WRITTEN QUESTION P-1659/01 by Françoise Grossetête (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Community rules concerning protection of the confidentiality of company lawyers' opinions.
Date: 2001-05-29
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: approximation of laws, labour law, legal profession, professional secret

C 364 E/170

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.12.2001

Can the Commission explain how it sees its role in the development of CSR? What areas does it consider
should be dealt with by agreements reached through collective bargaining or by Community legislation,
and what areas should be covered by voluntary commitments as an aspect of CSR?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(16 July 2001)

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental
concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis.
They are thus expected to contribute to the strategic goal decided during the extraordinary European
(cid:145)to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-
Council at Lisbon, 23 and 24 March 2000:
based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and
greater social cohesion(cid:146).

Being socially responsible means not
compliance by investing (cid:145)more(cid:146) into human capital, the environment and relations with stakeholders.

fully meeting legal expectations, but also going beyond

just

The main contribution of a European approach to CSR would be to add value to and complement existing
activities by providing an overall European framework on CSR practices, and by supporting best practice
approaches to evaluation and verification of CSR practices.

The Commission hopes that the Green Paper on corporate social responsibility which it intends to present
in July 2001 will further stimulate the debate at European and national level among all the actors involved.
the Commission in the development of corporate social
The concrete formulation of
responsibility will have to take account of the outcome of this debate.

the role of

(2001/C 364 E/188)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1659/01

by Fran(cid:231)oise GrossetŒte (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(29 May 2001)

Subject: Community rules concerning protection of the confidentiality of company lawyers(cid:146) opinions

While Belgium has recently recognised protection of the confidentiality of opinions given by company
lawyers, there are as yet no Community rules governing that subject.

Following Belgium(cid:146)s decision, therefore,
company lawyers were covered by common rules in this respect.

it would seem to be in the general

interest if all European

Does the Commission plan to draw up a Community text which could be applied to this profession and to
the protection of opinions given by company lawyers?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(13 July 2001)

In accordance with Articles 40 and 47 (ex Articles 49 and 57) of the EC Treaty, Community directives in
the area of professional
the
harmonisation as such of the rules for exercising professions. Article 8 of Directive 98/5/EC of the
European Parliament and the Council of 16 February 1998 to facilitate practice of the profession of lawyer
on a permanent basis in a Member State other than that in which the qualification was obtained (1)
provides that a lawyer registered under his home-country professional title may practise as a salaried

facilitating the free movement of persons and not

law are aimed at

20.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 364 E/171

lawyer in the employ of a public or private enterprise to the extent that the host Member State so permits
for lawyers registered in that State. It was not deemed necessary to consider the question of professional
secrecy of self-employed or salaried lawyers in this Directive.

The confidentiality of company lawyers(cid:146) opinions does not
Consequently, the Commission does not intend to draft a Community text in this area.

fall within the scope of

these Articles.

It also does not appear to be the case that the question of the protection of the confidentiality of company
lawyers(cid:146) opinions can be dealt with under Title IV of the EC Treaty, in particular on the basis of the
provisions concerning cooperation on civil matters.

Nevertheless, the Commission would draw the attention of the Honourable Member to the (cid:145)Charter of the
European Professional Associations in support of the fight against organised crime(cid:146), which was drawn up
in the light of the Council Recommendations to combat organised crime and signed on 27 July 1999 by
a number of European professional associations, which included professionals such as lawyers.

(1) OJ L 77, 14.3.1998.

(2001/C 364 E/189)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1661/01

by Emilio MenØndez del Valle (PSE) to the Commission

Subject: Imprisonment of an Egyptian-US sociologist

(1 June 2001)

In Cairo on 21 May 2001 the eminent Egyptian-US sociologist Saad Eddin Ibrahim was given a seven-year
prison sentence by the State Security Court. He was jailed immediately.

The same court has sentenced a further 27 employees of the equally prestigious Ibn Yaldun Centre for
Social Development Studies to prison terms ranging from one to five years.

Both the Centre and Professor Ibrahim have spent many years protecting human rights, democracy and
intellectual freedom.

The main accusation levelled against President Ibrahim (who holds dual Egyptian and US nationality) is
based on the fact that the Ibn Yaldun Centre accepted $250 000 of aid from the Commission, some of
which was used in order to produce a film which criticises fraudulent activities in Egyptian elections.

In view of the important work done by Professor Ibrahim and the Centre(cid:146)s employees in support of
democracy and human rights and the existence of the abovementioned EU aid, has the Commission taken
(or is it intending to take) any action to help those who have been sentenced under such a bizarre
judgment?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(10 July 2001)

Both the Presidency and the Commission have closely followed developments with respect to the charges
levelled against Dr Ibrahim and his associates. When he and some of his colleagues were initially arrested
and held without charge, appropriate channels were used to make clear the Union(cid:146)s concern at their
detention without charge and at
the highly charged and speculative press campaign which risked
compromising any chance of a fair trial.

When Dr Ibrahim and his colleagues were released and subsequently charged, inter alia, with misusing
Community funds allocated to an (cid:145)education for democracy(cid:146) project managed by Dr Ibrahim, the Union
made a clear and public statement to the effect that the project concerned had been subject to normal
monitoring and audit procedures; and these had given no cause for concern. In addition the Commission
Delegation in Cairo made clear that the use of Community funds for such projects was entirely proper, and
was covered by the Community-Egypt framework Agreement on the implementation of Financial and
Technical Co-operation.