WRITTEN QUESTION E-2376/01 by Ria Oomen-Ruijten (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Frontier workers not accepted in Dutch private medical insurance schemes.
Date: 2001-08-08
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU national, Netherlands, equal treatment, exchange of information, free movement of workers, frontier worker, health insurance

C 115 E/68

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

16.5.2002

dependent on tangible economic and political reforms, starting with the agricultural sector? Furthermore,
does the Commission intend to use its influence with the Chinese authorities to persuade them to abandon
their systematic policy of extradition with regard to the North Korean refugees who seek refuge and safety
in China?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(11 October 2001)

Since 1995, the Commission provides humanitarian aid to North Korea, in the form of food aid (via the
Food Aid and Food Security Budget line) and humanitarian assistance (via the European Commission’s
Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO)).

The Commission has provided to North Korea a total of approximately € 168 million of food aid. Initially
a food aid assistance programme (mainly cereals, vegetable oil and sugar) it has increasingly been oriented
towards support to agricultural rehabilitation (mainly fertilisers, agricultural equipment and projects and
technical assistance support) with a view to supporting a sustainable increase in agricultural production as
a more coherent approach towards increased food security.

A sum of € 38 million has also been provided for humanitarian activities under the ECHO programme
such as provision of medicines, water, sanitation and winter cloths to the most vulnerable groups of the
North Korean population.

To oversee all these humanitarian and food security activities to monitor Community assistance and ensure
correct programme implementation under acceptable working conditions, a technical assistance office and
resident expert team have operated in Pyongyang on a permanent basis since 1997. The technical
assistance team has noted that, on the one hand, transfers of aid towards the distribution points have been
respected, and, on the other hand, the nutritional state of the population of the regions where Community
aid is sent, has improved.

The Commission remains concerned about the situation of those fleeing the Democratic People’s Republic
of Korea (DPRK) across the border with China. The issue has been recently raised at the EU-China Summit
on 5 September 2001. The Commission hopes that China, South Korea and the DPRK will cooperate fully
with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to resolve this problem.

(2002/C 115 E/072)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2376/01

by Ria Oomen-Ruijten (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(8 August 2001)

Subject: Frontier workers not accepted in Dutch private medical insurance schemes

1.
Is the Commission aware of the problems faced by those people who work in the Netherlands but
live in other Members States who come above the income ceiling for compulsory medical insurance but
are not accepted in private Dutch medical insurance schemes apart from schemes operated by one insurer
who asks for much higher premiums?

How can this non-acceptance or the payment of higher premiums be reconciled with the principle of

2.
Regulation 1612/68 (1), which prohibits discrimination on the grounds of nationality?

(1) OJ: English special edition, Series-I 68(II) P. 475.

16.5.2002

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 115 E/69

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(28 September 2001)

The Honourable Member has drawn the Commission’s attention to the problem of admission to private
medical insurance schemes as experienced by frontier workers working in the Netherlands but living in
another Member State. It seems that Dutch legislation in this area contains a residence requirement which
could run counter to Community law and in particular to Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 of the Council of
15 October 1968 on freedom of movement for workers within the Community (1). In order to be able to
examine all legal aspects of the question raised, the Commission has contacted the Dutch authorities to
obtain further details on the Dutch legislation in question and on the position of the Netherlands
Government on this issue.

The Commission will inform the Honourable Member of the outcome of its inquiries.

(1) OJ L 257, 19.10.1968, p. 2.

(2002/C 115 E/073)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2386/01

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(20 August 2001)

Subject: Annuities

Does the Commission believe that the EU market in annuities (regular payments for the remainder of a
life) works reasonably well? Is it aware of certain distortions of competition which may arise because of
regulatory requirements, and is it satisfied that those regulatory requirements do not involve discrimination
against other Member States?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(17 October 2001)

Annuities is a specific product sold by life assurance undertakings and built according to life assurance
techniques, which require the insurer to set up enough technical provisions in order to enable the
insurance undertaking to meet
the contractual commitments arising from the insurance policy.
Community insurance legislation coordinates Member States provisions regarding the conditions for
taking up and pursuing life insurance activities in the Community. In addition to an administrative
authorisation of a life insurance undertaking, the coordination of national rules covers the methods of
calculation of technical provisions, which must be sufficient, and the representation of such technical
provisions by appropriate, spread and matching assets as well as a minimum solvency margin. Community
legislation allows insurance undertakings to engage in life insurance activities in all Member States, if they
consider it appropriate, and therefore to market annuity policies in different Member States, by means of
right of establishment and the freedom to provide services.

The contents and the terms of annuities policies often depend on particular factors existing in Member
States in different fields such as social or tax legislation rather than insurance law itself. These factors, in
particular tax law, explain the importance of annuities products in some Member States compared to
others. Member States tend to afford a favourable tax treatment, when those particular conditions laid
down by tax law are met,
lump sum insurance contracts. In the current stage of
Community legislation Member States are competent to lay down the conditions regarding taxation of
different life insurance products. However when using their powers, Member States cannot provide rules
which are contrary to Community law, in particular to the rules of free movement of persons and services.

instead of capital