WRITTEN QUESTION E-2744/01 by Jonas Sjöstedt (GUE/NGL) to the Council. Saddam Hussein and the war crimes tribunal.
Date: 2001-10-10
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU Member State, International Criminal Court, Iraq, arrest, head of State, judicial proceedings, the EU's international role

20.6.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 147 E/47

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(10 January 2002)

On 12 July 1999, the Council adopted a recommendation on the limitation of exposure of the general
public to electromagnetic fields (1), including the radio frequencies used by mobile telephone systems.

Given the very rapid development of these systems and the fears to which they give rise concerning the
health of persons exposed, the Commission wished to take all necessary precautionary measures.
It
therefore asked the ‘Health and consumer protection’ Directorate-General’s Scientific Committee on
Toxicology, Ecotoxicology and the Environment to reexamine the subject and issue, from autumn 2001, a
new scientific opinion on the risks to human health from exposure and on suitable protection measures.

The Committee’s opinion with regard to intermediate, radio and microwave frequencies from 1Khz up to
300 Ghz, such as those emitted by mobile phones, microwave ovens and television sets, states that the
additional information that has become available does not call for any change in the exposure limits
contained in the Council Recommendation of 1999.

The Commission will consult Member States on the implications of the report. It will also continue to
cooperate with the World Health Organisation, which is engaged in a major epidemiological study of
electromagnetic fields and human health.

the Parliament and of

The attention of the Honourable Member is further drawn to Community legislation ensuring that
products like base stations and mobile phones are safe. In order to comply with this legislation (Directive
1999/5/EC of
the Council of 9 March 1999 on radio equipment and
telecommunications terminal equipment and the mutual recognition of their conformity (2) and Council
Directive 73/23/EEC of 19 February 1973 on the harmonization of the laws of Member States relating to
electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits (3)), manufacturers need to ensure that
products comply with strict safety standards following the latest scientific advice such as that laid down in
the Council Recommendation.

(1) OJ L 199, 30.7.1999.
(2) OJ L 91, 7.4.1999.
(3) OJ L 77, 26.3.1973.

(2002/C 147 E/047)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2744/01

by Jonas Sjöstedt (GUE/NGL) to the Council

(10 October 2001)

Subject: Saddam Hussein and the war crimes tribunal

Is the Council seeking to ensure that, should the occasion arise, Saddam Hussein and his henchmen should
be put before an internal war crimes tribunal? Is the Council prepared to play a part in having Saddam
Hussein and members of his government arrested if they were to make a State visit to another country?

Reply

(1 March 2002)

No international war crimes tribunal exists as yet to deal with the individuals referred to in your question.
Judicial proceedings against Saddam Hussein have nevertheless been initiated in certain national courts,
including courts in the European Union.

The EU and its Member States support the forthcoming establishment of the International Criminal Court,
as provided for in the Rome Statute of 17 July 1998. This is clear from the Council’s Common Position of
11 June 2001, in particular. In future it will be possible to bring proceedings concerning the crime of
genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and A once a definition is agreed on A the crime of

C 147 E/48

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.6.2002

aggression before the International Criminal Court and to prosecute these crimes if the State of which the
alleged perpetrator is a national or the State on the territory of which the conduct in question occurred is
one which has ratified the Rome Statute, or if the United Nations Security Council acting under Chapter
VII of the Charter of the United Nations has referred a situation to the Prosecutor of the Criminal Court.
The Court, however, will have jurisdiction only as regards acts committed after the entry into force of the
Rome Statute. The Council is wholly prepared to cooperate with the International Criminal Court as soon
as it is established.

(2002/C 147 E/048)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2746/01

by Jonas Sjöstedt (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(9 October 2001)

Subject: EU fisheries agreement with South Africa

For years the EU has been attempting to conclude a fisheries agreement with South Africa, but in spring
2001 the South Africans gave a flat refusal. The fisheries negotiations then collapsed. The trade agreement
with South Africa did however come into force in January 2000.

It might however be feared that South Africa’s refusal to allow in foreign fishing fleets might in the longer
term have implications for the major trade agreement between the EC and South Africa, which took four
years to negotiate. There is a link between the trade agreement and the wrecked fisheries negotiations.
Duty-free entry for South African fisheries products is directly linked to the outcome of the fisheries
negotiations. Nobody is saying it outright, but there is also a degree of pressure from the EC with regard to
wines and spirits, negotiations on which have yet to be concluded. Out of the Member States only Sweden
and the Netherlands had ratified the trade agreement by May 2001. These two countries have no interests
in the fisheries or wine industries. The other Member States seem to be pursuing a wait-and-see policy. In
May 2001 no country had yet threatened to back out from the trade agreement, but the southern
European countries with the most negative views include those with the largest fishing fleets.

What is the Commission doing to encourage ratification of the trade agreement by the Member States?
Can it guarantee that no linkage is made between the failure of the fisheries negotiations and the fact that
the trade agreement with South Africa has not been ratified by all Member States?

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(3 December 2001)

The negotiations for the Trade Development and Cooperation Agreement (TDCA) with South Africa were
successfully concluded in 1999. Council Decision 1999/753/EC, of 29 July 1999 concerning the
provisional application of
the Agreement on Trade, Development and Cooperation between the
Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of South Africa, of the other part (1)
establishes provisional and partial application of the TDCA as of 1 January 2000, pending ratification by
the parties to the Agreement.

At the time of conclusion of the TDCA, negotiations were still under way in two specific areas: Wine and
Spirits and Fisheries.

Negotiations for the conclusion of a separate Fisheries Agreement were suspended earlier this year, as it
became clear that the Commission mandate was for the conclusion of an agreement that would include
access to South African fishery resources for European vessels, in addition to cooperation in a number of
fishery-related areas. The South African delegation was mandated only to negotiate an agreement that
would not include such access.