WRITTEN QUESTION E-2634/01 by Hiltrud Breyer (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Arrangements for replacing the ECSC Consultative Committee.
Date: 2001-10-02
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: ECSC, ECSC Treaty, European Economic and Social Committee, enlargement of the Union, environmental policy, iron and steel industry, mining extraction

C 134 E/66

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

6.6.2002

The proposal is intended to fill the gaps and counter the shortcomings of national legislation in the field of
information and consultation to ensure that workers are informed and consulted before decisions affecting
them are taken. To address concerns regarding the failure of employers to meet their obligations to inform
and consult, such as the concerns expressed by the Honourable Member, the Commission proposed that
certain decisions taken by employers in serious breach of the Directive’s provisions would not have legal
effect.

The Commission very much welcomes the fact that the Council finally adopted a common position on the
proposal under the Swedish Presidency (2). Parliament is now undertaking its second reading and the
Commission will offer every assistance to enable Council and Parliament to reach final agreement on the
Directive before the end of 2001.

(1) OJ C 2, 5.1.1999.
(2) P. R. No 9397/01.

(2002/C 134 E/068)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2634/01

by Hiltrud Breyer (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(2 October 2001)

Subject: Arrangements for replacing the ECSC Consultative Committee

The ECSC Consultative Committee is, after 50 years of operation, to be integrated into the European
Union’s Economic and Social Committee. Its membership comprises 108 representatives of producers,
employees, consumers and traders in the coal and steel sector, drawn from all 15 Member States. In the
past, environmental interests have not been represented either on the ECSC Consultative Committee or on
the Economic and Social Committee.

Does the Commission intend to include representatives from the environmental sector when, as

1.
planned, the ECSC Consultative Committee is integrated into the Economic and Social Committee?

2.

How many members does the Commission envisage the new committee having?

3.
Does the Commission consider it necessary to include representatives from the environmental sector
in the European Union’s new enlarged Economic and Social Committee so as to ensure that the Agenda 21
process is firmly established?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(21 November 2001)

The Commission put forward its proposals for the future of the ECSC Consultative Committee in its
communication ‘The future of structured dialogue after the expiry of the ECSC Treaty’, adopted on
27 September 2000 (1).

While acknowledging that the expiry of the ECSC Treaty means that the ECSC’s procedures and structures
will cease to exist in legal terms, the Commission stressed the importance of the Consultative Committee’s
experience and its unique contribution to the decision-making process and social consensus, particularly as
regards the far-reaching changes which have transformed the coal and steel sectors.

To put that experience to good use while recognising the new situation arising from the expiry of the
ECSC Treaty, the Commission recommended that the Economic and Social Committee (ESC) take over
some of the ECSC Consultative Committee’s advisory tasks. The ESC can, after all, be regarded as a natural
successor to the Consultative Committee: set up in 1957 on the basis of experience with the latter, it is
one of the ordinary advisory bodies for which the EC Treaty provides. The Commission also proposed that
the ESC envisage adapting its structures and working methods so as to derive full benefit from the
Consultative Committee’s assets.

6.6.2002

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 134 E/67

In particular, the Commission stated that it supported the creation within the ESC of a new operational
structure responsible not only for steel and coal-related issues, but also for industrial change and
transformation in the wider sense. The purpose of this permanent structure would be to facilitate mutual
benefit and the exchange of best practice between the coal and steel industries and the other industries
represented within the ESC. This applies in particular to the environment and sustainable development,
including the Agenda 21 process. In future, representatives of the steel and coal industries will be able to
maintain a systematic dialogue on these vital subjects with the ESC’s other advisors.

The Consultative Committee and the ESC are currently in contact with one another to decide what form
the new structure will take and how it will work.

Under Article 259 of the EC Treaty it is the Council’s responsibility to determine the ESC’s make-up.

Given the relative importance of the industries concerned and the volume of consultative activities
predicted, the Commission has proposed a structure with a total of between 25 and 30 members. This
number must, of course, be compatible with the limits laid down by Article 258 (formerly Article 194) of
the EC Treaty, according to which the ESC currently has 222 members. Under the Nice Treaty, the number
of ESC members in the future ? and, in particular, in the context of Union enlargement ? is not to exceed
350.

(1) COM(2000) 588 final.

(2002/C 134 E/069)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2636/01

by Margrietus van den Berg (PSE) to the Commission

Subject: A European approach to trafficking in young footballers

(2 October 2001)

In its answer to written question E-1712/01 (1) by Max van den Berg on trafficking in young footballers,
the Commission does not indicate, as requested, if it will investigate whether, and if so what, additional
European measures are called for. The Commission refers mainly to Directive 94/33/EC on the protection
of young people at work, the new FIFA rules on players’ agents and its recent agreements with FIFA,
though it also points out that it does not have the authority to flesh out the detail of such framework
agreements.

In a letter to the Netherlands parliament, the Netherlands Minister for Justice states that, although he
considers Dutch legislation on the admission and employment of young players to be adequate for
combating abusive conditions, the situation in the Netherlands could indeed be affected by different rules
in other Member States, referring primarily to the possibility that footballers under the age of 18 could be
‘parked’ in other Member States. He therefore considers that it would be a good thing if the Commission
looked into the possibility of adopting a common European approach.

Does the Commission, in the light of the letter from the Netherlands Minister for Justice for instance,
intend to investigate the prospects for a common approach to possible trafficking in young footballers?

(1) OJ C 364 E, 20.12.2001, p. 186.

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(16 November 2001)

The Commission has taken note of the additional information provided by the Honourable Member, who
refers in particular to a letter from the Netherlands’ Minister for Justice to the Dutch Parliament. The
Commission feels that it is highly useful for the national authorities to take initiatives in the area of
‘trafficking in young footballers’ and illustrate their commitment to putting an end to such practices.