WRITTEN QUESTION E-2476/01 by Anna Karamanou (PSE) to the Commission. Establishment of a special European force to deal with demonstrations.
Date: 2001-09-13
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: free movement of persons, globalisation, group of leading industrialised countries, international meeting, opposition, public order, public safety

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.

C 93 E/138

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.4.2002

Regarding the Honourable Member’s claim that the measures agreed on by the Council on 13 July 2001
are ‘without any legal justification’, the Commission would like to point out that these measures are based
on existing legal instruments, in particular the provisions of the Convention implementing the Schengen
Agreement (article 46) and the Joint Action 97/339/JHA adopted by the Council on 26 May 1997 on the
basis of article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union with regard to cooperation on law and order and
security (1).

(1) OJ L 147, 5.6.1997.

(2002/C 93 E/166)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2477/01

by Carlos Carnero González (PSE) to the Council

(14 September 2001)

Subject: Trial of citizens accused of homosexuality in Egypt

The expected trial in Egypt of dozens of citizens accused of homosexuality began in August 2001.

The natural
indignation with which European public opinion has responded to this trial, which
contravenes such fundamental values as free sexual choice, calls for decisive political action on the part
of the Union vis-à-vis the Egyptian authorities.

It might be recalled that the EU and Egypt have concluded an Association Agreement in which full respect
for human rights is enshrined as a basic principle. The holding of this trial and the existence of the
arbitrary laws on which it is founded constitute a clear violation of those rights.

What action has the Council taken in order to protest to the Egyptian Government at the above situation
with the aim of ensuring that the trial is cancelled and the accused set free?

Has it informed the Egyptian Government of its view that the legislation should be amended immediately
so as to guarantee full freedom of choice in matters of sexuality for the citizens of that country?

Reply

(10 December 2001)

The Council is keeping close track of developments in the ‘Queen Boat’ case following the arrest of 54
men in Egypt. It raised the human rights situation in Egypt, and in particular the cases of Mr Ibrahim and
Ms El Sadawi as well as the ‘Queen Boat’ case, with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Ahmed Maher, at
the dinner which followed the signing of the EU-Egypt Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement on
25 June 2001 in Luxembourg.

The Council is also emphasising to its Mediterranean partners that the Barcelona Declaration to which they
have subscribed commits them to act in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
the United Nations Charter. Article 2 of the Universal Declaration states that everyone is entitled to all the
rights set forth in the Declaration without distinction of any kind. Article 2 of the EU-Egypt Euro-
Mediterranean Agreement also refers to ‘respect of democratic principles and fundamental human rights as
set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guides the internal and international policy’
of the Parties and constitutes ‘an essential element’ of the Agreement.