WRITTEN QUESTION E-1614/01 by Jonas Sjöstedt (GUE/NGL) to the Council. Vetting of civil servants handling secret documents.
Date: 2001-06-01
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Council of the European Union, Sweden, confidentiality, derogation from EU law, duties of civil servants, information policy, operation of the Institutions

C 40 E/62

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

14.2.2002

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(31 July 2001)

It is important to clear up any misunderstandings: Member States are not creating a European Police Force
or any kind of standing force. They are developing a rapid reaction capability of police officers and units
from Member States that can be deployed at short notice for external crisis management operations (cid:129)
either for led operations or in support of the United Nations (UN) or Organisation for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) led operations (cid:129) which is quite different from a European police force.
Additionally, it is worth noting that this police capability is being developed with the fullest range of
missions in mind (cid:129) from monitoring and training to criminal investigation and community policing (cid:129)
not just for public order tasks and not necessarily only alongside the military rapid reaction force.

The issue of when a basic legal framework to enable the Union police crisis management capabilities to
become operational
is primarily a matter for the Council. The Union is likely to declare it initially
operational at the Laeken European Council in 2001 and fully operational by 2003.

Regarding a legal and penal element, the Commission does agree that this Union police crisis management
capability should be backed up by a concrete target in the field of the Rule of Law. Accordingly, it has
supported the work of Member States to set a numerical target for the number of suitable personnel (cid:129)
from judges and prosecutors to prison officers (cid:129) that could be deployed from Member States for crisis
management operations. This numerical target was announced at the Gothenburg European Council of
June 2001. Furthermore, the Commission is in the process of tendering for projects to provide training for
Member States officials who may be deployed on crisis management operations. This will serve to improve
both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the concrete target, by creating a larger pool of trained
officials for deployment over the longer term and by ensuring these officials are better trained for crisis
management operations.

Regarding the target date of 2003 for the creation of the Union police crisis management capability, since
this capability will be put together on the basis of voluntary contributions by Member States, the question
would be better addressed to the Council. However, the Commission notes that indications from Union
Chiefs of Police at their conference held in Brussels on 10 May 2001 show that the Feira concrete target in
the field of policing should be met by Member States by the end of 2001.

(2002/C 40 E/060)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1614/01

by Jonas Sj(cid:246)stedt (GUE/NGL) to the Council

(1 June 2001)

Subject: Vetting of civil servants handling secret documents

Civil servants in the Union and the Member States who handle secret documents as part of EU cooperation
are now to be subject to certain checks. Only persons who have been through a personal vetting
procedure which shows them to be (cid:145)unswervingly loyal(cid:146) are to be allowed to handle secret documents. This
also applies to civil servants in the Member States. All breaches of secrecy are to be reported to the
security agency to be set up in each Member State and then reported to Brussels. Any leaks of classified
information are to be investigated and traced on the orders of the Secretary-General of the Council, the
former Head of Nato, Javier Solana.

How are these rules to be implemented in Sweden where the principle of public access to official
documents and the freedom to pass on information are enshrined in the constitution? Is Sweden exempt
from the above rules in the European Union?

14.2.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 40 E/63

Reply

(8 October 2001)

The Honourable Member of Parliament refers apparently to Council Decision No 2001/264 concerning the
adoption of the Council security regulations. The role of Member States in the implementation is spelled
out in Article 2, paragraph 2 of this Decision:

Member States shall take appropriate measures, in accordance with national arrangements, to ensure
that, when EU classified information is handled, the regulations referred to in Article 1 are respected,
within their services and premises by:

(a) members of Member States(cid:146) permanent representations to the European Union as well as by
its bodies, or

the Council or of

members of national delegations attending meetings of
participating in other Council activities,

(b) other members of the Member States(cid:146) national administrations handling classified information,

whether they serve in the territory of Member States or abroad, and

(c) Member States(cid:146) external contractors and seconded personnel, handling classified information (cid:133)

No Member State is exempt from the before mentioned Council Decision.

(2002/C 40 E/061)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1621/01

by Salvador Garriga Polledo (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Lottery for the preservation of the European artistic heritage

(12 June 2001)

The recent suggestion by the director of the Louvre on taking his retirement that a lottery should be
created for the preservation of France(cid:146)s national artistic heritage is in line with a long-standing European
view that the artistic heritage can be preserved by this means.

The British model of a lottery tax for culture underlies such a proposal. It would contribute to the
protection of our European artistic heritage via the payments of those playing the lottery, who could
consider it an ethical justification for their gaming habit.

Does the Commission consider that it could submit, for the consideration of experts in the field, a
suggestion that a Europe-wide lottery could be created with a view to its profits being used to protect the
European artistic heritage from the depredations of richer nations, from neglect, or from any other
circumstance that could damage an inheritance which is the pride of large numbers of Europeans whose
identity is bound up with the accumulated culture of Europe(cid:146)s long history?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(13 September 2001)

The Community(cid:146)s activities in the cultural sector have their legal basis in Article 151 (ex Article 128) of the
EC Treaty.

Under this Article, the Community is competent for:

(cid:129) encouraging cultural cooperation between Member States and

(cid:129) if necessary, supporting and supplementing (through financial support) action by Member States in the

following areas:

(cid:129) improvement of the knowledge and dissemination of the culture and history of the European

peoples;