WRITTEN QUESTION E-1570/01 by Marie Isler Béguin (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. EU aid programme for the victims of Chernobyl.
Date: 2001-05-29
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Belarus, EU programme, aid policy, civil defence, health aid, nuclear accident, radioactive pollution

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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14.2.2002

result, the Croatian Government has decided to ask for a legal opinion from the Croatian Constitutional
Court on 13 articles of the Statute, including the provisions introducing a full bilingual regime Croatian/
Italian. This procedure is now pending.

The Commission has been following these developments. Protection of minorities,
in terms of non-
discrimination, access to education on minority language and preservation of minority cultures, has always
been an important element of conditionality in the Union/Croatia relations. This aspect has also been
reiterated and formalised recently in the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with Croatia,
initialled on 14 May 2001.

In the bilateral contacts with the Commission, as well as in the acceptance of the obligations created by
the SAA, Croatia has renewed its commitment towards the protection of and respect for minorities. A Law
on the official use of minority languages and a Law on education in minority languages had been adopted
by the new Croatian Government already in May 2000. A new comprehensive Constitutional Law on
protection of minorities should also be proposed soon.

The Commission will continue to stress the importance of the full protection of minorities in its bilateral
contacts with Croatia and will monitor the full implementation of the relevant legislation.

(2002/C 40 E/051)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1570/01

by Marie Isler BØguin (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

Subject: EU aid programme for the victims of Chernobyl

(29 May 2001)

The after-effects of the Chernobyl disaster are now becoming most alarmingly apparent in Belarus.
Radioactive fall-out, which amounted to 70 %, has severely contaminated a quarter of its territory and its
ecosystem, and the effects thereof will be felt for several centuries. Two million people, including 500 000
children, are condemned to live on contaminated land because the Belarus Government has neither the
material resources nor the political will
to improve the situation. The pathologies caused by that
environment and by farm products contaminated by radioactivity are increasing exponentially in terms of
quantity and seriousness, in particular taking the form of cancers and malformations from babyhood.

As a means of expressing its displeasure at President Alexander Lukashenko(cid:146)s autocratic regime in Belarus,
the European Union has cut back its aid to that country and now runs just one TACIS programme of
political support for civil society.

Does not the Commission feel that there are grounds for running, locally as well as in the Member States,
a second TACIS programme of health care and medical aid for the people living in the contaminated
regions of Belarus, one which would concentrate on the manufacture and prescription of the pectin-based
medicinal products advocated by V. Nesterenko, as a display of EU solidarity with and assistance for civil
society as much as a humanitarian necessity?

What funds is the Commission planning to release for these millions of civilian victims of the ecological
disaster which occurred when the Chernobyl nuclear power station exploded, the effects of which will be
felt for at least three hundred years and which has cost Belarus alone an estimated USD 235 billion?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(3 September 2001)

The Commission shares the concern expressed by the Honourable Member about the consequences of the
Chernobyl accident on the population of Belarus.

The European Community Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), which was active in the areas worst affected
by the Chernobyl disaster in the early 1990s, allocated more than € 8 million to operations in support of
those affected by the accident. Emphasis was given to alleviating the health effects of the accident,
including the need for specialist medical monitoring and care. However, in the line with the mandate
agreed with the Council, the core function of ECHO is emergency relief which is no longer appropriate to
the current situation in the affected areas of Belarus.

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However, the political context makes large scale Tacis support very difficult.

In addition to our work with civil society we have been providing assistance to Belarus on a number of
projects dealing with the health, economic, social and environmental consequences of the Chernobyl
accident, inclunding:

(cid:129) construction of an industrial plant for the packaging of iodized salt;

(cid:129) treatment of contaminated forestry waste;

(cid:129) social and economic rehabilitation of contaminated areas through the direct involvement of the

population in the decision-making process;

(cid:129) establishment of an early warning system to provide protection in the event of any future nuclear

accident.

In addition, many joint research activities have been conducted together with Belorussian institutes on the
assessment of the health, economic, environmental and social consequences of the Chernobyl accident; this
research was most intensive in the first half of the 1990s but has continued at a reduced level since.

The Commission is considering future policies on assistance to tackle a problems arising from the accident.
However, it is, for the time being, impossible to provide precise indications on the budget that might be
available for such activity.

(2002/C 40 E/052)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1573/01

by Luciano Caveri (ELDR) to the Council

(1 June 2001)

Subject: Presence of Alpine troops in the military bodies of the European Union

The Italian Alpine troops have always been an example of a highly specialised force which, over the years,
has also shown great adaptability in its deployment in peace operations outside Europe and has been
remarkably efficient in dealing with the aftermath of major natural disasters in the field of civil protection.

Will the Council therefore say:

(cid:129) whether any technical assessments have been carried out, at European level, on the degree of
efficiency of the Italian Alpine troops and on their possible incorporation into EU military bodies, and

(cid:129) whether these specialised troops could not also be used to provide mountain training, particularly in

the Alps, to other EU specialised military bodies?

Reply

(8 October 2001)

1.
It is not for the European Union to make technical evaluations of the effectiveness of Italian Alpine
or any other particular troops. It is for Member States to decide what troops to commit to the Helsinki
Headline Goal and to assure their level of effectiveness. The actual capabilities of individual units become a
factor at the force generation stage.

It is up to the Italian authorities whether to offer mountain training to other countries(cid:146) troops and up

2.
to other countries whether to seek or accept it.