WRITTEN QUESTION E-1258/01 by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Languages used by the European Commission in the Brussels-Capital Region.
Date: 2001-04-26
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Belgium, European Commission, administration of the Institutions, use of languages

C 318 E/230

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.11.2001

(2001/C 318 E/250)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1258/01

by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(26 April 2001)

Subject: Languages used by the European Commission in the Brussels-Capital Region

On 29 July 2000, Commissioner Philippe Busquin acknowledged that the European Commission had
made a mistake in using exclusively a French-language address in its correspondence (1). In the European
Commission(cid:146)s Research Directorates-General shared-cost RTD CPF Forms Electra A6 for shared-cost R & D
projects under the Fifth framework programme (1999/2000), the Commission simply gave the address as
Rue de la Loi, Bruxelles (i.e. it used the French spelling of Brussels). That erroneously gave the impression
that the nineteen municipalities in Brussels are French-speaking. Pursuant to the Constitution of the
Belgian Federation, those municipalities form part of the Brussels-Capital Region, which is bi-lingual.

Commissioner Busquin asked the department involved not to make the same mistake in the subsequent
publication. After all, the Commission acknowledges the bi-lingual status of the municipalities which form
the Brussels-Capital Region. Accordingly, its correspondence always includes the address in French and in
Dutch. That rule applies not only to correspondence but also to all publications and other printed matter.
The relevant instructions were given to all departments on 6 March 1995 and were incorporated into
a procedure manual.

the
Despite the instructions of 6 March 1995 and the statement made by Commissioner Busquin,
European Commission is still using exclusively French-language addresses, in correspondence and on the
Internet (2).

1. Will the Commission and its departments henceforth use Dutch-language and French-language
addresses for their correspondence and publications on the Internet, given the bi-lingual status of the
nineteen municipalities which form the Brussels-Capital Region? If not, why will the Commission and its
departments not acknowledge the bi-lingual status of the municipalities involved by using both the Dutch-
language and French-language addresses in their correspondence and on the Internet?

2. Will the Commission and its departments henceforth use Dutch-language and French-language
addresses for their correspondence and publications on the Internet in order to favour neither the Dutch-
speaking nor the French-speaking community in the Brussels-Capital Region? If not, why will
the
Commission and its departments favour the French-speaking community by using only French-language
addresses for their correspondence and on the Internet?

(1) OJ C 72 E, 6.3.2001, p. 144.
(2) http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/01/479|0|RAPID&lg=EN).

Answer given by M. Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(5 June 2001)

The Commission recognises the bilingual status of Brussels and is reminding its officials to give addresses
in Dutch and French in all publications when the text is in a third language.

(2001/C 318 E/251)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1261/01

by Graham Watson (ELDR) to the Commission

(19 April 2001)

Subject: Financial aid to East Timor

What is the EU doing to promote the direct engagement of the people of Timor in the development of
a plural democratic society, given the complete absence of relevant infrastructure, considerable resentment
of the UN presence and persistent inter-communal distrust? What pressure can the Commission bring to
bear for the equal treatment of Protestant and Catholic communities?