WRITTEN QUESTION P-1721/01 by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Net budget transfers.
Date: 2001-06-06
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Community budget, Member States' contribution, budget financing, budget policy, extra-EU trade, intra-EU trade, statistics

C 78 E/340

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

WRITTEN QUESTIONS WITH ANSWER
(Part 2)

(2004/C 78 E/0357)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1653/01

by Professor Sir Neil MacCormick (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

Subject: Restitution of property in the applicant countries

(11 June 2001)

I refer to my Written Question E-0998/00 (1) to the Council. Recent developments in Poland appear to
have blocked the possibility of assets being restored to Jewish and other émigrés from Poland. Will the
Commission please state whether it believes that to be the case and, if so, what bearing the Commission
considers this to have on the eligibility of Poland for early accession to the Union?

(1) OJ C 81 E, 13.3.2001, p. 13.

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(24 July 2001)

The Polish law on the restitution of property has been vetoed by the President and there was an
insufficient majority in the Polish Parliament to overturn the veto when the law was returned for the vote.

In issuing his veto, the President made clear that claimants were in a position to seek compensation, as the
existing legal framework in Poland allows for such cases to be heard by the courts.

The Commission would refer the Honourable Member to the answer to his Written Question E-998/00 (1).
In this instance there is no specific ‘acquis’ relating to the question raised by the Honourable Member.

The Commission will continue to monitor closely the applicant countries’ compliance with the principle of
non-discrimination, enshrined in the treaties.

(1) OJ C 81 E, 13.3.2001, p. 13.

(2004/C 78 E/0358)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1721/01

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(6 June 2001)

Subject: Net budget transfers

On 31 January 2001 the Commission submitted its second report on economic and social cohesion, in
which it concluded that Portugal was a net contributor to the CAP. In answer to my Written Question
P-0897/01, the Commission supplied the study on which it had based that conclusion, taking into account
the effects of agricultural trade within the Community and with non-Community partners. The same
reasoning could be applied to the budget overall, allowing for the financial balances and the effects of
trade as a whole within the Community and with non-Community partners.

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/341

Could the Commission therefore specify:

(cid:1) the overall budget balance (net contributors and recipients) for each of the Member States from 1994

to 2001 (estimated), at constant prices; and

(cid:1) the financial balance for the same period, offset against the gains/losses in trade flows within the

Community and with non-Community partners (imports and exports) for each Member State?

Answer given by Mrs Schreyer on behalf of the Commission

(17 July 2001)

The Commission would inform the Honourable Member that the Member States’ overall budgetary
balances for the years 1993-1999, determined according to the standard method used by the Commission
(net operational balance after UK correction), can be found in terms of current prices and percentage of
GDP in the statistical annex to the report ‘Allocation of 1999 EU operating expenditure by Member State’,
table 6 (last table in the report) (1).

The report for 2000 should normally be ready before August 2001 (1).

These reports are based on actual
Member States’ future net balances.

implementation. The Commission does not publish simulations for

For details of the method of calculating net balances, please refer to point 4.1. of Annex 3 to the report
‘Financing the European Union’, which is available at the same site.

With regard to your second question concerning net balances ‘offset against the gains/losses in trade flows
within the Community and with non-Community partners’, the Commission would point out that it does
not carry out such calculations.

Nevertheless, in the context of enlargement, its departments commissioned two studies (2) on the effects of
enlargement on two existing Member States, Germany and Austria, which also seek to take account of the
effects of trade flows in an enlarged Community.

(1) http://europa.eu.int/comm/budget/en/agenda2000/a2000rp.htm
(2) http://europa.eu.int/comm/budget/en/financementbudget/elargissement_etude.htm

(2004/C 78 E/0359)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1746/01

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(15 June 2001)

Subject: Completion of construction of hospitals at Katerini, Pyrgos and Corfu

In its answer to my question No E-3160/00 (1) concerning the delay in the construction of the hospitals at
Katerini, Pyrgos and Corfu, the Commission states that it is ‘disappointed that projects of such importance
for Greece’s socio-economic development should be so far behind schedule.
It will ask the Greek
authorities to supply detailed information on the reasons for the delay and the prospects for completing
the projects and it will not shirk from taking corrective financial measures, if necessary.’ It continues ‘as the
various OPs are currently being negotiated, it is not yet possible to state whether these projects will be
part-funded under the CSF for the current programming period (2000-2006)’.