WRITTEN QUESTION P-0623/01 by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission. EU decentralised bodies and combating unemployment.
Date: 2001-02-22
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Cedefop, EU employment policy, European Training Foundation, Greece, division of powers, fight against unemployment, labour market, operation of the Institutions, seat of institution

C 261 E/164

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.9.2001

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-0621/01 and E-0622/01

(30 May 2001)

The Council would inform the Honourable Member that with the entry into force of the Treaty of
Amsterdam, matters relating to immigration, visas and asylum fall within the Community(cid:146)s sphere of
competence under Title IV of the TEC. It is therefore for the Commission, as guardian of the Treaties, to
verify whether Member States fulfil their obligations in respect of those matters.

(2001/C 261 E/190)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0623/01

by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: EU decentralised bodies and combating unemployment

(22 February 2001)

Unemployment in Europe is a factor which has adverse effects on social well-being and pulls apart the
fabric of society. In certain countries, such as Greece, the unemployment rate is increasing significantly
(and is currently in excess of 12 %), while there are few visible signs of a reversal of this trend. The EU set
up the (cid:145)European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training(cid:146) (Cedefop), which has been operating
since the end of 1995 in Thessaloniki and is funded by the Community budget. The activities of the
(cid:145)European Training Foundation(cid:146) (ETF), located in Turin, are similar; it also deals with professional training,
is active in Eastern European countries and also receives handsome funds from the Community budget.

Could the Commission say what specific contributions these decentralised bodies make to combating
unemployment in the EU Member States and the applicant countries? What is the breakdown of personnel
in terms of nationality (for permanent, temporary and local staff members) in these two bodies and how
many staff work there in total? To what extent has Cedefop(cid:146)s administration promoted the city of
Thessaloniki by organising large-scale meetings and international conventions since 1995? What is the
Commission(cid:146)s position with regard to a possible merger of the two bodies(cid:146) similar activities, with a
headquarters in Thessaloniki, which would enable Greece(cid:146)s second city to receive the public attention
which it merits and would save resources from the Community budget which are currently used to
maintain expensive administrative structures in two different cities?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(24 April 2001)

Decisions concerning the location of the seat of Community Agencies are taken by the European Council.
It was on the basis of a Decision of the European Council of October 1993 that the decision to transfer
the European Centre for the development of vocational training (Cedefop) from Berlin to Thessaloniki was
taken and the seats of nine new Community Agencies were agreed upon.

In addition, the Commission would like to underline that, although both Cedefop and the European
Training Foundation cover the area of vocational training, their missions and objectives are not the same.
The European Training Foundation acts within the external relations policy and programme framework of
the Community to provide policy guidance to third countries. Cedefop provides research, comparative
analyses and exchange of information to various actors in the field of vocational education and training in
the Member States. Close cooperation exists between the two Agencies to ensure complementarity and
synergy and exchange of information.

The Community(cid:146)s employment strategy emphasises human resource development and more specifically
vocational training as an active measure for the integration into labour markets. As such, the two
Agencies, through their vocational education and training activities, contribute, directly or indirectly in
the countries in which they are active, to combating unemployment.

18.9.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 261 E/165

The two Agencies have a separate geographical coverage and their missions and tasks are quite different.
The European Training Foundation supports, through policy guidance and project management, the
reform of vocational education and management training in over forty partner countries located in the
Mediterranean region, the Western Balkans, the New Independent States and Mongolia and the candidate
countries. The Foundation is currently preparing monographs to provide in-depth studies on vocational
training and employment services in support of the Employment Policy Reviews and in preparation for
European Social Fund (ESF) intervention, in the candidate countries.

Cedefop is the Community(cid:146)s centre for information and expertise in vocational education and training. The
Centre supports the development of vocational education and training in the Member states and in the
European Economic Area (EEA) countries with which it has agreements. Since 2000 Cedefop has carried
out several studies in the area of (cid:145)supporting employment and competitiveness(cid:146), which is one of its four
thematic priorities for the period 2000-2003.

There are no permanent staff at the European Training Foundation. Details of staff (permanent, temporary,
local) actually employed at present in the two organisations are given below by nationality.

Table: Staff (permanent, temporary, local)
by nationality

Nationality

Cedefop

ETF

B

DK

D

GR

E

F

IRL

I

L

NL

N

A

P

FIN

S

UK

TOTAL

7

(cid:129)

14

30

2

14

7

3

(cid:129)

3

1

1

2

1

(cid:129)

9

94

16

2

12

4

3

12

4

29

1

8

(cid:129)

5

1

3

2

19

121

Table: Total number of staff

Category

Cedefop

Officials

Temporary agents

Local

Other (includes national experts on secondment and
auxiliary agents)

TOTAL

31

50

13

13

107

ETF

(cid:129)

110

11

5

126

C 261 E/166

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.9.2001

Cedefop has organised 937 conferences and meetings in the period 1995-2000 with 19 242 participants.
Approximately 55 % of these were organised in Thessaloniki. For the years 1995 to 1999, when the
provisional rented premises of the Centre did not offer all necessary facilities for large-scale meetings, a
considerable number of them (45 %) had to take place elsewhere. Since the beginning of 2000, 75 % of the
meetings and conferences are held in Thessaloniki and take place in the Centre(cid:146)s premises, which offer
state-of- the-art infrastructure and equipment.

(2001/C 261 E/191)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0626/01

by Nicholas Clegg (ELDR) to the Commission

(1 March 2001)

Subject: Hypersensitivity

Has the Commission any figures available to it of the increase in the number of people with the symptoms
of hypersensitivity (i.e. asthma, rhinitis and eczema etc.), as a result of exposure to perfumed products? In
view of the dramatic increase in the number of people with allergic reactions to certain perfumes and
fragrances, has the Commission considered amending the relevant Community legislation to ban the use of
those materials that are known to cause hypersensitivity?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(18 May 2001)

Consumers are exposed to many products containing fragrance ingredients or aroma which may cause
sensibilisation such as household products, cosmetic and hygiene products or food. Depending on the type
of products concerned these ingredients may be inhaled, applied on the skin or ingested. The analysis of
the problem of fragrance allergy would request to consider the various sources of exposure.

On 8 December 1999, the Scientific Committee on Cosmetic Products and Non-Food Products (SCCNFP)
adopted an opinion on (cid:145)Fragrance allergy in Consumers(cid:146). The report considered the problem of contact
allergy caused by fragrance ingredients and, based on dermatological data reflecting the clinical experience,
identified initially 24 fragrance ingredients corresponding to the most frequently recognised allergens.
Some studies showed that around 8 % of tested eczema patients are sensitised to fragrance ingredients.
Investigations of contact allergy in the general population are difficult to perform and for this reasons few
studies exist. However, from studies performed on sectors of the population,
it is estimated that the
frequency of contact allergy to fragrance ingredients in the general population is around 1 or 2 %. A rising
trend of fragrance allergy among eczema patients has been demonstrated in some clinics in Europe. The
SCCNFP considered necessary to provide additional
information to sensitised consumers regarding the
presence of these fragrance ingredients in cosmetic products to help them to avoid cosmetic products
which contain these specific substances above a level which may elicit a skin reaction.

Experience with other skin allergens, such as certain preservatives or Nickel, has shown that a total ban is
not necessary to control skin allergy. Ingredients of this type can be used safely provided they are restricted
to safe levels and that sufficient information is given to sensitised consumers.

The Commission wants to address fragrance allergy in a meaningful manner. It considers that it is not
appropriate to ban the substances simply because they may cause allergy to some people but that it is
crucial to inform consumers of the presence of such ingredients in order for them to avoid products
containing these ingredients. Therefore, for cosmetic products, Council Directive 76/768/EEC of 27 July
1976 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to cosmetic products (1) could be
amended in order to introduce a meaningful and unambiguous labelling for specific fragrance ingredients
with a well-recognised potential to cause contact allergy in order to ensure adequate information for