of this
kind, which are mentioned in the annexes to the above directive.

As the Commission will recall from the questions tabled previously, if the project were to go ahead, it
would involve the demolition of 1 500 19th century buildings in the historic centre hitherto afforded
protection by the Valencian Government owing to their (cid:145)unique characteristics and cultural relevance(cid:146). For
instance, one of the buildings earmarked for demolition, the Lonja de los Pescadores (fish market), the
oldest of its kind in Spain and one of the oldest in Europe, ranks among the most symbolic examples of
European cultural heritage.

In the light of the above, does the Commission not consider that the project to extend Blasco IbÆnez
Avenue, and the effects this will have on the places of cultural and historical interest in the district of
Cabanyal-Canyamelar, represents an infringement of Directive 97/11/EC?

(1) OJ L 73, 14.3.1997, p. 5.

Answer given by Mrs Wallstr(cid:246)m on behalf of the Commission

(28 February 2001)

On the basis of the information supplied by the Honourable Member, the Commission considers that the
project mentioned could come under Annex II to Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the
assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (1), provided that the
application for approval was introduced before 14 March 1999. If it was, it is up to the Member State to
determine whether an environmental impact assessment (EIA) is necessary or not.