WRITTEN QUESTION P-1328/01 by Georg Jarzembowski (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Proposal for efficient air traffic management and the Gibraltar dispute.
Date: 2001-04-25
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Gibraltar, air traffic, air transport, drafting of EU law, transport regulations

13.11.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 318 E/235

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(28 June 2001)

the Commission has granted Community marketing authorisations

to three
As of May 2001,
beta interferons as immunostimulation agents and for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. The medicinal
product glatiramer acetate has not been submitted via the centralised procedure and the product is not yet
authorised in all Member States. Council Regulation (EEC) No 2309/93 of 22 July 1993 laying down
Community procedures for the authorisation and supervision of medicinal products for human and
veterinary use and establishing a European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (1) and
a centralised marketing authorisation procedure for innovative therapies and therapies derived from
biotechnology is intended to facilitate the availability of such products, by allowing access to the markets
of all Member States following a single scientific assessment and the granting of a single community
marketing authorisation.

Pricing and social security related activities remain within the national competences of Member States and
are outside the scope of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2309/93/EC. Nonetheless the Commission monitors
the availability of all medicinal products which have community marketing authorisations to ensure that
the products are actually made available in all Member States and has verified that this is the case for the
beta interferons authorised to treat patients with multiple sclerosis.

(1) OJ L 214, 24.8.1993.

(2001/C 318 E/257)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1328/01

by Georg Jarzembowski (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(25 April 2001)

Subject: Proposal for efficient air traffic management and the Gibraltar dispute

In his speech to Parliament on 21 July 1999, the Commission President, Romano Prodi, called for the
creation of an efficient air traffic management system as an urgent European undertaking to avoid the
frequently chaotic situations in the skies over Europe caused by the constant increase in air traffic, to
improve air transport safety, to prevent pollution caused by stacking over airports and longer flying times,
and to avoid the enormous additional financial burden for airlines caused by unnecessary air traffic.

The Commissioner responsible for transport, Vice-President Loyola de Palacio, has now drawn up
a proposal for an efficient European air traffic management system on the basis of the recommendations
of the high-level group which she set up. Submission of the report, however, has been delayed by the re-
emergence of the dispute over Gibraltar. The European Council meeting on 23/24 March 2001 was unable
to find a solution to this question. Its statement that it expected to make further progress on the matter
before the European Council meets in June (Gothenburg) is not very promising. Since the dispute is
essentially one between two Member States, the matter should ultimately be left to the European Council
or the Council of Ministers but it should not hinder a long overdue practical discussion of efficient air
traffic management.

Is the Commission in a position to adopt a practical proposal for an efficient air traffic management
system and to submit it to the legislative bodies for consideration and decision?

When will the Commission finally take a decision on this proposal?

Can the Commission not avoid conflict over Gibraltar in the College by leaving that issue open and
inserting a Gibraltar clause in parentheses in the proposal, as has often been the practice in European
legislation in the past (see, for example, Article 6 of Council Regulation (EC) No 925/1999 of 29 April
1999 on the registration and operation of civil subsonic jet aeroplanes)?

C 318 E/236

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.11.2001

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(1 June 2001)

The Commission agrees with the Honourable Member that proposals for the reorganisation of air traffic
management are due in order to address the inefficiencies of the existing system and to consolidate the
safety level of air transport. The report of the High Level Group on the Single European Sky, which was
finalised in November 2000, provides the basis for these proposals.

The Commission would not wish, however, that the dispute over Gibraltar airport should stand in the way
of early adoption of these proposals, as has happened with a number of other proposals in the air
transport field. The subject was raised at the European Council of Stockholm of 23/24 March 2001 and
further discussions between the two Member States concerned were encouraged, expecting to make further
progress on this issue in time for the G(cid:246)teborg European Council in June 2001.

Technical work to prepare proposals has continued nevertheless, and the Commission expects to be in
a position to deliberate on these proposals before the end of the Swedish Presidency. In that respect, the
Commission will examine the suggestion put
forward by the Honourable Member amongst other
suggestions in order to find a constructive solution to this issue.

(2001/C 318 E/258)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1334/01

by Theresa Zabell (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Special arrangements for sportsmen and sportswomen

(26 April 2001)

In order to be able to pursue professional careers once their sporting careers are over, sportsmen and
sportswomen try to combine the latter with college studies.

This (cid:145)double life(cid:146) requires a major effort on their part, since their daily sports practice and frequent
travelling to take part in competitions and championships mean that they have real difficulties in attending
classes on a regular basis and following courses of study.

Do universities in any Member State offer any kind of special arrangements for sportsmen and
sportswomen, enabling them to reconcile the demands of studying with their sporting careers? If so,
what benefits and/or advantages do the sportsmen and sportswomen enjoy vis-(cid:224)-vis other students?

If not, does the Commission intend to take any action in this area?

Answer given by Ms Reding on behalf of the Commission

(12 June 2001)

The Commission shares
sportswomen to be able to reconcile their studies and their sporting careers,
promote their future switch to alternative employment.

the Honourable Member(cid:146)s concern about

the need for

sportsmen and
in particular in order to

Accordingly, the Helsinki Report on Sport (1) stressed that Community action could, among other things,
within the context of its educational and training programmes, focus on the objective of (cid:145)promoting the
subsequent switch to other employment and future integration onto the labour market of sportsmen and
women(cid:146).

The Commission does not have full information on the opportunities that are offered to sportsmen and
sportswomen in order to pursue studies in each Member State. However, it is aware of certain initiatives,
such as those taken in France. This Member State has introduced a full set of measures (cid:145)in order to
promote the success of sportsmen and sportswomen in sport and work(cid:146), comprising financial assistance,
measures granting easier access to competitive examinations, loans to those who set up a business, etc.
Similar measures have been adopted in other Member States, such as Belgium.