WRITTEN QUESTION E-2046/01 by Caroline Jackson (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Conduct of EU Technical Assistance Programmes (PHARE and TACIS) in the Ukraine.
Date: 2001-07-13
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU programme, Ukraine, agreement (EU), enlargement of the Union, report, technical cooperation

18.4.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 93 E/53

This certificate gives the cohabiter access to certain Commission premises such as the restaurants,
cafeterias, Foyer or the staff shop. The cohabitant partner is also allowed to join family clubs, sporting and
social activity clubs of the Institution and make use of the services of welfare officers in the event of
difficulty. He or she may also attend language courses, subject to availability of places. Priority is given to
other candidates if they are officials. An official may be granted special leave in the event of the serious
illness or death of his or her cohabiting partner.

Under the current Staff Regulations the only type of partnership that can be recognised for the purpose of
financial status and provision is heterosexual marriage. This implies that the cohabiter of an official is not
entitled to, for instance, family allowances, annual travel expenses, health insurance or surviving spouse’s
pension. Unmarried heterosexual and homosexual couples with dependent children are, however, eligible
for the family allowances relating to those children.

This differentiation between married and unmarrried couples could only be addressed if stable partnerships
outside of marriage were recognised for the purpose of receiving the same benefits.

The White Paper on Reforming the Commission (1), published on 1 March 2000, states that conditions for
recognising stable partnerships outside marriage will be established (Part II, actions 51 and 53).

As part of the ongoing Administrative Reform Strategy, a study is being conducted on these issues in order
to identify legally acceptable and workable arrangements that would prevent discrimination against
officials who do not have legal recourse to marriage and would confer rights and obligations on such
partnerships.

3.
The financial impact of the entitlements referred to in answer 2 has not been calculated in the way
that could provide information in the form sought by the Honourable Member. However, it is clear that /
due to their nature / certain entitlements do not carry any financial implications, whereas others (such as
language courses and special leave) have an indirect, but still limited financial impact.

4.
The Commission is not aware of any cases of abuse of entitlements under the current arrangements.
If and when such cases arise they would be dealt with under the provisions of the Staff Regulations and in
keeping with principles of good management.

(1) COM(2000) 200.

(2002/C 93 E/068)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2046/01

by Caroline Jackson (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(13 July 2001)

Subject: Conduct of EU Technical Assistance Programmes (PHARE and TACIS) in the Ukraine

Can the Commission state what action it has taken to implement the recommendations made in the report
entitled ‘Ukraine / Evaluation of EC Country Programme’, published in July 1998, and to learn from any
mistakes made during TACIS and PHARE intervention in the Ukraine?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(18 September 2001)

The 1998 evaluation of the Ukraine Programme concluded that TACIS technical assistance projects had
not always resulted in a real improvement in Ukrainian policies, mainly because of a lack of agreement on
the direction reforms should take. The impact has been greatest in training and institution building with
substantial benefits for individual project partners, while private sector development has shown mixed
results, particularly in enterprise restructuring. The evaluations recommended focusing assistance on a
more limited number of priority areas and to base the programme on a policy dialogue with the Ukrainian
authorities.

Since the evaluation, the Commission has worked to improve the focus of TACIS support for the Ukraine,
by working increasingly in dialogue with the Ukrainian authorities in the context of our Partnership and
Co-operation Agreement. Achieving a better focus of TACIS is also a central aim of the new Council

C 93 E/54

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18.4.2002

institutional,

Regulation adopted in 2000 and the Indicative Programme for 2000-2003, which identified three priority
areas:
legal and administrative reform; private sector development; and the social
consequences of transition. This new multi-annual Country Strategy approach enables the Commission to
concentrate Community assistance efforts on key areas of mutual interest, where there is a clear will to
reform, such as, for the period 2002-2003, upgrading border management against the background of EU
enlargement, the legal and regulatory business framework and judicial reform. In parallel, co-ordination
with other Community funded programmes and co-operation with other donors has been strengthened at
both the level of programming and implementation. This concerns in particular our cooperation with the
international financial institutions and programmes to promote investment in small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) and municipal utilities.

The Ukraine is not eligible for aid under the PHARE programme.

(2002/C 93 E/069)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2056/01

by Gianfranco Dell’Alba (TDI) to the Commission

(13 July 2001)

Subject: Commission’s decision to discontinue medals for twenty years’ service

The Commission would appear to have decided to put an end to the practice of awarding medals to
officials after twenty years’ service and to replace it with a European civil servant’s ‘diploma’, to be awarded
after twenty-five years’ service.

The decision was apparently taken in response to a report produced by the Peer Group, which deemed the
awarding of medals after twenty years’ service in the European institutions to be a ‘negative priority’.

in spite of the fact that in its current staff reform
1. Would the Commission state exactly why,
proposals it continues to claim that European civil servants are the life blood of the European institutions,
it intends to do away with this traditional means of acknowledging the work carried out by officials in
these institutions, on the grounds that it is a ‘negative priority’?

2. Would the Commission not agree that the European civil service could do without another small but
significant gesture of this kind, which is clearly unhelpful and quite frankly incomprehensible?

3. Would the Commission not agree that it would be wise for it to reverse the decision?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(22 November 2001)

The award of medals for 20 years of service was originally introduced to mark the first 20 years of the
European Institutions and subsequently adopted as a way of recognising the contribution made by officials
working in the Institutions.

This year, the Commission will be following its usual custom of awarding 20-year service medals. The
awards will be made at Directorates General and services and a reception in honour of all recipients will
take place at each Commission location. In Brussels the President of the Commission will attend the
occasion.

The Commission recognises the significance of acknowledging good service and has recently proposed a
number of measures which will reflect that, not only near the time of retirement, but also during the
career of a civil servant.

These proposed measures are currently being discussed with the Staff Representatives in the joint
committees for social issues and they will be implemented as soon as a final decision has been reached in
2002.