WRITTEN QUESTION P-2666/01 by Maurizio Turco (TDI) to the Commission. Collaboration between the UNDCP and the European Commission.
Date: 2001-09-24
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU financing, EU programme, European Commission, drug traffic, exchange of information, fight against crime, international cooperation

4.7.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 160 E/29

(2002/C 160 E/029)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2666/01

by Maurizio Turco (TDI) to the Commission

(24 September 2001)

Subject: Collaboration between the UNDCP and the European Commission

in south-eastern Europe (Bulgaria,

The collaboration between the UNDCP, the European Commission and the International Criminal Police
Organisation (ICPO-Interpol)
the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia and Romania) was officially launched in February 1999. According to the United Nations
Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention, ‘the UNDCP-PHARE programme, which is also funded by
Luxembourg and the United Kingdom, focuses on strengthening land, sea and airport border controls by
training law enforcement personnel and supplying drug detection equipment. Activities include the
development of intelligence gathering, analysis and criminal investigation systems and increased controlled
deliveries across borders. (…) The success of this UNDCP-EC partnership is further evidenced in the way in
which the EC has replicated key components of the programme in other planned activities in central
Europe, Belarus, Ukraine,
(Source: http://
www.undcp.org/newsletter_2001-06-30_1_page007.html).

the Republic of Moldova and the southern Caucasus.’

On what basis and with what responsibilities is the Commission financing ‘intelligence gathering’ and
‘controlled deliveries’ activities?

Is Europol involved in this programme?

When, on what basis and under what terms was it decided to take part in such activities in central Europe,
Belarus, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and the southern Caucasus? Is the Commission involved in
similar forms of collaboration in other parts of the world?

Reply given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(26 October 2001)

The PHARE and Tacis regulations stipulate that Community aid may be used to finance projects in the
field of Justice and Home Affairs, which includes the fight against drug trafficking, among other activities.
The Lomé and Cotonou Conventions, for their part, lay down that European Development Fund resources
can be used to finance projects to combat drug trafficking.

In this context, the Commission has appraised programmes whose aims include the creation and/or
strengthening of Joint Central Units which bring together representatives of the various departments
involved in the fight against drug trafficking. One of the purposes of these Central Units is to assemble and
analyse information gathered by the departments concerned.

This element can be found in five programmes:

(a)

(b)

the Balkans programme, which covers Bulgaria, Romania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia (FYROM);

the maritime cooperation programme which provides training for National Joint Headquarters staff in
12 Caribbean states belonging to the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group;

(c) and (d)

the SCAD (Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan) and BUMAD (Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova)
programmes, which are currently in their start-up phase, and include plans for training projects and
assistance with access to the Interpol system;

(e) within the framework of the 2000 PHARE Multi-Beneficiary Drugs Programme, the PHARE Regional
‘information gathering’ and ‘controlled

Drug Law Enforcement Project will address the issue of
deliveries’ in 10 Central and Eastern European candidate countries (CEECs).

C 160 E/30

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

4.7.2002

Controlled deliveries are an investigative technique, and as such form part of the Community acquis. They
figure in both the Balkan Programme and the future PHARE Regional Drug Law Enforcement Project.

Europol has been informed of the existence of these Community programmes, but its mandate does not
allow it to play an active part in them.

(2002/C 160 E/030)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2669/01

by Michl Ebner (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(2 October 2001)

Subject: Széchenyi Plan in Hungary

Hungary is currently endeavouring, by means of the Széchenyi Plan, to achieve the strongest possible
economic growth, with numerous programmes for promoting enterprise, tourism, regional and economic
development and active employment. It is an ambitious plan whose key objectives include rapid and
sustainable economic growth, mobilising domestic and foreign economic resources, creating new
economic opportunities, social gains and responding to the challenges of the new economic era.

Will the Commission say whether it is actively supporting implementation of the Széchenyi Plan in
Hungary by assisting with the search for partners and investors, or if it is supporting the plan in any other
way, e.g. financially?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(31 October 2001)

The Commission welcomes the setting up of the Szechényi plan, which will strengthen the competitiveness
of the Hungarian economy and in particular of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). The
Commission neither actively participates in the search for partners and investors, nor does it directly
financially contribute to the plan. However, Hungary’s preliminary National Development Plan, which
underpins the PHARE Economic and Social Cohesion support, is also based on the Szechényi Plan.

In this context, PHARE has funded in 2000 and 2001 a number of actions, which are complementary to
the ones proposed under the Szechényi Plan, in the following sectors:

G Innovation G specifically information society;

G Tourism development;

G SME development;

G Regional development G especially industrial parks and business zones.

For 2002 and 2003, the Commission is currently in the process of discussing with the Hungarian
government the possibility of a joint co-financing of some of the measures common with the Plan. The
preliminary National Development Plan does also take into account of the Instrument for Structural
Policies for Pre-Accession (ISPA) strategies in order to provide a coherent framework for pre-accession
programming. Also, the new ISPA G aiming at support for the candidate countries to meet European
environmental standards and at linking them with the Trans-European Transport networks G forms a
point of contact with the Széchenyi plan and indirectly supports its objectives. ISPA finances, for example,
a project aiming at increasing the load-bearing capacity of two non-motorway roads.