WRITTEN QUESTION E-3890/00 by Juan Naranjo Escobar (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Financial aid to Latin America.
Date: 2000-12-13
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU expenditure, Latin America

19.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 174 E/175

Bearing in mind the concept of the European institutions laid down in the Treaties of Maastricht and
Amsterdam and the legal consequences flowing from those Treaties, does the Council not believe that, in
order to avoid duplication of effort, greater clarification is needed as regards competences under the first
and third pillars with respect to application of the law and the fight against crime (OLAF, Eurojust and
Europol)?

Reply

(12 March 2001)

The Council, knowing that criminal organisations engage in illegal activities in several areas, introduced an
integrated policy to combat this phenomenon on the basis of the Treaty of Amsterdam by adopting the
1997 action plan of 28 April 1997 to combat organised crime (now replaced by the new millennium
Strategy on organised crime). The subject continued to occupy the attention of Heads of State and of
Government at the European Council in Tampere where the decision to create Eurojust was taken, with
emphasis on the need to coordinate the work of this unit with that of Europol and European Judicial
Network. The Nice European Council also took stock of the situation, establishing objectives for action to
combat money laundering, trafficking in human beings and the control of illegal immigration, and decided
to incorporate Eurojust in the Treaty on European Union.

With regard to OLAF/Eurojust relations, previous initiatives as well as those under discussion provide for
coordination between Eurojust and the Commission (OLAF), with particular reference to the protection of
financial interests, it being a permanent concern of the Council to avoid duplication of effort and to ensure
the best possible coordination between protagonists with the same aim, i.e. to create an area of freedom,
security and justice. The creation of new posts at OLAF is the responsibility of the Director of OLAF.

The potential problems following from a division of responsibility between the first and third pillars, are,
as the Honourable Member rightly says, a consequence of the Treaties of Maastricht and of Amsterdam.

(2001/C 174 E/185)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3890/00

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

(13 December 2000)

Subject: Financial aid to Latin America

The Commissioner recently stated in an article published in the Spanish press that European financial aid
to Latin America totalled € 2 420 million over the period 1995-1999.

Given the region(cid:146)s importance for the European Union and the low level of implementation of the budget
lines concerned, can the Commission provide the following information:

1. A breakdown by year of the € 2 420 million for the period 1995-1999;

2. A list of the budget lines involved;

3.

Figures per annum for the payments made from those € 2 420 million?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(23 February 2001)

The Commission is sending direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament(cid:146)s Secretariat a table
containing the information requested.