WRITTEN QUESTION E-1099/01 by Olle Schmidt (ELDR) to the Council. Aid for the victims of hurricane Mitch.
Date: 2001-04-09
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU financing, Honduras, aid to disaster victims, cooperation policy, economic reconstruction

20.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 364 E/45

(2001/C 364 E/049)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1093/01

by David Bowe (PSE) to the Commission

(6 April 2001)

Subject: Link between Crohn(cid:146)s disease and paratuberculosis

Could the Commission give a brief summary and findings from the study it has conducted on a possible
link between Crohn(cid:146)s disease and paratuberculosis?

Will the Commission be taking any further action in this area?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(8 June 2001)

A report entitled (cid:145)Possible links between Crohn(cid:146)s disease and paratuberculosis(cid:146) was adopted by the
Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare in March 2000. The report is available on the
Commissions web site at the following address: http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/scah/out38_en.pdf

The report is a comprehensive review of the subject which merits being read in its entirety. However, the
Committee summarises its findings as follows:

The currently available evidence is
to confirm or disprove that Mycobacterium
paratuberculosis is a causative agent of at least some cases of Crohn(cid:146)s disease in man. There are
sufficient grounds for concern to warrant increased and urgent research activity to resolve the issue.

insufficient

The Commission is funding, through the (cid:145)Quality of life and management of living resources(cid:146) programme
of the Fifth Research and Technological Development (RTD) framework programme, a research project on
the improvement of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of sarcoidosis and Crohn(cid:146)s Disease (Sacrohn). The
project started on 1 October 2000 and continues until October 2003. The project aims at developing new
molecular detection methods and culture techniques, in particular using molecular typing techniques to
establish any possible links between ruminant sources of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis and the
aetiology of Crohn(cid:146)s Disease.

At this early stage no concrete results are available from this project to see whether there may be any links
between Mycobacterium paratuberculosis in (products from) ruminants and Crohn(cid:146)s Disease.

(2001/C 364 E/050)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1099/01

by Olle Schmidt (ELDR) to the Council

(9 April 2001)

Subject: Aid for the victims of hurricane Mitch

In response to the devastation of large areas of Honduras and the death of tens of thousands of people
caused by hurricane Mitch, the EU promised aid of SEK 2,2 billion towards reconstruction.

More than two years after the disaster, however, it appears that only a tenth of that amount has reached
the victims of the hurricane.

While other countries have completed their projects, not even one tenth of the EU(cid:146)s billions has arrived.
The remaining funds appear to be held up in Brussels.

What initiatives will the Council take to change procedures in order to avoid such mistakes in the event of
future disasters?

C 364 E/46

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.12.2001

Reply

(27 September 2001)

As the Honourable member is aware the EU co-operation policy is run by the Commission who is at
present undergoing a process of reform in order to prevent some of the deficiencies for which it has been
criticised in the past.

In relation to the Regional Program for the Reconstruction of Central America (RPRCA), the European
the programme
Commission has set up a special administrative entity for the implementation of
accompanied by devolution of its management to a special unit set up at the Commission Delegation in
Managua. The Commission has presented its (cid:145)First Annual report on implementation and monitoring of
the RPRAC regarding year 2000(cid:146) to the Council and, indeed, to the European Parliament.

The Council has been following very closely the situation and has called upon the Commission, through
the appropriate means,
the EU Action Plan on Reconstruction efforts in Central
America (RPRCA) without delay.

to implement

The Council also maintains an open exchange of views on the matter with its partners in Central
America through the San Jose Dialogue. At the XV EU-San Jose Ministerial Conference held in Bonn on
20 May 1999, ministers discussed the contributions of the EU and of Central America to coping with the
aftermath of Hurricane Mitch. The Central American countries acknowledged the rapid and generous
response of the EU that amounted to more than 1 billion Euros, and welcomed the EU Action Plan on
Reconstruction efforts in Central America, amounting to 250 million Euros. Ministers agreed that the
reconstruction programme should tackle the structural problems in Central America beyond mere
reconstruction, by transforming societies.

On this occasion the Central American part appreciated debt service moratorium and debt reduction
decisions in the Paris Club, bilateral debt cancellations and contributions to the multilateral debt service
facility as well as new European initiatives for debt reduction.

On the occasion of the XVI EU-San Jose Ministerial Conference held in Vilamoura on 20 February 2000
both parties stressed the importance of the RPRCA being implemented without delay and noted the
existence of other long-term programmes financed by the Member States. Both parties recalled that the
execution of those reconstruction programmes was to be carried out against the background of the
Stockholm Declaration, with a view to contributing to the transformation of the societies of Central
America, acting in a transparent and decentralised framework and guaranteeing active participation on the
part of civil society, the NGOs and the private sector in the reconstruction process.

On the occasion of the VII San Jose Dialogue held in Guatemala on 26 May 2001 the Ministers welcomed
with interest the progress report on aid granted by the European Commission up to the end of 2000 and,
in particular, on the achievements of RPRCA.

Finally, in the field of disaster prevention and preparedness, reference should also be made to the allocation
by the Commission, since July 1998, of € 5,6 million to the Central American scheme of the Dipecho
programme. The aim of the scheme is to reduce the vulnerability of the people of the region most exposed
to such disasters. The programme focuses on two aspects: building the capacity of both national and
regional
information and
to natural disasters and, promoting exchanges of
coordination between communities, civil protection agencies and local administration.

institutions

to react

(2001/C 364 E/051)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1100/01

by Olivier Dupuis (TDI) to the Council

(28 March 2001)

Subject: Chechnya

On 25 February of this year, a mass grave containing 60 bodies was discovered in Khankala, on the
outskirts of Grozny,
less than a kilometre from the headquarters of the Russian forces in Chechnya.
According to human rights organisations and various press reports, 16 of the bodies have been identified