WRITTEN QUESTION E-2222/01 by Ioannis Marínos (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Cuts in funds for nuclear fusion.
Date: 2001-07-24
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU programme, nuclear fusion, nuclear research, research expenditure (EU)

14.2.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 40 E/223

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(24 September 2001)

The Commission feels that a general ban as briefly outlined by the honourable Member could in fact
well hinder or make more difficult the freedom to provide services by lawyers that is guaranteed by
Articles 49-55 of the EC Treaty.

the follow-up to its communication on an internal market strategy for services (1),

the
As part of
Commission is currently working on the first phase of this strategy, which involves identifying and
analysing thoroughly the barriers hindering the freedom to provide cross-border services between Member
States. This will be followed by a second phase in which the most suitable solutions to the problems
encountered will be proposed. In this regard, the Commission intends to examine the provisions of the
Danish code of civil and criminal procedure, to which the honourable Member refers, in order to be able
to decide whether such a provision is incompatible with the provisions of the Treaty with regard to the
freedom to provide services and, if necessary, to propose appropriate measures to deal with the problem.

(1) COM(2000) 888.

(2002/C 40 E/241)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2222/01

by Ioannis Mar(cid:237)nos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(24 July 2001)

Subject: Cuts in funds for nuclear fusion

According to a letter bearing the signatures of 1 450 scientists and researchers from all over Europe
addressed to the President of the European Parliament, Mrs N. Fontaine, Commissioner Philippe Busquin
and the Members of the European Parliament, the Commission has proposed cuts of € 150 million in
Community funding for research into nuclear fusion in the (cid:145)Sixth Framework Programme(cid:146). The amount
proposed in the programme is now € 700 million compared with € 850 million, the amount originally
proposed by Commissioner Busquin, as stated in Document SEC(2001) 385-5/3/2001.

This decision will hamper a number of projects,
((cid:146)International Thermonuclear
Experimental Reactor(cid:146)) and may prove fateful for the development of the technological capability in
Europe to produce a form of energy which is safe, environmentally friendly and (cid:129) according to the
current state of our knowledge (cid:129) inexhaustible.

including (cid:145)ITER(cid:146)

Will the Commission give the reasons for this decision? Has it considered the consequences of reducing
the funds necessary for the development of this new technology? How can this negative attitude be
squared with the public commitment of the countries of the European Union to contribute to reducing
environmental pollution?

Answer given by Mr Busquin on behalf of the Commission

(13 September 2001)

As is emphasised in the letter to which the Honourable Member refers, the coordination of European
research on fusion energy and sustained human and financial commitments have ensured that Europe now
plays a leading role in such research, thanks in particular to the success of the Joint European Torus (JET)
project.

The proposal for a Euratom Framework Programme 2002-2006 (1) maintains the reactor guideline of the
current programme and, referring to progress in fusion research, includes the possibility of constructing in
Europe the (cid:145)International thermonuclear experimental reactor(cid:146) (ITER), the (cid:145)Next Step(cid:146) after JET towards the
reactor. The budget proposed by the Commission provides for a contribution of € 200 million towards the
construction of ITER, which, if it is approved, could begin towards 2005-2006. However, the execution of
a major project such as ITER means that choices have to be made. In its proposal, the Commission has
opted to give priority to its support for multilateral actions involving European research workers in joint

C 40 E/224

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

14.2.2002

projects such as ITER or JET. The Commission is proposing to continue the coordination at European level
which has proved its worth, but is counting on Member States to assume a larger share of research which
is less obviously linked with the Next Step and/or JET.

The potential of fusion as a source of clean energy will be realised only at the end of a lengthy process.
Taking into account
the
Commission(cid:146)s proposal
is a positive step in the process of establishing the conditions required for
sustainable development.

the other research priorities set out

framework programme,

in the next

(1) COM(2001) 94 final.

(2002/C 40 E/242)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2223/01

by Brice Hortefeux (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(24 July 2001)

Subject: Bank charges

The cost of cross-border bank transactions is often exorbitant. No transaction, be it a credit transfer, a
payment by card or cheque, or a withdrawal from an ATM, attracts the same fee when effected within a
single country as when carried out between two EU Member States.

On each occasion a not-insignificant commission is charged (cid:129) a practice which is regularly condemned by
consumers(cid:146) associations.

In response to this state of affairs, is the Commission planning to bring bank charges relating to cross-
border transactions into line with those relating to domestic transactions?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(25 September 2001)

On 25 July 2001 the Commission adopted a proposal for a Regulation on cross-border payments in
euro (1). This introduces the principle of non-discrimination: charges for cross-border payments should be
no different from charges for domestic operations.

The Commission took this decision largely for the reasons cited by the Honourable Member. The most
recent studies show that transfers are still subject to extremely high charges. A study of 1 048 transfers of
ECU 100 between the 12 Member States in 1993 found average charges of € 23,93. A recent study, in
2001, looked at 1 480 transfers of € 100 between the 15 Member States and found average charges of
€ 23,92 (provisional finding). The costs of purely domestic transactions are much lower. The persistence of
such differences, which are regularly condemned by consumers(cid:146) associations, can undermine the credibility
of the euro: some users will see only the practical difficulties of the currency changeover and none of the
real benefits.

The Commission hopes that the two branches of the European legislature, the Council and Parliament, will
reach agreement quickly, so that this text can be adopted before the end of 2001.

(1) COM(2001) 439 final.