WRITTEN QUESTION E-0918/01 by Dana Scallon (PPE-DE) and John Corrie (PPE-DE) to the Council. Habitat+5 and the family.
Date: 2001-03-29
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: action programme, family, family protection, habitat

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EN

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(2001/C 364 E/030)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0908/01

by Luis Berenguer Fuster (PSE) to the Commission

(28 March 2001)

Subject: Failure to notify the Commission of State aids to Spanish electricity companies

The new wording of the Sixth Transitional Provision of the Spanish Electricity Industry Act has abolished
the provisions previously applied regarding securitisation and the 4,5 % allocation based on the standard
rate, a system which to date has raised some ESP 500 billion in what has to be considered State aid, as the
Spanish Government itself acknowledged when it proposed to change the rules. In spite of that fact,
Spanish legislation does not specify what is to be done with the amounts collected under these rules,
is
which have been amended in accordance with the Commission(cid:146)s suggestions. The end result
a paradoxical situation in which the electricity companies have received sums which,
in principle,
constitute unnotified aids.

Does the Commission believe that it should any steps to prevent electricity companies from benefiting
from what essentially amounts to unnotified State aids?

Answer given by M. Monti on behalf of the Commission

(11 May 2001)

Pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 of 22 March 1999 laying down detailed rules for the
application of Article 93 (former Article 99) of the EC Treaty (1), and in accordance with Court of Justice
case-law, the fact that aid is unlawful, i.e. that it is granted before the Commission has taken a decision on
whether it is compatible with the common market, is not in itself a sufficient condition for requiring
reimbursement. In each case, the Commission must also demonstrate that the aid is incompatible with the
common market. The question raised by the Honourable Member will therefore be dealt with in the
Commission(cid:146)s final decision on the case in point.

(1) OJ L 83, 27.3.1999.

(2001/C 364 E/031)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0918/01

by Dana Scallon (PPE-DE) and John Corrie (PPE-DE) to the Council

Subject: Habitat+5 and the family

(29 March 2001)

In the light of 12 paragraphs referring to the family in the 1996 Habitat Platform for Action, in particular
paragraph 31, which states that: (cid:145)Human settlement planning should take into account the constructive role
of the family in the design, development and management of such settlement. Society should facilitate as
appropriate all necessary conditions for its integration, reunification, preservation,
improvement, and
protection within adequate shelter and with access to basic secure and sustainable livelihood.(cid:146) In the light
of the European Parliament(cid:146)s Hermange report on family protection, and in the light of the constitutionnal
protection of the family in the Irish Constitution and in most other EU constitutions, how will the Council
promote the recognition and inclusion of the importance of the family in the upcoming Ungass (1) on
Habitat+5? What terminology will be proposed to achieve family promotion, which is at the heart of every
human settlement?

(1) Extraordinary meeting of the General Assembly of the UN.

Reply

(27 September 2001)

From 6 to 8 June 2001, five years after (cid:145)Habitat II(cid:146) (Istanbul 1996), the General Assembly of the United
the Habitat Agenda
Nations will hold a special session to review and appraise implementation of

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worldwide. In assessing progress toward the Habitat Agenda commitments and strategies, all Member
States of the United Nations were invited to prepare a report on national and local implementation of the
Habitat Agenda, reflecting the views of the government and of its partners. Therefore, it is not a matter of
renegotiating the Habitat Agenda but of complying with its paragraph 240 which states:

All partners of the Habitat Agenda, including local authorities, the private sector and communities,
should regularly monitor and evaluate their own performance in the implementation of the Habitat
Agenda through comparable human settlements and shelter indicators and documented best practices
(cid:133)

The Commission on Human Settlements acting as the preparatory committee for the special session of the
General Assembly for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the outcome of the United
Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) has decided to transmit the text of a draft
declaration on cities and other human settlements in the new millennium to the General Assembly at its
twenty-fifth special session for further consideration.

The European Union has contributed to this text during the last Prep Com (Nairobi 19-23 February 2001).
In particular, paragraph 30 of such draft declaration which specifically refers to paragraph 31 of the
Habitat Agenda on the role of the family states:

We reaffirm that the family is the basic unit of society and as such should be strengthened. It is
entitled to receive comprehensive protection and support. In different cultural, political and social
systems, various forms of the family exist. Marriage must be entered into with the free consent of the
intending spouses, and husband and wife should be equal partners. The rights, capabilities and
responsibilities of family members must be respected. Human settlements planning should take into
account the constructive role of the family in the design, development and management of such
settlements. Society should facilitate, as appropriate, all necessary conditions for its integration,
reunification, preservation, improvement, and protection within adequate shelter, and with access to
basic services and a sustainable livelihood.

This language has been agreed by all Member States, nevertheless negotiations are still ongoing, as the
Prepcom II decided to hold a two days of intersessional negotiations on 4 and 5 June in New York,
immediately before the Ungass which will start on 6 June 2001.

(2001/C 364 E/032)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0938/01

by Jonas Sj(cid:246)stedt (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(28 March 2001)

Subject: Faster payment of its bills by the Commission

One topic considered in (cid:145)The Eurocrats(cid:146), a Danish TV programme broadcast on Swedish television
on11 February 2001, was the length of time the Commission takes to pay its bills for various projects.
According to the report, not even four out of 10 invoices are paid on time, one example being an invoice
submitted to the Commission for an environmental project in Ireland. It took eight Commission staff to
scrutinise the invoice and sixty days to pay it.

Many small undertakings have bills unpaid by the Commission and are forced to wait far too long for
payment. Part of the problem is that so many Commission staff have to verify each bill submitted.

What does the Commission intend to do to establish routines to speed up the payment of invoices and to
reduce the manpower used to scrutinise them?