WRITTEN QUESTION E-0975/01 by Graham Watson (ELDR) to the Council. Stockholm Summit.
Date: 2001-04-03
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU migration policy, European Council, birth policy, population ageing, summit meeting

4.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 340 E/137

(2001/C 340 E/155)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0975/01

by Graham Watson (ELDR) to the Council

(3 April 2001)

Subject: Stockholm Summit

Recent reports suggest that the Swedish Presidency intends to the make the March Summit a (cid:145)baby summit(cid:146)
concerned with remedying the EU(cid:146)s demographic profile by encouraging Europeans to have more children.

What studies has the Council made of effectiveness of similar exhortations in the past? What estimates has
it made of the strain on the EU(cid:146)s resources and natural environment that an increase in the birth rate
would place? And how does it believe such a policy would dovetail with the EU(cid:146)s emerging common
policy on immigration?

Reply

(16 July 2001)

The Stockholm European Council on 23 and 24 March 2001 addressed the demographic challenge of an
ageing population and the consequences for social welfare systems.

It was pointed out that the ageing society calls for clear strategies for ensuring the adequacy of pension
systems, as well as of health care systems and care of the elderly, while at the same time maintaining the
sustainability of public finances and inter-generational solidarity.

The question of demographic change was debated in that context, but the Stockholm European Council
did not explicitly debate encouraging Europeans to have more children and therefore cannot be considered
to have been a (cid:145)baby summit(cid:146).

(2001/C 340 E/156)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0986/01

by Antonios Trakatellis (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(30 March 2001)

Subject: Normal funding of CAP and measures to eradicate BSE in Greece

It has recently been estimated that measures to eradicate BSE may last a number of years and thus
completely upset
the Common Agricultural Policy, since even the cost of
implementing Regulation (EC) 2777/2000 (1) adopting exceptional support measures for the beef market,
which provides for a scheme under which bovine animals over 30 months old may be purchased for
destruction instead of being slaughtered for human consumption, will be in excess of € 1 billion. next year.

the normal

funding of

Bearing mind also that from 1 January 2001 all the Member States are obliged under Decision 2001/8/
EC (2) to apply reinforced rules for the testing of bovine animals entering the food chain and annual
programmes of epidemio-surveillance of BSE involving rapid post mortem tests, will the Commission say:

1. How does it intend to address the cost explosion in the beef sector due to the implementation of the
the CAP and the agreed

measures to eradicate BSE without disturbing the normal
framework for the financial perspective?

funding of

2. Have the legislative, regulatory and administrative provisions for the implementation of the BSE
epidemio-surveillance programme entered into force in Greece, what spending has been made and
what progress achieved, according to the report which the Greek authorities were due to submit to
the Commission in March 2001?