WRITTEN QUESTION E-2474/01 by Raffaele Costa (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Aircraft for the Commission.
Date: 2001-09-11
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Commission, administrative expenditure (EU), aircraft

C 93 E/136

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.4.2002

(2002/C 93 E/163)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2463/01

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(11 September 2001)

Subject: Spanish Government policy on beef and dairy farms and its impact on Galicia

The Spanish Government has announced the launching of a programme for beef and dairy farms, from
which an essential part of the Galician farming sector, which provides over a third of all Spanish milk,
would be excluded. Trade unions in the farming sector claim that of the 77 660 beef and dairy farms in
Galicia, 53 258 would be excluded from the aid provided under the programme; this means that 78.76 %
of the 37 625 of these farms dedicated to milk production would suffer the same fate. The application of
the programme would create a crisis which would have a negative impact on a highly sensitive section of
Galicia’s population, cutting off at the root any possibility of survival and modernisation of many small
farms, whose inadequate allocated milk quota constitutes the sole obstacle to their development. The
Spanish Government programme, which claims to meet EU rules, would run contrary to the multi-purpose
approach to be imposed on European agriculture in place of the production-driven trends which have
hitherto prevailed, since within Galician farming, small farms are part of a way of life in which agricultural
production co-exists with work in other economic sectors undertaken by members of the same family unit.
The Galician Government is adopting a deplorable ‘Malthusian’ attitude, and is prepared to support the
Spanish Central Government’s programme, with the Galician Minister for Agriculture himself claiming that
small farms are doomed by market forces. In view of the foregoing, does the Commission believe that the
Spanish Government’s programme corresponds to the Commission’s guidelines, at a time when European
agriculture is radically changing direction in favour of a more ecological and diversified approach
encouraging regional development, which is exactly what Galicia’s agriculture and economy require?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(29 October 2001)

The Commission is unaware of the programme referred to by the Honourable Member.

In Spain and especially Galicia, the Commission is making a positive contribution through various regional
development programmes under the Structural Funds. A number of agricultural and rural development
programmes are benefiting from Community support.

None of these programmes includes measures designed to reduce investments in agricultural holdings for
the rearing of livestock.

The Commission would suggest, however, that the Honourable Member provide further information that
would enable it, where necessary, to identify the programme referred to.

(2002/C 93 E/164)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2474/01

by Raffaele Costa (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(11 September 2001)

Subject: Aircraft for the Commission

According to rumours published in the press in June this year by the Sun newspaper and taken up by Il
Foglio in Italy, the Commission was seeking to hire two luxury jet aircraft.

Can the Commission say whether these reports are true and, if so, what essential operational requirements
led it to take this decision and how much it cost the European taxpayer?

18.4.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 93 E/137

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(4 October 2001)

The Commission must regretfully deny the reports referred to by the Honourable Member, despite the fact
that these appeared in prestigious European newspapers.

In fact the Commission badly needs more permanent access to aircraft of the sort, size and level of
comfort used by ministers of the Member States on a daily basis for their own official duties. This is
particularly true given that the duties of many Commissioners and the President of the Commission are
often more onerous and involve a higher level of contacts abroad than those of a national minister.

At the start of its term of office the Commission insisted on applying extremely strict rules on the use of
private aircraft, responding in a responsible way to the sensitive state of public opinion following the
tumultuous events of that period. The rules and the way they are applied were set out in the Commission’s
reply to written question E-2135/01 by Mr Heaton-Harris (1), to which the Honourable Member is referred.

The Commission will continue to monitor application of these rules to ascertain whether they are still
effective and compatible with its role and the tasks it has to perform.

(1) OJ C 40 E, 14.2.2002, p. 196.

(2002/C 93 E/165)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2476/01

by Anna Karamanou (PSE) to the Commission

(13 September 2001)

Subject: Establishment of a special European force to deal with demonstrations

Mr Otto Schily, the German Minister of the Interior, recently put forward a proposal which was endorsed
by Claudio Scajola, his Italian counterpart, to set up a special force with primary responsibility for dealing
with demonstrations of ‘trouble-makers’ opposed to globalisation.

files for each country on the individuals concerned and the monitoring of

This proposal, which is underpinned by other schemes, such as (Council Decision of 13 July 2001) the
these
establishment of
individuals by the authorities owing to their involvement in similar types of demonstration, is without any
legal
justification and is a violation of the provisions on the free movement of persons within the
European Union. In the light of the above, will the Commission, as guardian of Community law, say
whether the proposal in question is compatible with the provisions of the Treaty of Amsterdam?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(22 October 2001)

The Commission is aware of a proposal presented by the German federal government to the Council
regarding special units to guarantee the safety of meetings of the European Council and other comparable
events. This proposal has not yet been adopted by the Council.

As to the question of whether the Commission, as guardian of Community law, considers this proposal to
be compatible with the Treaty of Amsterdam, the Commision would like to underline, first, that the issue
of maintenance of public order and security is the competence of Member States, as established in
article 33 of the Treaty on European Union and in article 64 (ex Article 73l) of the EC Treaty. The German
document, which proposes the establishment of common standards for the training and equipment of
existing special units in the Member States entrusted with the task of ensuring public safety and order, is
compatible with article 30.1, paragraphs a, b, c and d of the Treaty on European Union.