WRITTEN QUESTION E-2332/01 by Concepció Ferrer (PPE-DE) to the Council. New round of WTO negotiations, Qatar, 9-13 November.
Date: 2001-08-03
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Commission, common commercial policy, power to negotiate, tariff negotiations

4.4.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 81 E/153

(2002/C 81 E/178)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2332/01

by Concepci(cid:243) Ferrer (PPE-DE) to the Council

(3 August 2001)

Subject: New round of WTO negotiations, Qatar, 9-13 November

Launching a full new round of multilateral trade negotiations is currently an important objective of
Community trade policy.

What action does the Belgian Presidency intend to take with respect to the IVth Ministerial Conference in
Doha with a view to strengthening the Commission(cid:146)s negotiating mandate so that in November at Qatar it
is able to present a strong position, defend its agenda and, above all, achieve a consensus within the WTO?

Reply

(6 December 2001)

The Council will be asked to discuss the preparation of the 4th WTO Ministerial Conference at one of its
forthcoming meetings. In this context, the Council would recall that its Conclusions of 26 October 1999
remain the basis of the European Union(cid:146)s position on multilateral trade negotiations in the WTO,
particularly as regards continuing trade liberalisation, strengthening the WTO(cid:146)s rules and integrating
developing countries into the multilateral trade system. On that basis, the EU will actively continue trying
to persuade its WTO partners to launch a comprehensive round of multilateral trade negotiations at the
Doha Conference.

(2002/C 81 E/179)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2334/01

by Antonios Trakatellis (PPE-DE) to the Council

(26 July 2001)

Subject: Staff Regulations of officials of the European Communities: violation of the principles of equality

and freedom of establishment and infringement of pension provisions governing establishment

In view of the fact that Article 83(2) of the Staff Regulations of officials and the corresponding article of
the rules applicable to other servants of the European Communities specify a (cid:145)contribution(cid:146) by all officials
to the pension scheme amounting to 8,25 % of their basic salary (cid:145)(cid:133), the weightings provided for in
Article 64 not being taken into account(cid:146); and bearing in mind also that, despite the fact that all officials are
required to pay a uniform contribution, Article 82(1) of the Staff Regulations provides for variations in the
amount of the pension awarded to be based solely on the future place of residence selected by officials
retiring from the service after the award of the pension and the standard of living there,

will the Council say:

(cid:129) What steps does it intend to take to put an end to the violation of the fundamental principle of
equality under which every official should receive the same pension benefits for the same pension
contributions and the violation of the principle of freedom of establishment in the territory of any
Member State through the introduction of (cid:145)weightings(cid:146)?

(cid:129) How will

it tackle the violation of pension provisions by officials who chose a bogus place of
residence in order to receive a higher pension, without, however, meeting the essential conditions for
the implementation of the (cid:145)pension weightings(cid:146)?

(cid:129) Does it intend to call for a proposal amending the Staff Regulations in order to abolish the unfair
provisions concerning the (cid:145)weightings(cid:146) so that all officials receive the same pension since they pay the
same contributions?