WRITTEN QUESTION E-1160/01 by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Regulatory framework video games.
Date: 2001-04-19
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: automatic game, child, child protection, public health

C 350 E/84

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

11.12.2001

(2001/C 350 E/090)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1151/01

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(10 April 2001)

Subject: Financial services and e-commerce

Will the Commission state what agreements have, to its knowledge, been negotiated between third
countries for the mutual recognition of financial services businesses taking advantage of the opportunities
of e-commerce?

Will it confirm that Australia and Singapore are among these countries?

Answer given by Mr Lamy on behalf of the Commission

(18 June 2001)

The Commission is not aware of any agreement between third countries for mutual recognition of
financial services that would take particular advantage of the opportunities of e-commerce.

The only Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) on Financial Services between third countries notified
before the World Trade Organisation (WTO), under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
Article VII, is the Agreement between the Principality of Liechtenstein and the Swiss Confederation on
direct insurance, which entered into force on 9 July 1998. In the case of Singapore: this country has
notified the WTO that it does not maintain recognition measures based on agreements or arrangements of
the type referred to in GATS VII, but that it accords recognition autonomously.

As to agreements currently under negotiation between third countries, the Commission has taken note of
press reports concerning trade talks between Australia and Singapore with the aim of establishing a free
trade area by the end of 2001. According to these sources, the negotiations should lead to improved
reciprocal market access for financial services and telecommunications.

(2001/C 350 E/091)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1160/01

by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(19 April 2001)

Subject: Regulatory framework video games

Recent research by the American Psychological Association (APA) has demonstrated that certain violent
video games can trigger aggressive thoughts, feelings and behaviour in minors but also in adult users and
affect them much more than television or the cinema. It has also shown that many video games make
children more aggressive, and their effect on human psychology may be even more harmful than violent
scenes on TV or in the cinema, owing to the interactive nature of video games.

However, according to the Commission(cid:146)s evaluation report to the Council and the European Parliament
(COM(2001) 106 final, 27.2.2001) concerning the protection of minors and human dignity,
legislative
provisions concerning a rating system for video games exist in only six Member States.

There are substantial differences in the approaches adopted by the various Member States in this matter
(for instance, France has established a legislative framework to ban violent video games, Sweden is
considering grading material according to the age of users and only very few Member States practice self-
regulation for rating video games). In view of this, does the Commission intend to promote a uniform
scheme for regulating this area in all Member States and, if not, what measures does it intend to take to
ensure the protection of minors from the harmful effects of video games?

11.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 350 E/85

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(20 June 2001)

The Commission does not currently intend to promote a uniform scheme in all Member States specifically
for rating video games. At Community level, games are already covered by Council Recommendation
98/560/EC of 24 September 1998 on the development of
the European
information and audiovisual services industry by promoting national frameworks aimed at achieving
a comparable and effective level of protection of minors and human dignity (1).

the competitiveness of

The evaluation report
from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the
application of Council Recommendation of 24 September 1998 concerning the protection of minors and
human dignity (2) notes that the Recommendation was applied consistently across the Member States and
that most of their activities in this area related to the use of the Internet. It concludes that the challenges
with respect to the protection of minors and human dignity are to be met across all media: the Internet,
radio and television, video games, video cassettes and digital video discs (DVDs).

The Commission will examine the need for Community action in this field as part of the revision of the
(cid:145)Television without Frontiers(cid:146) Directive planned for 2002.

(1) OJ L 270, 7.10.1998.
(2) COM(2001) 106 final.

(2001/C 350 E/092)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1168/01

by Pere Esteve (ELDR) to the Commission

(19 April 2001)

Subject: Lack of air traffic controllers

European air traffic management and control is one of the major challenges which the EU has taken up.
The move towards harmonising air traffic control means that proper training to cope with the new
situation is required, given the significance of the human factor and the sheer importance of the work of
air traffic controllers.

What is required is the introduction of a European air traffic controllers(cid:146) diploma.

Furthermore, while current figures show that this highly specialised workforce is between 800 and 1 600
short of a total of 15 000, this situation is forecast to deteriorate in the immediate future due to the
number of retirements coming up.

Given the new situation looming, what steps is the Commission going to take to deal with the lack of air
traffic controllers and the need to update and provide suitable training?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(25 June 2001)

The situation described by the Honourable Member was discussed by the High Level Group on the
creation of the Single European Sky as one of the strategic issues to be addressed at the European level as
a matter of urgency. The Group(cid:146)s report is available at (cid:145)http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/themes/air/
english/single_eur_sky_en.html(cid:146).

The Commission is currently preparing proposals to give effect to the report. These proposals will include
measures to alleviate the shortage of air traffic controllers by stimulating training and mobility and to
initiate the harmonisation of controller licences.