WRITTEN QUESTION E-0502/01 by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission. BSE, Trichlorphon and Crufomate.
Date: 2001-02-22
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: bovine spongiform encephalopathy, medical research, pesticide, veterinary drug, zoonosis

21.8.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 235 E/217

Did the events in Prague take place with the agreement of the Commissioner and the Directorate-General?
If so, who instructed the Delegation in Prague? Are any Commissioners to participate in similar meetings
in Future? If not, what has the Commission done to call its delegation to order? What measures does the
Commission intend to take to neutralise the false impression given to the Czech public of a legitimisation
of the Communist Party?

With what other extreme parties does the Commission maintain contacts?

Are the results of the audit of the Prague Delegation already available? Have any funds been misused or
disappeared?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(4 May 2001)

The Commission and its Delegation in Prague maintain contacts with all parties represented in the Czech
Parliament as far as these contacts are useful, in particular to ensure the widest possible consensus on
issues related to accession to the European Union.

The Commission can confirm that in this context its Delegation (cid:129) together with a number of Embassies
from Member States (cid:129) accepted an invitation to attend the party congress of the Communist Party of
Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM) in the spring of 2000. This type of activity is part of the ongoing process of
maintain contacts with the parties represented in the Czech Parliament and is not the subject of individual
instructions from the Commissioner or the Directorate General.

As to the second question, internal audits carried out by the Commission are confidential. In this respect,
the Commission cannot provide the requested information on the audit concerning the Delegation in
Prague to the Honourable Member. However, in the framework of the 1999 Discharge procedure and
following the request of the Chairman of the Committee on Budget and Control, an executive summary of
the results of this internal audit report was forwarded to the Chairman as well as to the Rapporteur for the
1999 Discharge, on a confidential basis, according to the rules of the Framework Agreement (Annex III)
between the Parliament and the Commission.

(2001/C 235 E/254)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0502/01

by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission

(22 February 2001)

Subject: BSE, Trichlorphon and Crufomate

Is the Commission aware of any research being carried out into the cause of BSE which considers the
possible effects of trichlorphon or crufomate systemic insecticides used as treatment against warble fly
infection and described as causing in overdose (cid:145)distressed breathing and a staggering gait(cid:146)
(Black(cid:146)s
Veterinary Dictionary)?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(30 March 2001)

The Commission(cid:146)s Scientific Steering Committee (SSC), which prepares the opinions related to transmis-
sible spongiform encephalopathies, adopted on 26 June 1998 an opinion on possible links between bovine
spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and organophosphates used as pesticides against ecto- and endoparasites
in cattle. The opinion concludes that there is no evidence for the existence of such a link. This opinion is,
like all other scientific opinions, available on the following Internet address:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/ssc/index_en.html.

The SSC has the mandate to permanently monitor new developments in the field of BSE that may affect
health and consumer protection. Any new data that would become available,
including possible new
research or evidence on the insecticides the Honourable Member refers to, will be evaluated by the SSC.

C 235 E/218

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

21.8.2001

In this context a dossier on the possible link between organophosphates treatment against warble fly and
BSE, recently submitted to the Commission, has been transmitted to the secretariat of the SSC(cid:146)s permanent
transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE)/BSE ad hoc Group.

The Commission is not aware of any research being carried out into the cause of BSE which considers the
possible effects of trichlorphon or crufomate systemic insecticides. It cannot however be excluded a priori
that such research is being carried out with national funding and that the Commission has not been
informed of it.

(2001/C 235 E/255)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0514/01

by Olivier Dupuis (TDI) to the Commission

(22 February 2001)

Subject: Declaration of state of emergency and serious situation in Ecuador

The economic austerity policy pursued by the Ecuadorian Government in an attempt to resolve the grave
economic crisis that has been affecting the country for more than three years has been accompanied by
serious social unrest. In addition to the emigration of a large section of the working population prompted
by poverty, there has also been increasing mobilisation and protest on the part of the section of the
population most severely affected by the crisis, mainly the Indian population.

Apart from a crackdown by the forces of order, the Ecuadorian authorities have responded to this social
unrest by declaring a state of emergency.

Given the ethnic character of
is the
Commission not afraid that the current economic crisis might jeopardise the plurinational and democratic
State enshrined in the country(cid:146)s new constitution?

the protest, which has so far remained essentially peaceful,

Has the Commission expressed its opposition to the state of emergency that has been declared, or does it
intend to do so?

Will the Commission call on the Ecuadorian Government to guarantee the civil and political freedoms of
the population during the protests, provided they are peaceful, in order to prevent the situation from
deteriorating?

Given the conditions of real poverty faced by around 70 % of the population at a time of political
instability, does the Commission not think that the international community should tackle the problem of
Ecuador(cid:146)s external debt and the need to rebuild its economy in the context of the Paris Club and on the
basis of criteria that seek to avoid an aid-based approach and focus on large-scale national and
international investment?

What other initiatives will the Commission take to help Ecuador overcome this difficult situation?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(28 March 2001)

The state of emergency declared on 2 February 2001 was lifted on 7 February following the signing of an
agreement between the Ecuadorian government and representatives of the indigenous populations. The
Commission welcomes the resumption of dialogue and consultation and the ensuing return to a full
guarantee of constitutional freedoms. The Commission is indeed concerned at the increasing involvement
of indigenous ethnic groups in social protest movements and fears that the situation could jeopardise
Ecuador(cid:146)s multi-ethnic nature. Protection of the rights of indigenous peoples was identified as one of the
key objectives in the implementation of the European initiative for democracy and human rights in
Ecuador (budget chapter B7-70).