WRITTEN QUESTION E-0766/01 by Charles Tannock (PPE-DE) to the Commission. The Charter of Fundamental Rights (revealing existing rights or creating new rights).
Date: 2001-03-13
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, children's rights, legal basis, social rights

C 318 E/116

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.11.2001

(2001/C 318 E/122)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0766/01

by Charles Tannock (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(13 March 2001)

Subject: The Charter of Fundamental Rights (revealing existing rights or creating new rights)

With reference to Commissioner Vitorino(cid:146)s reply on behalf of the Commission to Written Question
P-3997/00 (1) in which he stated that (cid:145)the Charter makes visible to citizens the fundamental rights they
already enjoy but which in some cases are buried in a variety of source instruments not readily accessible
to ordinary citizens(cid:146), does the Commission believe that this is true of all the citizens(cid:146) rights enumerated in
the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and, if so, can it list the existing legal basis in the Consolidated Treaties
for each of the following rights:

(cid:129) the right not to be discriminated against on the basis of language (ability) (Article 21);

(cid:129) the right of children to have their views taken into consideration on matters which concern them in

accordance with their age and maturity (Article 24);

(cid:129) the right of workers to conclude collective agreements (Article 28);

(cid:129) the right to a free placement service (Article 29);

(cid:129) the right to paid maternity leave (Article 33);

(cid:129) the right not to be tried or punished twice in criminal proceedings for an offence for which one has
already been finally acquitted or convicted within the Union in accordance with the law (Article 50) (cid:129)
(especially in view of Article 4.2 of Protocol No 7 to the Convention for the Protection of Human
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms as amended by Protocol No 11 which specifically permits this in
certain cases)?

(1) OJ C 174 E, 19.6.2001, p. 212.

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(19 April 2001)

The Commission would draw the Honourable Member(cid:146)s attention to the explanations on the Charter of
Fundamental Rights in the document dated 11 October 2000 of the Council of the European Union
(reference Charte 4478/00 (Convent 49).

This document is freely accessible on the Council(cid:146)s Internet site dealing with the work of the Convention
which drew up the Charter (1). The Commission has sent a copy of this document to the Honourable
Member and to Parliament(cid:146)s Secretariat.

The document, which was prepared at the instigation of the Praesidium of the Convention, is intended to
clarify the provisions of the Charter, specifying for each right the source which provided guidance in
drawing up the Charter constitutional
traditions and international obligations common to the
Member States, the Treaty on European Union, the Community Treaties, the European Convention for
the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,
the Social Charters adopted by the
Community and by the Council of Europe and the case law of the Court of Justice of the European
Communities and of the European Court of Human Rights.

The Commission trusts that
concerning all the rights enumerated by him.

the Honourable Member will

find in this document a clear response

(1) http://ue.eu.int/df/default.asp.