WRITTEN QUESTION P-1581/01 by Juan Naranjo Escobar (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Recent events in Angola.
Date: 2001-05-21
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Angola, aid policy, children's rights, civil war, common foreign and security policy, humanitarian aid, illegal restraint, war crime

20.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 364 E/153

(2001/C 364 E/167)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1578/01

by Linda McAvan (PSE) to the Commission

(21 May 2001)

Subject: Fifth framework projects in the Yorkshire and Humberside region

Can the Commission please provide a breakdown of the regional distribution and the level of funding of
Fifth framework projects in the Yorkshire and Humberside region of the United Kingdom? Does the
research
Commission prioritise assisted areas
programmes?

(Objective 1 and 2) when allocating funding for

Answer given by Mr Busquin on behalf of the Commission

(28 June 2001)

Data on funding of the Fifth framework Research and Technological Development (RTD) programme
projects in the Yorkshire and Humberside regions will be sent directly to the Honourable Member and to
the Parliament(cid:146)s Secretariat.

The Fifth framework (RTD) Programme is implemented through competitive calls for proposals addressed
to the academic and industrial research community, published widely and open to participation from all
regions of Europe, including in the Member States associated to the programme. Potential research actors
are encouraged to come together in transnational cooperation consortia, in submitting proposals. These
proposals are evaluated, on the basis of clearly established selection criteria, by independent experts. The
focus is on the inherent qualities of the proposal without any consideration to the geographical region in
which one or other of the participants is placed.

(2001/C 364 E/168)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1581/01

by Juan Naranjo Escobar (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(21 May 2001)

Subject: Recent events in Angola

The offensive launched last week-end by rebel forces near Luanda left approximately a hundred dead and
a further hundred missing. In addition, 60 children were kidnapped by an armed group belonging to the
National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) in an operation, which according to eye-
witnesses, was both targeted and well-planned. The group of kidnapped children consisted of 51 boys and
nine girls between the ages of 10 and 18. As if the murder of four members of humanitarian organisations
unconnected with the conflict in the region of Luanda was not enough, children are once again falling
victim to abuses in the areas dogged by conflict. Once kidnapped, children usually end up being subjected
to sexual abuse or being used as human shields or pawns in the conflict.

Has the Commission condemned these events which constitute a flagrant violation of the 1989 United
Nations Convention on the Rights of
its optional protocol on the
involvement of children in armed conflict? To what extent is the protection of minors in areas of conflict
taken account of in the European Union(cid:146)s cooperation with third world countries? What extraordinary
measures does the Commission think could be adopted in order to help the child population which is
particularly vulnerable and defenceless against guerrilla attacks of this nature?

the Child and in particular of

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(29 June 2001)

The Union has issued a declaration strongly condemning the attack by UNITA near the town of Caxito in
Angola, which resulted in the abduction of 60 children from a school supported by a European non-
governmental organisation (NGO). Through this declaration of the Presidency, the Union called for the
immediate release and safe return of all abducted children and insisted that the perpetuators should be
brought to justice.

C 364 E/154

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.12.2001

As regards the assistance and protection of children affected by armed conflict in general, the Commission
has made children a priority in humanitarian assistance. Since the beginning of 2000, the European
Commission(cid:146)s Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) has spent more than € 40 million on projects targeting the
special needs of children. Typical projects include: projects for the demobilisation, rehabilitation and
reintegration of child soldiers, health and nutrition projects, psychosocial support for war-affected children,
family tracing and reunification, and emergency education. Such projects contribute to help the children
against guerrilla attacks. In Angola, a number of projects targeting the special needs of children have also
been implemented in co-operation with partners such as MØdecins sans frontiŁres (cid:129) Belgium (MSF-B),
Concern Ireland, United Nations Children(cid:146)s Fund (Unicef), Cooperation, Interchange and Culture (CIC)
Portugal, and Caritas Italy.

(2001/C 364 E/169)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1584/01

by Nirj Deva (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(1 June 2001)

Subject: Bathing water in France

Could the Commission please inform me about the different quality of statistics reported to it by different
countries in the (cid:145)Blue Flag(cid:146) scheme for beaches, particularly with reference to the resort of St George de
Didonne in the Poitou-Charentes region of France.

Answer given by Mrs Wallstr(cid:246)m on behalf of the Commission

(17 July 2001)

It is important to note that the Blue Flag campaign is not a Commission scheme. It is the Foundation for
Environmental Education in Europe (FEEE), based in Copenhagen, that is solely responsible for this
campaign. This Foundation has associated organisations in the Member States who assess the beaches,
which are candidates for a Blue Flag. This assessment is made for four major issues, for which both
imperative and guideline criteria are established: environmental education and information, environmental
management, water quality and safety and services. The Commission is only connected to the Blue Flag
because the water quality criteria for a Blue Flag beach are based on the guideline values of the European
Bathing Water Directive, Council Directive 76/160/EEC of 8 December 1975 concerning the quality of
bathing water (1). Any request about the attribution of Blue Flags should be addressed to FEEE (2).

Regarding the information about a particular bathing area in France, the Commission must record with
regret that for the second successive year and due to industrial action by the staff responsible for
submitting the data to central government, France has not communicated any results to the Commission.
The Commission has been assured though, that measures to monitor bathing water quality and to protect
bather(cid:146)s health were taken throughout the 2000 bathing season and that that information has been made
available to the public at the concerned bathing areas and/or the local town/city hall.

(1) OJ L 31, 5.2.1976.
(2)

FEEE, for the attention of Finn Bolding Tomson, Scandiagade 13; DK-2450 Kobenhavn, fax +45-33-790179.

(2001/C 364 E/170)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1589/01

by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission

Subject: Causes of the increased incidence of tumours

(1 June 2001)

The annual Tumour Register meeting held in Alghero (in the province of Sassari) revealed an increase of
approximately 0,5 % in the incidence of tumours worldwide. This increase is cause for concern and raises