WRITTEN QUESTION E-1065/01 by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Coordination of the Sensus project.
Date: 2001-04-05
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Germany, audit, linguistics, management, research project, secret service

20.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 364 E/39

In determining whether an NGO is eligible for co-financing, account shall also be taken of:

(cid:129) its capacity to mobilize genuine solidarity on the part of the European public for its development

activities,

(cid:129) the priority it accords to development and its experience in that field,

(cid:129) its administrative and financial management capacities,

(cid:129) where possible, its knowledge of the sector and country concerned,

(cid:129) its ability to support the development operations proposed by the partners in the developing
countries and the nature and scope of its links with similar organizations in the developing
countries.

(1) OJ L 213, 30.7.1998.

(2001/C 364 E/044)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1065/01

by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(5 April 2001)

Subject: Coordination of the Sensus project

Coordination of the Sensus project is in the hands of a certain Stephan Bodenkamp. Officially he is
employed by the Amt f(cid:252)r Auslandsfragen in Munich. A ruling from a Munich court (20 December 2000)
shows that Bodenkamp(cid:146)s real name is Christoph Kionowski and that he is an agent of the German state
security service, the Bundesnachrichtendienst, although apparently he has now been suspended.

1.
Is the Commission aware that coordination of the Sensus project is in the hands of Stephan
Bodenkamp/Christoph Kionowski, an agent of the German state security service, the Bundesnachrich-
tendienst? If so, why did the Commission put him in charge of the Sensus project?

2. Will the Commission relieve Stephan Bodenkamp/Christoph Kionowski of coordination of the Sensus
project since he is an agent of the Bundesnachrichtendienst? If not, why does the Commission continue to
entrust him with coordination of the project?

3. Will the Commission relieve Stephan Bodenkamp/Christoph Kionowski of coordination of the Sensus
project in view of his sentencing by a Munich court for forging a contract with a German technology firm
in the context of the Sensus project? If not, why does the Commission nevertheless entrust him with
coordination of the project?

4. Will the Commission relieve Stephan Bodenkamp/Christoph Kionowski of coordination of the Sensus
project in view of his suspension by the Bundesnachrichtendienst? If not, why does the Commission
nevertheless continue to entrust him with coordination of the project?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(2 August 2001)

Amt f(cid:252)r Auslandsfragen (AfA) became the co-ordinator of the Sensus project at a late stage of the contract
negotiation phase, at the suggestion of the other project participants. The responsible Commission services
its
in charge of the project negotiation did not have objections to this suggestion, as in light of
participation in previous projects and as a government agency, AfA had the necessary commitment to the
project, as well as the administrative ability and financial stability to manage a large and complex project
such as Sensus. Similarly, Mr Bodenkamp as technical director of AfA, was considered to be suitable as
project manager. The Commission was not informed at the time of the signature of the contract that
Mr Bodenkamp was an official of the German Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND).

C 364 E/40

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.12.2001

At the request of the Member of the Commission responsible for Enterprises and Information Society, the
Information Society Directorate General has initiated an internal review on the management of the Sensus
project. Depending on the results of the internal review and with due consideration of the information that
has been brought to the attention of the Commission, the Commission will take further measures,
if
appropriate. These measures may include asking AfA to nominate another co-ordinator to the Sensus
project.

(2001/C 364 E/045)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1072/01

by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Irregularities in Greek population census of March 2001

(5 April 2001)

On Sunday, 18 March 2001, a general population census was carried out in Greece. The census is
conducted every ten years and was publicised by the government as (cid:145)the first census of
the new
millennium(cid:146).

Despite all the technological facilities afforded by the new millennium, however, the National Statistical
Service of Greece issued instructions to its census officers to use pencil to fill in the forms, while the
information relating to immigrants living in Greece was inadequate. In particular, non-EU nationals were
not asked whether they had a legal residence permit for Greece or how long they had been or intended to
stay in the country, which raises legitimate questions about
the
data collected. Still fresh in the mind also are allegations by the main opposition party (representing
43 % of the Greek population) concerning illegal naturalisations, which evidently distorted the outcome of
the elections held in April 2000.

the reliability and accuracy of

Is pencil (which obviously makes it easier to alter the data collected) used for censuses in the other
Member States?

Should the data collected not include information concerning third country nationals living legally or
illegally in a Member State of the Union?

Are data concerning legal and illegal residents in Greece forwarded to Eurostat?

On what data does the EU(cid:146)s Statistical Service base its Eurobarometer statistics and other published
statistical indicators?

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(21 May 2001)

The organisation of population censuses in the Member States is regulated by the (cid:145)UN-ECE/Eurostat
recommendations for the 2000 censuses of population and housing(cid:146).

These recommendations do not specify which means should be used to fill in the questionnaire. It is,
however, considered as good practice not to use a pencil.

With regard to the foreign population, it should be pointed out that the basic aim of a population census
is to count the usually resident population of a Member State.

The usually resident population consists of:

(cid:129) persons living in the Member State at the moment of the census and who have stayed or are going to

stay in the Member State for at least 12 months;

(cid:129) persons living in the Member State, but temporarily absent for not more than 12 months,

(cid:129) independently of the person(cid:146)s place of legal residence or whether he or she has permission to stay in

the Member State or not.