WRITTEN QUESTION E-2295/01 by Christoph Konrad (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Unbalanced membership of the Enterprise Policy Group.
Date: 2001-07-31
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU industrial policy, European Commission, advisory committee (EU), operation of the Institutions

14.2.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 40 E/233

(2002/C 40 E/252)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2281/01

by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(31 July 2001)

Subject: Conventions on the protection of personal data on the Internet

According to a survey carried out in Greece between 1 and 12 June 2001 by a well-known legal portal,
most networks, websites and portals in Greece completely fail to refer to the conventions on liability and
the protection of personal data in their central website.

As both Community legislation and the Greek Personal Data Protection Authority require all networks
without exception to refer to these agreements on their central websites, could the Commission indicate
whether it is aware of this fact and if so, what it intends to do to ensure observance of the rules laid down
in both Greek and European law?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(21 September 2001)

It is the Commission(cid:146)s opinion that the question asked by the Honourable Member primarily concerns the
application of the Greek law on the protection of personal data. The matter can be brought before the
Greek Personal Data Protection Authority in order to ensure the correct application of Greek law. The
Commission would inform the Honourable Member that the Working Party for the Protection of Personal
Data, set up under Article 29 of Directive 95/46/EC on the protection of individuals with regard to the
processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (1), recently adopted recommendation
2/2001 on the information which websites should publish in applying the national laws which transpose
the Directive: (available at http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/media/dataprot/wpdocs.htm).

In addition, the Commission will take account of the relevant issues raised by the Honourable Member(cid:146)s
question when it examines the conformity of the Greek measures to transpose Directive 95/46/EC.

(1) OJ L 281, 23.11.1995.

(2002/C 40 E/253)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2295/01

by Christoph Konrad (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Unbalanced membership of the Enterprise Policy Group

(31 July 2001)

1. What is the Commission(cid:146)s purpose in setting up, within the Directorate-General for Enterprise, the
Enterprise Policy Group which began work on 11 June 2001?

2.
How does the Commission justify the fact that, of the 35 members of this Group, only 4 come from
the trade sector, even though additional jobs and training places in Europe are mostly being created in
SMEs in the trade, craft and service sectors? Why are none of these representatives from Germany, which
is after all the [EU(cid:146)s] largest trading nation? (Does not the Commission not consider that this body(cid:146)s
membership as a whole is somewhat unbalanced, given that only 4 of its members come from Germany?)

3.
How does the Commission justify dissolving, and not replacing, the Committee on Commerce and
Distribution of the former DG XXII, in which leading representatives from the trade and service sectors
provided valuable advice to the Commission? Does the Commission propose to reinstate this committee?

C 40 E/234

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

14.2.2002

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(21 September 2001)

The Commission(cid:146)s purpose in setting up the Enterprise Policy Group within the Directorate-General for
Enterprise is to make enterprise policy more transparent and effective and assign it a greater role in coping
with the challenges of the knowledge-based economy through consultation, deliberation and discussion
with high level experts from the business world and representatives of the Member States. The Enterprise
Policy Group was therefore set up in the form of two representative bodies: the first is made up of
representatives from the Member States, the second (the (cid:145)Professional Chamber(cid:146)) is composed of members
appointed by the Commission. It began its activities on 11 June 2001.

The 35 members of the Professional Chamber were chosen following an open selection procedure (1),
during which the Commission also took proposals from professional associations or Member States into
account. The Commission received 453 applications of a very high or high level. In total the applications
for the 35 posts were supported by 800 international or national associations. Priority was given to the
equal treatment of all applications, by conducting a thorough and detailed analysis to examine each
application in accordance with objective criteria which looked first and foremost at the personal qualities
and profiles of the applicant, and took into account extensive sectoral and geographical coverage. Germany
is up alongside France, Italy and the United Kingdom with four representatives on this body. In order to
represent the broadest possible spectrum of the economy, the representatives were chosen from small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), large enterprises and the ranks of the self-employed, as well as from
various industrial and services sectors.

The Enterprise Policy Group was set up as part of the drive to rationalise and combine the work carried
out by the Commission on best practice through coordination with the Member States. Working parties
can be set up on a contractual basis to tackle specific topics. The Commission can invite experts or
observers to take part in the activities of the working party, its representative bodies or sub-groups. There
are no plans to reinstate the former Directorate-General DG XXIII Committee on Commerce and
Distribution, as its work is now covered by the Enterprise Policy Group.

(1) OJ C 326, 17.11.2000.

(2002/C 40 E/254)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2297/01

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

Subject: Recognition of homeopathy in Greece

(31 July 2001)

The Greek Association of Homeopathic Medicine is protesting at the fact that doctors specialised in
homeopathic medicine are not officially recognised in Greece so that they face professional problems not
encountered by their colleagues in other countries.

In its Resolution R4-0075/1997 (1) of 29 May 1997 the European Parliament called on the Commission to
initiate a procedure for recognising the various branches of non-conventional medicine, while the Council
of Europe in its resolution of 11 June 1999 supported a common European approach to non-conventional
medicine.

Given that homeopathic medicine is recognised in many Member States as a sub-specialisation of general
medicine, how does the Commission intend to ensure terms of equality for doctors practising this
speciality, recognition of their professional qualifications and freedom of movement and freedom to pursue
this speciality for practitioners in a Member State other than their own?

(1) OJ C 182, 16.6.1997, p. 15.