WRITTEN QUESTION E-2585/01 by Juan Ojeda Sanz (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Direct relations between citizens and the Union.
Date: 2001-09-25
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Union, Internet, access to EU information, citizens' Europe, public awareness campaign

C 115 E/126

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

16.5.2002

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(15 October 2001)

The Commission is not aware of the practice of spraying potato chips and crisps with chlorpropham. In
any case such a practice is prohibited under Community law, as chlorpropham is not a permitted food
additive (framework Council Directive 89/107/EEC of 21 December 1988 on the approximation of the
laws of the Member States concerning food additives authorized for use in foodstuffs intended for human
consumption (1)).

However, among the chlorpropham uses as a plant growth regulator and herbicide authorised in the
treatment of potatoes in storage to suppress
Member States, an important one is the post-harvest
sprouting. The safety of chlorpropham use is currently being evaluated at Community level
in the
framework of Council Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 1991 on the placing of plant protection products
on the market (2). The data evaluated were not sufficient to demonstrate one way or the other whether the
use of chlorpropham satisfied the requirements of the directive and Commission Decision 2001/134/EC of
14 February 2001 concerning the decision on the possible inclusion of certain active substances into
Annex I to Council Directive 91/414/EEC (3) set a deadline of 31 December 2001 for the provision of the
specified additional data necessary to establish whether chlorpropham use is sufficiently safe to satisfy the
requirements of the directive.

(1) OJ L 40, 11.2.1989.
(2) OJ L 230, 19.8.1991.
(3) OJ L 49, 20.2.2001.

(2002/C 115 E/129)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2585/01

by Juan Ojeda Sanz (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(25 September 2001)

Subject: Direct relations between citizens and the Union

The Commission and more recently its President, Romano Prodi, when he addressed Parliament in
Strasbourg on 4 September, maintain that direct relations between citizens and the Union are one of the
key concerns for Europe’s future. In his speech Mr Prodi declared that communication between the EU and
its citizens left something to be desired. The European Ombudsman likewise takes exception to the
Commission’s lack of interest in citizens.

In 1998, at the time of the Cardiff Summit in the United Kingdom, the former Commission President,
Jacques Santer, and the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, were instrumental in setting up a service to
answer questions from citizens about the Union. ‘Europe Direct’, as the service is called, is also intended to
offer legal advice on any matter connected with the Union. As is common knowledge, that service has not
been available since March 2001.

Citizens rely on the telephone or e-mail to clear up their doubts. However, because the telephone lines and
e-mail archives are hopelessly overloaded, the desired information cannot always be supplied immediately.

How much importance does the Commission attach to the above initiative, and what budget is it
allocating to it? Should it not focus its efforts on activities currently in operation?

On the basis of what criteria has the contract to run Europe Direct been awarded to the TechTeam firm?

When is the Commission planning to resume the legal advisory service for all citizens of the Member
States?

What will be the Commission’s policy regarding this information service in the run-up to the accession of
new countries?

16.5.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 115 E/127

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(31 October 2001)

The Commission wants to ensure that citizens have fast, easy access to the information they need. Europe
Direct is one means of ensuring a dialogue with people, listening to their questions and replying to their
concerns. It handles enquiries in all 11 official languages of the Union. Naturally, it should be expanded to
the candidate countries, as soon as they become Member States.

The Europe Direct service is located on the Union’s portal website Europa which is the internet gateway to
all Union institutions. Many citizens in the Union, however, still prefer to use the telephone to ask
questions in their own language. Europe Direct, therefore, enables them to ask questions by phone using a
toll free number in each Member State. It also enables people to ask questions and receive responses by e-
mail.

The Europe Direct service was launched in June 1998 precisely in order to give a user-friendly direct
access to information and advice about the Union.

Europe Direct could have been developed as an in-house operation, however, the Commission decided to
outsource the service. Following the usual public procurement requirements, a tender was granted and the
service is now operated under a contract to the company Global One, a member of the France Telecom
Group.

The Commission is currently conducting a review of Europe Direct to ensure that it provides an efficient
and value-for-money service.

The service is structured in such a way that it operated on two levels. The call centre agents have been
trained to reply to general questions on the Union and a back-up team inside the Commission takes care
of questions requiring additional research.

Questions concerning practical problems that people encounter in exercising their rights in the single
market used to be transferred to the Sign Post Service C a specialised service that could be accessed
through either Europe Direct or via e-mail. The Commission plans to resume this Citizen’s Signpost
Service in the first half of 2002. It will deal with enquiries from Union citizens and others who enjoy
Internal Market rights.

A further service is provided for people who require legal assistance on points of Community law. This
service is called Eurojus and it is managed decentrally by the Commission representations in the Member
States. Following a thorough review of its operations, taking into account both quality and effectiveness, a
decision has recently been taken to continue the Eurojus service. The service is in the process of being
modernised and reoriented to ensure that it meets the changing needs of citizens.

As new Member States join the Union the scope of the above services will, of course, be extended.

(2002/C 115 E/130)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2587/01

by Juan Naranjo Escobar (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(25 September 2001)

Subject: European information campaign on the European Code against Cancer

In this day and age individuals are taking increasingly active responsibility for their health but in order to
do so they need information. Prevention and education are vital to enable diseases to be diagnosed early,
but this cannot happen unless people know that the means are available. The European Code against
Cancer adopted in 1988, for example, consists of 10 recommendations which, if observed, could reduce
the incidence of the disease by 15 %, equivalent to thousands of human lives. A recent survey showed that
out of a group of 600 people, only 9 % knew about the code and what was in it.